Everywhere you look, you can find people telling others not to spend too much on clothes. In the age of designer and ultra-designer brands, it’s easy to think otherwise—and even if you’re not investing in a Marc Jacobs “The Tote” or a Telfar Shopping Bag, stylish clothing that’s good quality can be on the expensive side. It’s just as easy to fall into fast fashion as it is into the newest expensive trends, but contrary to what others may say, you do actually need more expensive clothes.

SHEIN, Fashionnova, Forever 21, and H&M are fashion giants. Fast fashion’s pros and cons are well-documented and well-known, but less effort goes into the less appealing option of clothes that are neither ultra-expensive nor ultra-cheap. But ‘expensive’ clothes—which may run anywhere from $30-$200 per piece—are perfect even for fast fashion consumers.

Those who are used to the prices of fast fashion might not be eager to start spending more on what they wear. But if they shop only for pieces they think that they’ll wear for more than one trend cycle and focus on quality, they’ll find that it eventually becomes much cheaper than overconsumption of cheap clothes that last for a couple wears and only stay in style for a few weeks. When you find yourself returning to one item again and again, the price tag soon fades into the background—and the more you wear a single piece, the cheaper it’s actual price gets. Wearing a more expensive top several times over the course of months may easily prove cheaper than wearing a single ten dollar top once. 

When you’re used to buying lots of pieces at once for a relatively low price, it’s hard to see what would normally get you three or five items only buy one. But buying clothes that are high-quality and timeless forces you to think more about your own style and how you want to represent yourself. It stops the mindless cycle of buying something without thinking if it’s what you want or what other people deem fashionable. Being conscious of your style and presentation is even more rewarding than knowing you’re not feeding into a cycle of overconsumption and environmentally harmful overproduction. 

It’s also a matter of comfort. It’s hard to get used to spending more and buying less to buy what, at first, feels like clothes that are overly expensive for the same product. But for those who have experienced both, the difference in quality is both noticeable and worth the markup. No matter how much you love a fast fashion piece, there’s nothing worse than seeing it fall apart or pill after two or less washes: sometimes even before you can try it on. But shopping well depends on being mindful. It’s entirely possible to buy expensive pieces that you hate or that are low quality, and paying more truly isn’t worth it if you only wear a piece once or a couple times. 

Ultimately, the key to mindful, sustainable, and informed shopping is thinking carefully before you buy and making an effort to know yourself and your own style more deeply. Whatever that be, there are clothes out there that are perfect for you and worth owning for more than one season. You may have to pay up and you may not—but breaking the mental barrier behind costs might just give you the closet of your dreams.