WINTER STREET STYLE: TEDDY BEAR COAT

COST PER WEAR: HOW TO JUSTIFY AN EXPENSIVE PIECE

Your girl is BACK and she came back swinging with her new #1, Pippa! Pippa is the name my Insta fam choose for her, my coat. She’s so amazing! Warm, Cozy, Glam and Pink just how we like it. If you know how much I obsessed over scoring a pink Adidas Track Suit then you know how excited I was when I realized Pippa and my Adidas pants coordinated. For some an Elle Woods all pink look may be too much but for me it’s JUST right!!

I’m into oversized sweatshirts right now. They’re just so cozy and under a chic coat really give a street style vibe. I picked this hoodie up in the men’s section for $25, I got lucky because the white was just released for Spring. I’m sure they have it every Spring but took it off shelves during the Fall/Winter.

COST PER WEAR

Now, I talk to you guys all the time about the Rule of 5 and How to Maximize your wardrobe using that rule. Today I’m going to share one of the most valuable rules I’ve learned that ensures you don’t throw money away on an item and makes you think before making a purchase. It’s also a great way to justify a pricier item. While this coat wasn’t expensive, coats in general tend to be on the pricier side and depending on the climate you live in are worth the investment. Most coats you will have for years and wear winter after winter. To help you come to terms with spending $100+ on a coat we are going to break down “Cost Per Wear”

COST OF ITEM [divided by] # OF TIMES ITEMS WORN = COST PER WEAR

$60 divided by 51 = $1.21 (cost per wear)

Ummmm, idk know where my division symbol is on my computer so bear with me…..

Anywho, the math I used above is the cost I paid for this coat divided by the number of times I plan to wear this coat in 1 season (this doesn’t include next year, assuming I still love it). I live in the south so everyday is not a coat day for me and I have others I love and wear so I estimated I will wear this coat 3xs a week for 4 months. I rounded it to 17 weeks. Making the cost per wear for one season $1.21. That’s the cost of daily gas station coffee.

Now $60 isn’t an investment when it comes to a coat or statement piece *flips hair* so we’re going to pretend we live in a cold climate that snows and has 6 months of winter weather. In that climate we want to have a really good coat because we’re wearing a coat everyday for half the year. This is also a climate we would invest in a really good warm coat we can wear it for 2-3 years minimum.

SN: this is also how I determine cost per wear and justify handbags, shoes and denim. Especially handbags.

Anywho, it’s cold so we need a better coat. Let’s say this coat is $300. We wear this coat 5 days a week because it’s a go-to, 5 months out of the year for 3 years. I changed it to 5 because I refuse to believe you need it 6 and if you do, I’m sorry.

5 days x 25 weeks x 3 years = 375 wears

300 / 375 = .80 cent per wear

You’re welcome, buy the coat or the handbag!

We’re going to compare to an item of lower quality that may start falling apart after a few months. We picked up a coat for $50 from Forever 21 because we’re balling on a budget and we’ll prob still freeze our ass off. Not the point. We’re going to get 3 months wear out of it, 5 days a week before a sleeve falls off or it starts piling, a hole forms or we’re afraid of getting hypothermia. Nothing against 421 but there’s a time and a place and winter coats isn’t it.

5 days x 12 weeks = 60 wears

50 / 60 = .83 cent

With the cost per wear formula and my guesstimations the $50 Forever 21 coat is actually going to cost you more money as in you wasted money. IJS

I am a firm believer in buying quality pieces that will take you through the years and 85% of the time those items are going to cost you more upfront. However, it’s going to save you money in the end.

I bet you didn’t think you were going to get a little math lesson today, did you?

Don’t worry, they’ll be more! I’ll be giving out gold stars to the most excellent students.

SN: Recently on my YouTube channel I styled this coat 5 different ways to watch that just check out the video below.