Cost per wear divides what a piece of clothing costs you by the number of times you actually wear it. It turns a price tag into a rough cost of use, which makes a $220 pair of boots and an $80 pair easier to compare. The answer is only as good as the wear estimate behind it.
Our cost per use calculator runs the same formula for any two purchases. This guide shows the working, how to test your assumptions and where the number stops being useful.
The formula
Cost per wear = (purchase price + care costs − resale value) ÷ number of wears
- Purchase price: include sales tax, delivery and any alterations.
- Care costs: dry cleaning, specialist washing, repairs and resoling over the time you expect to own the item. In the US, the FTC’s Care Labeling Rule requires manufacturers and importers to attach care instructions to clothing, so the label tells you in advance whether regular dry cleaning is part of the deal.
- Resale value: what you realistically expect to get back after fees and postage. Use zero if you will not sell it.
- Wears: the number of times you expect to wear it, based on your routine rather than your hopes.
Worked example: two pairs of boots
These prices are illustrative, not quotes from any store.
| Cost element | Boots A | Boots B |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | $80 | $220 |
| Care and repairs | $0 | $60 (one resole) |
| Resale value | $0 | $30 |
| Expected wears | 100 | 300 |
| Cost per wear | $0.80 | $0.83 |
Boots A cost $80 ÷ 100 wears = $0.80 a wear. Boots B cost ($220 + $60 − $30) ÷ 300 wears = $250 ÷ 300, or about $0.83 a wear.
On these assumptions, the two pairs cost almost the same per wear, so the wear estimate decides it. If Boots A last only 60 wears, their cost rises to $1.33 a wear. If Boots B are retired after 200 wears without a resole, their cost is ($220 − $30) ÷ 200 = $0.95. Run a pessimistic version for each option before you decide.
Care costs can reverse the ranking
Care matters most for clothes that need professional cleaning. Compare two blazers you expect to wear 80 times each:
- Blazer A costs $150 and is dry clean only. At one $15 clean every eight wears, 80 wears means 10 cleans, or $150 of care: ($150 + $150) ÷ 80 = $3.75 a wear.
- Blazer B costs $190 and is machine washable. Leaving out the small cost of home laundry: $190 ÷ 80 = about $2.38 a wear.
The cheaper blazer costs more per wear once cleaning is counted. Read the care label before you buy, not after.
The break-even check
When one option costs more upfront, work out how many wears it needs to match the cheaper one:
Break-even wears = net cost of the pricier option ÷ cost per wear of the cheaper option
For the boots, the net cost of Boots B is $250 ($220 + $60 − $30). Divided by the $0.80 per wear of Boots A, that is about 313 wears, or roughly three years of wearing them twice a week. If you would realistically wear Boots B more than that, they cost less per wear. If not, Boots A do.
The comparison assumes you would replace the cheaper pair when it wears out, so both options are covering the same need. Break-even turns a vague idea of “investment” into one number you can judge against your own habits.
Make the wear estimate honest
- Count from a routine. A work jacket worn twice a week through a 12-week season gets about 24 wears a season.
- Use your own history. If similar items usually last you two seasons, do not assume five.
- Check the fit first. Something that pinches, slips or needs constant adjusting tends to be worn less. Our online clothing size and fit guide covers measuring before you buy.
- Match the estimate to the season. A coat you wear for one season a year needs a different count from a jacket you wear all year.
Optimistic estimates are easy to make. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s 2017 textiles report estimated that, worldwide, the average number of times a garment is worn before it stops being used had fallen by 36 percent compared with 15 years earlier.
When the number misleads
- It rewards optimism. Double the wear estimate and you halve the answer, even though nothing about the item has changed.
- It does not measure need. A low cost per wear does not make an extra purchase necessary. Something you already own may cost less for each extra wear than either new option, because you have already paid for it.
- It counts every wear the same. A coat that keeps you dry and a coat you put up with count equally.
- It ignores timing. Paying $220 now is not the same as paying $80 a year, especially on a tight budget. The formula does not discount future costs.
- It can become a sunk-cost trap. Wearing something uncomfortable to bring its cost per wear down does not recover the money you spent.
- It is a money measure. Wearing clothes for longer matters for the environment too. WRAP estimated that extending the average life of clothes in the UK by three months of active use per item would cut the carbon, water and waste footprints of UK clothing by 5 to 10 percent each. Cost per wear does not capture that.
Beyond clothes: cost per use
The same formula works for anything you use repeatedly, such as a stroller, a blender or a set of tools, where it is usually called cost per use. Our guide to electric toothbrush replacement heads works through a two-year ownership cost in the same way. For consumables sold in different pack sizes, compare the unit price instead.
Checklist before you buy
- The price including tax, delivery and alterations.
- Care costs from the label, over the time you expect to own it.
- A conservative resale value after fees, or zero.
- A wear estimate from your routine, plus a pessimistic version.
- The break-even number of wears against the cheaper option.
- Fit and comfort checked before any of the arithmetic.
Then run both options through the cost per use calculator.
Sources
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation: A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning fashion’s future (2017).
- WRAP: Valuing our clothes: the true cost of how we design, use and dispose of clothing in the UK (2012).
- US Federal Trade Commission: Clothes Captioning: Complying with the Care Labeling Rule.
- All prices in this guide are hypothetical examples.
Common questions
How do you calculate cost per wear?
Add the purchase price and expected care costs, subtract a realistic resale value, then divide by the number of times you expect to wear the item. For example, $220 boots with a $60 resole and $30 resale, worn 300 times, cost about $0.83 per wear.
What is a good cost per wear?
There is no universal target. Cost per wear is most useful for comparing options that meet the same need, using the same assumptions. A formal outfit worn a few times will always cost more per wear than everyday jeans, and it may still be the right purchase.
Is cost per wear the same as cost per use?
Yes. Cost per wear is the cost per use calculation applied to clothing. Cost per use applies it to anything you use repeatedly, such as tools or appliances.
Should cost per wear include washing and dry cleaning?
Include care costs that differ between the options, especially dry cleaning, specialist laundering and repairs. Check the care label before buying, because it tells you what regular cleaning involves.
Do expensive clothes save money in the long run?
Only if the pricier item is worn enough to beat the cheaper one. Divide its net cost by the cheaper option's cost per wear to find the break-even number of wears, then ask whether that number is realistic for you.