I was flipping through old magazines and came across this witty but totally wrong headline: “Fashion 401K: The Investment Pieces.” The magazine took the expensive-clothing-as-investment theme further with the subtitle, “Traditional pieces … that earn interest as you wear them and wear them.”
Oh, please. There’s enough confusion and emotion around money and investing without someone telling us that a designer $805 shirt will earn us “interest.” I’m a big fan of spending on (and donating to) what you love, but let’s get the facts straight. Most of the $800 pricetag is paying the store for the retail markup and for the beautiful ads you see in the same magazine. Expensive clothes will rapidly lose value after purchase, as ebay and vintage stores can attest to.
When was the last time you got an account statement saying that your clothes just paid a dividend so you could go shop more? Or the last time you sold your car for more than what you bought it for? As Investopedia.com



