How do I decide whether to buy a piece of clothing?
The short answer
Ask how many outfits it makes with what you already own. If the answer is fewer than three, it's a special-occasion purchase and should be priced as one. Cost per wear, not price, is the number that tells you whether it was worth it.
Count the outfits, not the item
The useful question isn’t whether you like it. It’s how many outfits it makes with what is already in your closet. Three or more and it will earn its place. Fewer and it’s a special-occasion purchase, which is fine as long as you know that’s what you’re doing.
This is also why the same garment can be a good buy for one person and a bad one for another. A piece is only as useful as the things it goes with.
Check the color before the fit
A garment in the wrong colors for you’ll hang unworn however well it fits, because you won’t reach for it. If it sits outside your palette and it goes near your face, it will lose to something else in the closet almost every morning.
Price it per wear
Divide the price by the number of times you’ll realistically wear it. Most people find this reverses their instincts: the expensive coat is cheap and the cheap top is expensive.
Cladwell counts pairs, not pieces
Your stylist tells you which categories are short and how many outfits each addition unlocks. Free to catalog your closet.