There’s a lot of talk on how the Duchess of Cambridge dresses more like “everyday women” and that her wardrobe is “more affordable.” However, a recent blog post from the Toronto Star says that the cost of clothes she wore for her eight day trip to North America was around $25,000. That got me thinking wardrobes in general. How much IS a week’s worth of clothing for say, a late 20-something/early 30-something woman who has an office job and making somewhere in the mid-to-high five or low six figures? Of course, it would be nowhere near $25,000, considering the fact that we don’t need to have multiple changes each day, based on what we do AND the fact that most of us would wear pieces more than once each week. But say we didn’t. Say we wore a different work outfit (business casual office), including shoes and accessories, plus gym clothes and going out clothes. Minimum “recycling” and nothing that costs over $250 a piece (except bags, shoes and the fundraiser event dress) and not including outerwear. How much would it be then? Let’s take a look (note that the prices are American. While some items have the same sticker price in Canada, seem to average about 15% more, not including tax. The Canadian prices (which are not necessarily accurate, just an estimate) are in parentheses):
Monday – regular work day, nothing afterwards:
Six pieces, total cost: $444.94 US ($511.68 in Canada)
Tuesday – Early morning yoga session followed by work:
Nine pieces, totalling: $1,042.99 US (or around $1,199.44 in Canada)
Wednesday – work plus post-work dinner and drinks with friends:
Six pieces, totalling: $999.38 US ($1,149.29 in Canada)
Thursday work plus change for evening fundraiser event:
Nine pieces at $2,496 US ($2,870.40 Canadian)
Friday – work and casual dinner with family:
Seven pieces, total cost $1,204.99 ($1,385.74 Canadian)
Saturday – gym, shopping and dinner/movie date:
Eight pieces, $1,400.92 US (or $1,611.06 Canadian)
Sunday – Casual brunch with friends, followed by grocery shopping and chilling at home:
Nine pieces at $1,212.41 US ($1,394.27 Canadian)
Total? $9,000 or just less than three times less than the so-called “real woman” Kate. Most women would probably end up with much less, since we probably don’t go out to a gala or charity event every week, nor are we likely NOT to recycle a piece throughout the week. How much do you spend, readers?
