What was the first nice thing you bought yourself for your wardrobe?

And I mean, really nice. Like, choked a little as you handed over your credit card to the salesperson at the store-nice?

For me, it was a pair of 7 For All Mankind bootcut jeans.

…A style which, in my defense, was cool at the time!

I was eighteen years old, taking a gap year in New York City, living paycheck to paycheck as a receptionist at a fancy hair salon.

On a day off, I hurled myself in the direction of Bloomingdales, determined to purchase a really amazing pair of jeans.

I spent the better part of the afternoon wading through the denim section and left hours later, the proud new owner of a pair of designer denim.

Now, I know that in 2023, 7 For All Mankind doesn’t set off any “Ooh, you so fancy” bells, but back then? That brand was schmancy with a capital “SCH.”

Sure, there was that puffer vest I had in high school from Abercrombie that looked pretty damn cool. But these jeans were over a hundred bucks! Practically a fortune!

In fact, it was the first time I’d scaled three digits on a price tag.

This purchase set me off on really well-made denim, and I’ve never looked back. Those jeans felt good, at a time when I was feeling insecure about my teenage wardrobe. They didn’t stretch out. I almost never had to wash them. My butt always looked amazing in them. What’s not to love?

I wore those jeans more than any others in my closet because they made me look and feel like a million bucks. So you would think this seminal purchase would mean I never struggled to invest in my wardrobe ever again.

And yet! The awareness that quality trumps quantity is a motto I have to remind myself of even now.

Because, hey, I get it. It’s so much easier to spend 1/4 the price on the same – “same” – item from a big box store, or something off the clearance rack discounted because it’s an older style, or a color that’s trendy, not timeless.

When you have something nicer than you’re used to, it feels different. You feel different. More confident. More attractive.

Think about how you feel in a new relationship. This wondrous creature who cares about you—you!—makes you feel like Superman.

If she’s with you, then you must really be something.

That’s why investing in your wardrobe can be worth the sticker shock.

Barring a new love, the right clothes and accessories can replicate this Popeye-post-spinach effect.

If you’re wearing that great blazer in your closet that fits you just so, or the amazing sneakers you’ve wanted forever, you feel the effect creep across your whole body.

Now, I don’t know about you, but my clothing budget doesn’t allow for unlimited spending (yet?!), so I’m not advocating you go out and run up a credit card bill longer than your arm on the nicest everything.

RELATED: How to Save Money on Clothes

But I am saying that you may want to consider saving that budget up, skipping the sales rack and the cheaper-but-not-really-that-great items til you can afford the bigger ticket item you really want.

And, of course, “big ticket” means different things to different people.

One man’s J.Crew Ludlow suit may be another man’s Prada tux.

Shopping with quality in mind, whatever that means for you, will elevate your wardrobe, and your confidence along with it.