If you’re the sort of person who’s used to getting clothes for cheap, you may find it ridiculous that some people would drop more than 100 dollars on a pair of jeans from a high-end brand. You wouldn’t be the only one to think this way, either. We live in a culture of abundant, frequent sales and endless fast fashion stores that offer all the latest styles. Many of us have long been conditioned to believe that it doesn’t make sense to spend on clothing when so many inexpensive options are readily available.

Contrary to popular belief, however, buying higher-end clothing isn’t just about getting to flaunt designer labels. Fans of quality clothing will tell you that good apparel is an investment that will bring you abundant returns over time. More than a famous name, you’ll ultimately be paying for pieces that have assuredly been made to much higher standards of quality than anything you can get off the clearance rack.

If you stop to think about it, there are plenty of reasons to spend more on higher-quality clothes. Here are just a few of the most compelling:

You’ll Get More Use Out of Each Piece

Too often, many of us fall into the trap of buying a cheap piece of clothing, wearing it once or twice, and then forgetting about it. These clothes are often so inexpensive that it’s easy to treat them as essentially disposable, but it’s unlikely that you’ll be so slapdash with pieces that cost you more to buy. Whether you’re shopping for a cocktail dress, a pair of jeans, or just some basic socks for women, spending more on a particular item of clothing may motivate you to wear it more frequently.

Committing to buying higher quality, more expensive clothes also means you’ll inevitably buy fewer pieces over time. Having fewer clothes overall, in turn, means that you’ll have to mix and match what you do have to generate a variety of interesting looks. Not only is this practice ideal for saving valuable closet space, but it’s great for your creativity, too. Over time, rotating your clothes around in different combinations will enhance your styling sensibilities more and more.

In general, it’s always a good idea to spend the most on items that you’re sure you’ll wear again and again. Try to avoid buying pieces that you can only take out during a particular season or pieces that you’re primarily interested in because they’re trendy. Instead, look for classic, versatile clothes that you can wear year-round regardless of what styles might be in fashion at the time.

Your Clothes Will Last Longer

How many times have you bought an inexpensive garment on sale, only to find yourself contending with tears, loose seams, stretching, fading, and other problems after just a few wears? Inexpensive clothes are mass-produced in factories, which means that there’s unlikely to be a ton of thought and care put into the way they’re made.

As mentioned previously, clothes from higher-end brands are often better made than their cheaper counterparts. To start with, they’re likely to be made from quality fabrics, which generally tend to be more durable. These pieces will also probably have more stitches per inch to help them keep their shape over the years, no matter how many times you wear them.

Your Clothes Will Feel and Fit Better

Besides lasting longer, you’ll often find that clothing made from more expensive materials also looks much better and feels much nicer to wear than cheap clothing. If you’ve ever touched pure cashmere or a bolt of silk, for instance, you’ll know that high-quality fabric feels like a dream. Pieces made from these fabrics are clothes you’ll surely want to live in, and that alone makes them well worth the investment.

In many cases, expensive clothes are more likely to fit you better. Cheap clothes are usually sized for a particular standard body type, and they may not suit those with more unconventional shapes or proportions. Clothes from higher-end stores, meanwhile, will likely feature superior tailoring and more thought-out designs that make them fit well from the get-go.

You’ll Be Less Tempted to Impulse Buy

It’s easy to justify regular impulse purchases if you only spend a few dollars on a piece of clothing. In the long run, however, these buys can add up fast, leading to a hefty credit card bill at the end of the month. You may also find yourself picking up items you don’t really love (and may not even wear more than once) because you can get them for cheap.

Quality items, however, are much harder—if not impossible—to impulse buy simply because they cost more. Spending more than you’re used to on a particular item will motivate you to do your research, compare your options, and choose pieces that you truly see yourself wearing.

You’ll Depend Less on Fast Fashion

By now, most people are aware of the immense negative impact that fast fashion has on the environment. The textile factories that produce these garments, for example, are major sources of toxic wastewater and greenhouse gas emissions. Many items from fast fashion brands are also likely to be disposed of quickly as trends change and certain pieces fall out of style, often through incineration or dumping in landfills.

Furthermore, fast fashion is also plagued with ethical issues surrounding labor and human rights. Many brands in the industry have their clothing made in sweatshops, where labor is cheap and working conditions are often oppressive. Workers in garment factories often have to contend with long hours, low pay, and numerous occupational hazards.

If you’d like to invest in a more sustainable wardrobe, it may also be worthwhile to look up brands that are committed to ethical modes of production. Most sustainable fashion businesses sell their clothes for higher prices than mainstream brands, but many may consider it a worthy investment to support companies with better business practices.

At the end of the day, deciding to spend more on your wardrobe may actually lead you to spend less on the whole. If your clothes are more durable, versatile, and comfortable to wear, you’ll feel the itch to replace them less often. Investing in well-made pieces that you truly love will make both you and your bank account much happier in the long run.