Real cost of cheap clothes

Gino made the following comment regarding this post, and I'd love to build on it.


 I think its because so much clothing is so affordable (compared to days past) we buy stuff and decide we don't like it after wearing it once or twice (I have lots of new shirts that meet this standard.)
(and a stack of jackets because I always just grab the old reliable that I've worn for almost 15yrs and still looks good)


Now for starters, exactly true.  Many of us, myself included, have had to deal with clothes we purchased because "it was cheap."   But let's price this out fully.  Let me assume that I've got about thirty garments taking up about 2' of my 2' deep closet, and I've got another 2' x 2' in walking space in front of those curtain rods. 


So those thirty garments--I got 'em cheap for $300, $10 apiece--are requiring eight square feet of space to store, which costs me about $800 to purchase in my home and about $80/year to maintain that space in my home.  Yes, not too many of us buy a bigger home with the intention of filling up that space, but how many of us buy a bigger home because the space is already filled, or so we can get rid of a storage space?


And I've got to say that the $1100 plus $80/year for all those garments could get me a couple of really nice shirts and jackets that I'd be happy with for a long time.  Say that Harris tweed jacket Mrs. Bubba saw last weekend and dearly hoped would have been available in a 48L.