The $5 Rule

There was an article in the WSJ this morning about the current shift in shopping for few items, but spending more money on key pieces. Quality vs. Quantity. I thought that was just something that was happening to me as I grew up, apparently I'm not the only one.  

Then I got to thinking about how I choose what items to spend more money on, and the arbitrary 'rules' I use for purchasing. For example I don't like to by tops over $40, pants must be under $80 - I'm talking "trousers" here, work pants, but denim is a whole other story. I've been contemplating some 3 digit denim for almost a week now. Don't judge. I'm working on a whole post about denim varieties and the necessity of said varieties - if only for my husband to read and maybe understand. 

So, I was brought back to something a customer shared with me years ago (I have no idea if she was the originator of this rule, this is just where I heard it). She used a rule of $5. An item needed to be worth $5 per wear. So if you bought a $20 top, as long as you wore it 4 times, it was money well spent. I actually find this to be pretty helpful. It helps justify those 3 digit jeans - I will totally wear them 40 times a year - AND since I keep most of my jeans for-ev-er it is fine -right? 

One area where I can't use my rule is the purse. I can't seem to invest in a purse - even though it is something you carry/use everyday, I can't get the $5 rule to work. I always think I want to buy one, but I just can't. No judging here - just sharing a oddity in my arbitrary shopping rules. 

Something else that came to mind here is DON'T buy something just because it is a good deal. I used to fall for this a lot. OR I would buy something just because it was a brand name and I found it at Marshalls for really cheap, and then I would be so made I wasted money on something I didn't really like. 

But my point is, if you are going to invest in a few key pieces, make sure it is something you LOVE, that it fits, and that you will wear it often.

I would love to hear what you all splurge and save one. 

And just so this post isn't totally boring, I have a funny story about fringe. I mentioned here that I thought 'western wear' - or at least fringe -  was a trend for fall. I thought I would grab onto this trend with both feet and ordered these boots. I was going to make them the replacement for my fake-uggs (I could have used my $5 rule for real ones several years ago, but instead bought cheap ones every year or two from Target - I kept thinking they were going out of style the next year.) Anyway - here are the boots I ordered. Minnetonka 3-Layer Fringe boots.

Adorable right? I thought so. Or maybe you hate them. But I was convinced I could totally pull them off. Weeelllll, they make the most annoying swoosh, swoosh, swoosh noise when you walk. You think corduroys or wind pants are bad? (are they actually called wind pants? you know what I mean)  I was laughing out loud walking around my room. Just for fun I super-seriously asked my husband if he liked them - he replied "ridiculous". Which almost made me want to keep them :)

So I have ordered these to squash both my Minnetonka craving and my fringe craving. We'll see if they are a keeper. A little fringe goes a long way. 

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