As I’ve said in previous Wardrobe Watches, your closet is an investment. Every piece you own should be bought with consideration so that you don’t buy something you don’t need and end up giving away. It’s good to have a well-curated, high quality wardrobe of items you get use out of, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend top dollar for every item. If you are living on a limited budget (which most college students are), then you want to get the best bang for your buck when it comes to your clothes.

There are certain items that you should consider an investment, whereas others only have a limited life and shouldn’t break the bank. So here I want to go through some essential items and break down how much you should be spending on them. I also want to iterate that these rules don’t really apply to second-hand clothes. Thrifting is a great way to shop sustainably and find great, quality pieces, but for the purposes of this article, I want to focus on pieces that are bought new.

For basic T-shirts, don’t spend too much, but also don’t spend too little. There is no reason to spend more than $20+ for a plain white T-shirt that you’ll have to replace after a year or so. Likewise, relying on multibuy Hanes T-shirts that cost $3 per shirt is not good either because they won’t last or wash well. The sweet spot that I’ve found is the $10 to $20 range. For that, you’ll get something of high enough quality that will last. I recommend buying Uniqlo’s $10 Supima cotton T-shirts, as they are probably the best value I’ve found.

Staying on tops, spend as much as you can on jackets, suits and sweaters. These are higher-ticket, more specialized items made of finer fabrics and materials that should last for years. Investing as much as possible into these will guarantee that you’re getting good products that are durable and won’t fall apart over time. Getting high quality items is especially important for leather items, where the fabric will only get better and richer with time. Getting a cheap leather or suede jacket from H&M or Forever 21 is just a waste of money, as it is poorly crafted and will fall apart fast.

When it comes to bottoms, I would say spend as much as you care to. I’ve found great jeans at H&M for $20 and ones from Paige for $200 and everywhere in between. Chinos and cotton twill pants are about the same. Whatever makes have ones that fit you best or you find most comfortable is what you should get. The only exception is for suit pants, which should be at the higher end because it should always match your suit jacket.

Shoes and boots are the only places that you should absolutely not skimp out. If you properly take care of your shoes, they will last years, if not a lifetime. Cheap dress shoes will also look it, again, especially for leather. The look and feel of cheap compared to high-quality leather is like comparing night and day. However, shoes and boots can get very, very expensive, so your best bet is to look at places like Nordstrom Rack or other high-end outlets. You’ll be able to find shoes and boots from brands like To Boot New York and Allen Edmonds for well below 50% of the original price. By doing this, you’ll get high quality items for a fraction of the price, the best of both worlds.

As for sneakers, you pretty much know what you’ll get when shopping at places like Nike or Adidas. If you like a silhouette, style or particular color, then get it if you can afford it. But if you’re buying hyped sneakers on the second-hand market, make sure to not overpay and that you’ll be able to resell them later for equal or more.

These rules only really apply to basics, not any specialty items or branded items. For those kinds of items, spend within your means on items you really want. But don’t fall trap to trendy pieces that won’t be viable after one season. If you want to try a trend, buy a cheap version of the item or style and don’t blow your funds on something you won’t want to wear a month later.