Recession Fashion Cents: A fashion primer on wardrobe planning in a recessionary climate.
With the current state of the economy only a small percentage of Americans can afford to go out and update their wardrobe with an entirely new collection. For us penny-pinchers or those of us who are what I like to call ballin' on a budget, adding a few one-of-kind, unique items to our existing collection is the better option to march into fall as a smart fashionista. Read more.
Posted on Jul 3, 2008 at 10:30AM
How does the recession affect fashionistas and beauty addicts? This beauty addict used to dart here and there in my car, never giving a second thought to how much money I was spending on gas. But darting from here and there last weekend, I thought, "What does it cost for this pleasure trip?"
In case you haven't noticed, we're spending twice as much to fill up our gas tank as we were 2- to 2-1/2 years ago. I know you've noticed. I have, too, And it really hit home when I calculated that the price of admission for my roundtrip frivolous, pleasure trip for said darting activity, which was about 20 miles roundtrip, was $5 in gas. I know that doesn't sound like much, but I'm thinking about the poor souls that drive back and forth to work and the fill-'er-up is up to $70.
The U.S. consumer did not start altering their behavior until gas hit about $3.50 per gallon. In financial-speak, that is called demand destruction. I didn't take notice until gas crept to $4 a gallon. In right-brain artistic speak, that is called cash-in-hand obstruction.
How does this affect beauty addicts and fashionistas?
Beauty addicts and fashionistas have already changed their shopping habits and are looking for creative ways to cut costs because of the soaring prices for fuel. The daily trade-offs include buying drugstore beauty products instead of department store beauty products, switching from Armani to Target's Mossimo. I know. It hurts.
What's your recession strategy? Are you making trade-offs? Will you shop more online?
Mother Blogger
Posted on Jun 5, 2008 at 8:43AM
We have not written a post recently about beautynomics, primarily because who wants to write about all that doom and gloom, but according to financial-istas (hot off the presses), it looks like Allergan --makers of Lumilash, Botox, Juvederm, Botox, and breast implants -- could have a good return on your investment. So you may want to add this to your stock portfolio investments, as well as your beauty portfolio.
According to Bernstein Research,
- The most important development presented yesterday was the unveiling of the Lumilash program. Lumilash makes eyelashes longer, darker and fuller and has minimal side-effects (it did not, as we feared, cause a change in eye color). We expect strong uptake and peak sales approaching $500M. (Girl-Woman will be one of the first bloggers to be testing and reviewing Lumilash.)
- The other key development was the announcement AGN is pushing forward the Juvederm with Lidocaine program where it now expects approval by YE09. This is a next generation dermal filler that could help AGN break the tie with MRX's Restylane – a largely equivalent product. Between Lumilash, Juvederm w/ Lidocaine and the Clinique products, Allergan is building a lead over other aesthetic companies, notably MRX -- Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. It is difficult to see aesthetic physicians being unhappy with AGN given the assortment of new products. (See Girl-Woman's comparison of Restylane and Juvederm). Additionally, according to my derm's office, there is a new kid on the block -- Radiesse. Radiesse is one of the longest-lasting dermal fillers available. Once it is injected, it actually stimulates the production of collagen. Girl-Woman will test Radiesse in the future and compare it to Juvederm and Restylane.
- There is also solid mid term progress which may come to fruition around 2010. The FDA may consider reducing the number of cycles required in the Botox-OAB clinical trials. There were also no delays in follow on Lap-Band programs in adolescence and lower BMI patients.
Although Botox's reputation was in question when Italian scientists discovered that Botox goes to the brain and when the Food and Drug Administration linked the product to side effects that caused deaths in some children being treated for cerebral palsy, many have postulated that the large dose used to decrease the spasticity in the children was the cause for the deaths.
On the flip side, doctors are advising “There is no need for alarm because even though Botox is transported along the nerve fiber as far as the brainstem, it is biologically metabolized and broken down along the way and simply has no other place it can act other than where it got absorbed, at the nerve terminal."
The breast implant market is also dominated by Allergan, and some analysts believe that although the fears of a recession will slow the growth of the implant market, sales will continue to blossom.
Although this could be a good stock for your portfolio -- investment or beauty --if financial sacrifices have to be made, do you think luxury consumers will forgo Jimmy Choo shoes so that they can continue their $500 to a $1,000 Botox and Juvederm habit? How about the $7,000 price tag associated with breast implants?
Source: Bernstein Research, Alan Gal
Posted on Feb 25, 2008 at 7:37AM
In these political and uncertain economic times, we girls can still look like a million bucks in a "recession" or a "downturn." According to Nandini D'Souza, a self-proclaimed frugal fashion editor, $500 is the new $300. Women who would normally spend two month's of a minimum wage earner's salary on a Louis Vuitton/Richard Prince handbag are scaling down their purchases. In this month's Harper Bazaar in an article entitled, "Why Does It Cost So Much: As Fashion Prices Go Up, Up, Up, How To Cope And Still Look Cool," I could almost hear D'Souza sighing when she wrote, "There's a chorus of fashion lovers singing the budget-busted blues."
Looking like a millions dollars in today's dollars is as easy as getting back to basics. According to Harper's Bazaar Great Style, the basics are white tees, cashmere cardigans, white jeans, trousers, a shift dress, a tux, a boucle jacket, and a camel overcoat, while the pieces worth spending big money on are a coat, chunky knits, blouses, a real or faux fur, a cocktail dress, and an evening gown. Using those fashion pieces to guide you, figure out what suits your age, your body shape, and lifestyle. That's your basic personal uniform. To keep your "uniform" fresh and updated, add an inexpensive piece that is trendy and current.
According to D'Souza, "The best way to stretch your dollar while still looking like a million of them is to think long-term investment, like buying diversified stocks." According to The Hubster, financial advisor extraordinaire, the trend in uncertain times is to position your portfolio with larger more well-known companies. In fashion-speak -- I am now translating -- that would be positioning yourself with classic Chanel boots for instance. To keep my wardrobe portfolio well positioned, I always try to do the cost-per-wear equation in my head before before pulling out my wallet. Adding an inexpensive trendy handbag or piece of jewelry puts my recessionary wardrobe ahead of the curve.
Looking like a million bucks in a recession is a simple equation: Investment pieces plus inexpensive trendy pieces equals a-million-bucks style.
(Sources:
Harper's Bazaar)
Posted on Feb 15, 2008 at 11:10AM
Uno, the first beagle to win Best In Show at the Westminster Dog Show, rang the NASDAQ stock market opening bell at 9:30 this morning. Beagles are long shots on the green carpet, as is the red carpet retail/re-tail sector as predicted by Wall Street analysts. "Recession" and "a deeply softened economy" are words being tossed around like Uno's frisbee.
Consumers are worried about the economy, and so are the beagles. "My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99cents a can. That's almost $7.00 in dog money -(Weinstein).
With the economy being vulnerable and women with less disposable income, smart women will continue to shop beauty products and apparel on the Internet, looking for the best deals and steals. Below are a few sites to keep you girls happy:
- She Finds scans the Internet for online shopping "finds."
- Budget Fashionista shows you how to be fabulous for less.
- Coupon Cowboy provides coupons and coupon discounts.
- Stiletto Jungle is another online shopping for the fashionable women.
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Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog gives the smart women and girl independent reviews of beauty products and fashion. (Sorry about the plug.)
If the market continues to go down, maybe we should consider the philosophy of The Haute Beagle (not Uno, but the dog that sits faithfully at my right while I write my daily posts): Snuggle up to someone you love, eat with gusto and enthusiasm, and delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
