Economic truth in the Fashion section

[Cassandra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/fashion/22market.html?_r=1&ref=fashion&oref=slogin

" So there may be something else holding people back from buying clothes, something that doesn’t entirely square with the image of crowded Manhattan restaurants, wild art auctions and throbbing shoe salons.

“Sure the economy is a factor if you know what’s coming,” said Peggy Shafiroff, whose husband works in the financial markets, as she was killing time at Henri Bendel before a hair appointment. Ms. Shafiroff said she had bought a Chanel bag this fall but that’s it. There were lots of clothes she liked, but it kind of irked her, she said with a mild laugh, that “everything now seems to cost $2,500.” The message she got from her husband and their friends on Wall Street, she said, was “batten down the hatches, the storm is coming.” And considering other pressures, like energy costs, she thinks that’s prudent.

A private-equity manager at a leading bank who follows retail, and who requested anonymity, said, “We may get by this year, but there’s a lack of optimism in the country and I think that lack of optimism will put a damper on Christmas spending.” Another source of concern, he said, echoing opinions in the art-auction market, is the staggering amounts of wealth in regions of the Middle East and Asia and the dominating effect such clout is likely to have.

“They’re price-insensitive,” he said of those areas, “and that’s going to be tough on Americans. We’re not the richest guys on the block anymore.”"

I've been buying clothes because I've lost a lot of weight and I can't walk around looking like a rag doll, but I've been buying at Filene's Basement, Loehmen's, online sales and outlets, with a couple of good pieces and making do with some things from last year that still fit. If I had piles of money, I still wouldn't want to spend $5K on a jacket, although I would go for better quality cashmere and a new coat (and better shoes).
I wonder what the Wall street types think when they see all the financial happy talk in the papers and on TV.

[Deja Q]

1. So we're not the richest nation on Earth?

[brokensymmetry]

2. The most important sentence you'll read this year:

"The message she got from her husband and their friends on Wall Street, she said, was “batten down the hatches, the storm is coming.”

You can hang your hat on that one. You can put it in the bank.

By the way...that storm is going to be a force 5 hurricane.

For that one sentence, I did a K&R.

The rest of the article is interesting, but reflect on the sentence.

[SpiralHawk]

4. "Not my fault. The Clenis is responsible." - Commander AWOL

"Before you noisy proles* get all bent out of shape, let me go on the record now as saying there is absolutely NO WAY that I or my cabal of corrupt republicon homelander cronies can be blamed for this economic shit storm. According to the AUTHORITATIVE statements of Rush "Oxycontin & Viagra" Limbaugh, all these future problems are directly traceable to The Clenis. Smirk, smirk, smirk."

- Commander AWOL

[brokensymmetry]

6. Too true, SpiralHawk, too true.

I hope your Thanksgiving is a good one.

[Cassandra]

7. That one sentence was why I posted this.

And why do we see the likely truth in the FASHION section of the NYTimes? Why isn't that sentence, with an accompanying article, on the front page of the business section? Do the insiders just consider our economic problems to be cocktail party conversation and information for their own private use, while the rest of us get the happy talk (the better to be the chumps left holding the bag)?

[brokensymmetry]

8. The truth is bad for business...

but thanks for posting it!

And I hope that you, also, had a great Thanksgiving.

[Cassandra]

9. I had a lovely Thanksgiving.

Walked to a friend's, had a nice dinner with friends, spent nothing (although I did bring a nice bottle of wine which I bought 6 years ago).

[lonestarnot]

3. Pretentious bullshit people dim their own gems of wisdom.

Shitstorm in the face of implossion is assured as is the monthly Iraq bill which is not sustainable. Alternative energy and hurry!

[flvegan]

5. Pompous blowhards pissing about not selling enough $5k Chanel jackets...

that's a lot of perspective.

At least the declining dollar isn't hurting them, as referenced in the article. Yay.