'Bout That Life

For whatever reason, I've been wearing a lot of sweater vests lately. Probably because it's been so warm, and I want to "cover up" without "covering up", ya know? Also, there's something about a sweater vest that really elevates an outfit. Or am I the only one that thinks that?

Button-Down, Sweater Vest: Hand-Me-Down, Trousers: JCrew, Boots: Zara, Sunglasses: Noto,
Jewelry: Assorted

It's a great triumph to me when I can style an entire outfit out of thrifted or hand-me-down pieces. So for the days when I cave and buy a pair of (amazing) trousers from the JCrew Holiday sale, I sometimes feel like I'm cheating - like try a little harder and look for just as amazing of a pair at the Goodwill. It just gets worse when I pair said trouser with boots from a Zara summer sale, and I feel like a failure.  

However, the other day I had a brain blast - don't get so down on yourself, homette (my hilarious friend, Devon, called me that one day, and I love it). Half your outfit is hand-me-down and the other half new. So what? The CPW (cost per wear) on all the items included has to be close to zero by now.  

Long story long, maybe I should start evaluating my triumph over styling an outfit by the CPW? 

What do you think? How do you measure your personal satisfaction with an outfit (beyond how it looks on you)? Or am I the only person that does this?

PS: Items from a local business don't count in the equation - they get all the feel good points.