When I was a freshman in high school, I used to sit in my seventh-period class every day itching to do something with my time other than listen to another boring lecture. I was always planning something—what my college dorm room would look like, crafts I wanted to make, extravagant events that I never intended to come to fruition—but my random planning sessions just weren’t fulfilling anymore. I needed something more consistent to satisfy my creativity.

I followed a couple of fashion blogs religiously at the time, but I was always disappointed by how expensive the outfits were and that pieces were often only worn once. One day I got the crazy idea to create a cost per wear spreadsheet to track all my clothes, to see just how much I was spending and how often I was wearing my own pieces. Having just learned how to write formulas in Excel in my Computer Apps class, I was beyond excited to put them to use in a fashion context. Suddenly, I had something to keep me occupied every day in seventh period—updating my spreadsheet with the day’s outfit.

More than a year later, in the summer of 2016, I decided to take my love of fashion and my cost per wear spreadsheet to the next level—starting a blog, originally called Graceful Rags. My goal for the blog was always to share affordable, practical fashion inspiration, with an emphasis on styling the same pieces multiple ways. To this day, that remains my favorite part of fashion—finding creative ways to rewear the same old items rather than constantly buying and styling new pieces. It’s why I get so much satisfaction out of tracking cost per wear and watching that price decrease over time.

In September 2024, I decided I was ready for a change. While I’ve always shared cost per wear details at the bottom of every blog post, I suddenly realized that what I viewed as the “heart” of my brand—cost per wear—was in reality a very small part of my content. I knew I wanted to pivot to emphasize cost per wear more in my blog posts and social media, which inspired my new name, Grace per Wear.

Grace per Wear is where I share outfit of the day roundups, styling trials and tips, month in review posts, thrifted finds, and the occasional travel post, all through the lens of cost per wear. I’ve found that tracking my clothes in this way helps me shop my closet and make better decisions while shopping new—so even though my style is eclectic, I have a good idea of what pieces I will and will not end up wearing when trying new trends and silhouettes. I always thought I was more the creative type, but cost per wear and my love of spreadsheets has made me realize I’m just as much—if not more—analytical.

Stick around and follow me on Instagram and TikTok to see my cost per wear obsession in action.

 

Miles of smiles,
Grace

 

Contact: graceperwear@outlook.com