Buying Fewer, Better Clothes

FASHION · FRANCE

Buying Fewer, Better Clothes

What a wardrobe actually needs, judging quality, cost per wear and repairs

Buying less is only cheaper if what you buy lasts, which makes judging construction the practical skill rather than a moral one.

Start from what you wear

Most people wear a small proportion of what they own. Note what you actually reach for over a month, and the gaps become obvious — usually one or two specific things rather than a category.

Buy for gaps you have identified rather than browsing, and wait a day on anything above a small amount.

Judging quality in a shop

Check the composition label first. Look at the seams — dense straight stitching, finished edges, and pattern matching at the seams on anything printed or checked.

Pull gently at a seam to see if it gaps. Check buttons are sewn with a shank, that there is a spare, and that the lining is sewn rather than glued.

Feel the weight. Thin fabric drapes poorly and wears through, and grams per square metre tells you more than price.

Fibres

Natural fibres breathe and can be repaired and recycled more readily. A little elastane adds comfort and shortens the life of a garment, and high polyester content traps heat.

Cost per wear

Divide the price by the times you will realistically wear it. A coat worn all winter for five years costs almost nothing per wear; an occasion piece worn once does not.

Second-hand and rental

Resale platforms and charity shops are where good quality clothing ends up after very little wear, and the saving is substantial. Rental suits anything worn once, such as occasion wear.

Sell or pass on what you no longer wear rather than storing it, since a full wardrobe of unworn clothes hides what you own.

Sales

Clothes are cheapest at the end of a season and most expensive at the start, and nothing about the garment changes in between.

Fit and alterations

Shoulders cannot be altered affordably, so buy for those and have the rest adjusted. Hems, waists and sleeve lengths are inexpensive and transform off-the-peg clothes.

Find a tailor before you need one, and ask what a simple alteration costs.

Laundry

Wash cool, wash less, skip the tumble dryer and treat stains promptly. Most clothes are worn out by laundering rather than by wearing, and heat is what degrades elastane and shrinks cotton.

A fabric shaver removes pills in minutes and makes a knit look new.

Care and repair

Wash less and air more, wash cool, skip the tumble dryer and deal with small repairs immediately. Most clothes are worn out by laundering rather than by wearing.

Learn to sew a button and a seam, which covers most failures.

WHERE TO BUY

Ready to shop MUJI France? Use the link below to visit the official store.

→ Shop MUJI France — official site

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