Dressing for Success, Or for the Lack Thereof

For some consumers, the annual clothing budget is the pivot around which all their finances revolve. For others, the term is a misnomer in its tacit assumption that we couldn’t possibly go through a whole year without spending something on clothes. (We could and we have.) Where on this spectrum does the average American fall? According to a Zogby poll, 1 percent spend in excess of $5,000 a year on clothes and 4.9 percent spend $2,000 to $5,000.