How to calculate cost per wear
Most people judge a piece of clothing by its price tag. Cost per wear judges it by what it actually costs you every time you put it on. It is a simple sum, and once you start using it, it changes what you buy and what you reach for.
This guide covers the formula, a few worked examples, what counts as a good cost per wear, how to run an audit on the clothes you already own, and the mistakes that throw the number off.
The cost per wear formula
Cost per wear is the price of an item divided by the number of times you wear it.
Cost per wear = total cost ÷ number of wears
A £120 coat worn 60 times costs you £2 per wear. The same £120 spent on a going-out top worn twice costs you £60 per wear. Same money, very different value.
The number matters more than the price because it tells you the truth about a purchase. A cheap item you never wear is expensive. An expensive item you wear constantly is cheap.
A worked example
Say you are deciding between two coats.
Coat A costs £250. It is a plain wool coat you will wear most days through winter, roughly 80 times a year, and it will last three years. That is 240 wears. Cost per wear is about £1.04.
Coat B costs £90. It is a trend piece you will wear maybe 8 times before you are bored of it. Cost per wear is £11.25.
Coat A costs nearly three times as much at the till and is more than ten times cheaper to own. The sticker price told you the opposite of the truth.
Why the sticker price fools you
The price tag is a single, loud number you see once, at the moment of buying. The wears are a quiet number you never add up. So your brain anchors on the price and ignores the use, which is where the real cost lives.
This is also why sales are dangerous. A 60 percent discount feels like value, but if the item only gets worn twice, it is still expensive per wear. A full-price item you wear weekly is the better deal almost every time.
What counts as a good cost per wear
There is no single target, but these rough bands are a useful guide.
| Cost per wear | What it means |
|---|---|
| Under £1 | Excellent. A true workhorse. |
| £1 to £5 | Very good. Solid, well-used piece. |
| £5 to £10 | Fair. Fine for something worn occasionally. |
| £10 to £30 | Weak. Only worth it for rare, high-value occasions. |
| Over £30 | Poor. The item is barely earning its place. |
A £400 winter coat at £1.33 per wear is a better buy than a £15 top at £7.50 per wear. Judge the number, not the price.
Run a cost per wear audit on what you own
You do not need new purchases to use this. Look at what you already have.
Pick ten items. For each, estimate what you paid and how many times you have worn it. Divide one by the other. You will quickly see two groups: the pieces earning their keep, and the ones sitting unworn with a cost per wear that keeps climbing.
That second group is the useful part. It shows you what not to buy again, which is worth more than any single purchase decision.
Cost per wear by category
Different clothes should be held to different standards.
Everyday basics like tees, jeans and knitwear should reach a very low cost per wear, often under £1, because you wear them constantly. Pay more for quality here, since the wears will justify it.
Outerwear and coats also earn their cost quickly because you wear them over everything, most days, for years. A higher price is easy to justify.
Workwear depends on how often you are in it. Five days a week makes even an expensive suit cheap per wear. Once a month does not.
Occasion and statement pieces will almost always have a high cost per wear, and that is fine, as long as you go in knowing it. The mistake is treating them like everyday value.
Shoes follow the same logic as coats. Well-made shoes worn regularly and resoled reach a very low cost per wear. Cheap shoes worn a handful of times before they fall apart do not.
How apps track it for you
Doing this by hand is fine for ten items. It falls apart across a full wardrobe, because you cannot remember how many times you wore something. This is why cost per wear works best when an app logs each wear for you and does the sum automatically. A personal stylist like Ask Anouk, built on Modebase, keeps the price and the wear count for every item, so cost per wear stays live without you tracking anything.
Common mistakes
Guessing wears from memory. People overestimate how often they wear occasional pieces and underestimate their basics. Log wears if you can.
Ignoring upkeep. Dry cleaning, repairs and resoling are part of the total cost. A coat that costs £40 a year to clean is not as cheap as it looks.
Judging too early. A new item has a terrible cost per wear on day one. The number only becomes meaningful after a season of use.
Using it only when buying. The audit on what you already own is where most of the value is, because it changes future decisions.
FAQ
What is cost per wear?
It is the price of an item divided by how many times you wear it. It shows the real cost of owning something rather than just the purchase price.
What is a good cost per wear?
Under £1 is excellent and anything under £5 is good. Occasional pieces will sit higher, which is acceptable if you bought them knowing that.
Does a lower price mean a lower cost per wear?
No. A cheap item worn rarely can cost far more per wear than an expensive item worn often. The number of wears matters more than the price.
Should upkeep count in cost per wear?
Yes. Cleaning, repairs and alterations are part of the total cost, so add them in for an accurate figure.
How do I lower the cost per wear of what I own?
Wear the neglected pieces more, style them in new ways, and repair rather than replace. Every extra wear lowers the number.
Can an app calculate cost per wear for me?
Yes. A wardrobe app that logs each wear and stores what you paid will keep cost per wear updated automatically across your whole wardrobe.
Written by the Modebase team. Modebase keeps your wardrobe as portable data, including the wear history that makes cost per wear possible.