There are two ways to look at the price of a garment. The first is what it costs to buy, which is the number on the tag. The second is what it costs to own, which is the number on the tag divided by the number of times you will actually wear it.

The second number is the one that matters, and it very frequently points in the opposite direction from the first.

The arithmetic

Consider two kurtas.

Kurta A costs six hundred rupees. It is a thin fabric, the fit is approximate, and the colour is not quite right on you. It gets worn four times before it loses its shape and you stop reaching for it.

Cost per wear: one hundred and fifty rupees.

Kurta B costs eighteen hundred rupees. It fits properly, the fabric holds up, and the colour genuinely suits you. You reach for it constantly. Over three years you wear it sixty times.

Cost per wear: thirty rupees.

Kurta B costs three times as much to buy and one fifth as much to own. This is not a rhetorical trick; it is the ordinary arithmetic of clothing, and it plays out in wardrobes constantly.

What actually drives wear count

Cost per wear is only useful if you can predict wear count, and wear count is driven by four things.

1. Fit

The largest single factor by a considerable margin. A garment that fits well gets worn. A garment that does not gets worn once, out of obligation, and then avoided. Nothing else on this list matters if the fit is wrong.

2. Versatility

How many occasions does it work for? A navy A-line kurta in a good cotton works at the office, at a family lunch, on a flight and at a casual dinner. A heavily sequinned Anarkali works at approximately three events a year. Both can be worth buying; only one has a low cost per wear.

3. Durability

Will it survive being washed? This is largely determined by fabric quality and construction. A garment that loses its shape after five washes has a wear ceiling built into it regardless of how much you like it.

4. Whether you actually like it

The most underrated variable. A garment you feel good in gets worn. A garment bought because it was discounted, or because it was almost right, does not. The discount is irrelevant if the wear count is two.

Where to spend more

• Everyday basics. The pieces you wear weekly justify quality more than anything else in the wardrobe, and they are exactly where people underspend.
• Anything worn against the skin all day. Comfort compounds over hours.
• Occasion pieces that will genuinely be re-worn. A good silk kurta worn to weddings for a decade is a sound purchase.
• Anything where fit is critical. Structured, fitted garments are where cheap construction shows most clearly.

Where spending less is genuinely correct

• Trend pieces. If you know a purchase is driven by a current trend and you will be bored of it in a year, buy accordingly.
• Single-occasion garments. The haldi outfit that will be destroyed by turmeric should not be an investment piece.
• Anything you are uncertain about. If you cannot honestly predict wearing it twenty times, do not price it as though you will.
• Children's clothing. They will outgrow it before they wear it out.

The test to apply before you buy

Ask three questions, honestly.

1. How many times will I realistically wear this in the next year? Not aspirationally. Realistically.
2. What do I already own that I will wear it with? If the answer is nothing, this is not one purchase, it is two or three.
3. Would I buy this at full price? If the honest answer is no, then the discount is not saving you money. It is persuading you to spend it.

The trap of the sale

A seventy percent discount on something you will wear twice is a worse purchase than full price on something you will wear fifty times. The discount feels like a saving because the comparison being offered is against the original price, but the relevant comparison is against not buying it at all.

This is the single most useful reframe in clothing purchases, and it is the reason some people's wardrobes are full and unwearable while others' are small and entirely used.

The principle in one line

Buy fewer things, buy them better, and buy them for the life you actually lead rather than the one you imagine. The wardrobe gets smaller, the cost per wear falls, and getting dressed becomes considerably easier.

Related reading

• Your First Order on Seoul Street: Payment, Shipping, Tracking and Returns Shopping Guides
• Men's Ethnic Essentials: Building a Kurta Wardrobe That Works All Year Style Guides
• Colour Bleeding, Shrinkage and Pilling: How to Prevent the Three Big Ones Fabric & Care