COST PER WEAR

Statistically speaking, women are far more likely to save than to invest. While stocks and shares may not be quite akin to stilettos, we’re often overcautious about investing in timeless, big-ticket items that can become our signatures. By learning some basic fashion math, however, you can put yourself on the fast track to a well-managed closet that pays dividends. Consider Reese Witherspoon’s CELINE Medium C bag (US$3,300), which does the work of a flotilla of totes. Just a few years ago, an A-lister like her would have been dripping in newly-minted swag for every photo opportunity., the actress was all business in a rust-coloured pencil skirt and heels, then she mixed things up in a trench coat, black jeans, and boots for dinner with her daughter and Laura Dern. (She also sported it two days earlier to tape a segment for ) “For a long-term investment, an iconic handbag from a heritage house will always be on-trend. If it has lasted 20 years, it’s going to last another 20,” says Angie Chen, curator at vintage and preloved luxury fashion site The Fifth Collection. “Thinking about how often you plan to wear a piece can also help your purchase decision.” If Reese were to wear her bag for two occasions a day, just twice a week, she’d wear it 208 times in a year. That’s US$16 per outing, which now doesn’t seem quite so steep. If your bag makes it into its second or even third year, as it should if you maintain it, the numbers work even better in your favour. Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director at Net-a-Porter, agrees. “An investment piece is something you would never give away,” she says. “There has to be that feeling that it can be worn for decades and passed down for generations.” Just imagine the cost per wear (CPW) when it’s hanging in your daughter’s closet.