Magazines Acknowledge The Cost of Clothes: A Recession Fashion Rundown
So, the U.S. is teetering on the brink of a recession. While there is a smattering of financial advice scattered throughout the July issues, the magazines focus on something far more important than investments and job security: looking good! Priorities! The best investment to weather an economic crisis is, apparently, your wardrobe. I’m no financial expert, but based on what’s in the magazines this month, I will say this: If Forever 21 ever goes public, buy.
Nearly all the magazines offer looks at lower prices, but considering the source, lower-priced is not necessarily low-end. Here’s a breakdown of the style sticker shock:
Bazaar
One page of “Hottest, Newest, Latest” is devoted to “fashion at AFFORDABLE prices.” It was wise to emphasize the word “affordable,” because otherwise—well, see for yourself.
Total number of deals: 6
Their idea of dirt cheap: A $69 Banana Republic scarf
Most expensive bargain: A $395 Elie Tahari clutch
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: $140 J. Crew flats
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: A $450,000 Neil Lane for De Beers bracelet
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: A $46,650 Balenciaga dress. No, it isn’t woven from gold. Why do you ask?
Cosmopolitan
“How to Shop Summer Sales” blends fashion with suggestions to befriend a saleswoman and keep your receipts for price adjustments. Original!
Total number of deals: 14
Their idea of dirt cheap: A $49 dress from Macy’s
Most expensive bargain: A $158 necklace, Marc by Marc Jacobs
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: $48 DKNY jeans
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: A $575 3.1 Philip Lim dress
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: Cosmo neglects to list prices for the most expensive items, like the YSL cardigan worn by a model riding a jetski. Where else would you wear such a sweater?
Elle
An eight-page spread, “Le Cheap, C’est Chic!,” is annoyingly teased on the cover with the line “No She Didn’t!” Because, you know, spending less than $150 on an item of clothing is totally a novel lifestyle choice and not a necessity!
Total number of deals: Who can tell what Elle thinks is “cheap”? They’ve got Forever 21 mixed with Burberry.
Their idea of dirt cheap: A $6 bead necklace and, the fashion find of the century, a $7 Hanes t-shirt. Thanks for uncovering that hidden gem, Elle!
Most expensive bargain: Elle’s “inexpensive” clothes are paired with thousands of dollars of jewelry, as if that’s the only way to redeem them. The highest-priced piece in “Le Cheap” is a $3,990 diamond ring.
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: $48 Levi’s denim shorts worn by Mary-Kate Olsen
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: A $5,600 Marchesa satin dress
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: Ludicrous $300 square sunglasses by Luella by Linda Farrow. People aren’t actually going to buy those, right? Right?
Glamour
Bargains are splashed across one page, “Summery work stuff—all less than $40,” and a high-low feature, “Your Summer Extras.”
Total number of deals: 12 for sure; the high-low feature doesn’t designate what is what. A $40 scarf could go either way.
Their idea of dirt cheap: A $10 Shop Suey ring
Most expensive bargain: A $70 Roberta Freymann tote (assuming this is what counts for low-end in Glamour’s universe. Since another page in the same story features a $795 straw hat, I think it must.)
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: A $25 Chinese Laundry belt
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: The $12,000 Louis Vuitton Speedy mentioned here
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: Gotta be that hat.
InStyle
An anemic single page is devoted to “Deals & Steals.”
Total number of deals: 7
Their idea of dirt cheap: $14 aviator sunglasses by Shop Suey
Most expensive bargain: A $139 MNG by Mango dress
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: An $18 American Apparel t-shirt
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: An $88,000 Van Cleef and Arpels ring
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: An $18,000 Donna Karan crocodile bag. It’s just a purse.
Lucky
An entire feature, “The Season’s Best Looks Under $100,” is given over to low-price style.
Total number of deals: 67
Their idea of dirt cheap: An $18 Mossimo for Target top
Most expensive bargain: Tie: at $99, a “tiered maxiskirt” by WDNY International and a Tommy Hilfiger cotton dress
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: A $7 Metro 7 tank top
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: A $1,465 bracelet by Steven Dweck
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: Chanel charges $1,225 for a belt. A belt! I regret not launching a career in luxury fashion.
Marie Claire
They’ve spread the discounts throughout: there’s one page of “101 Ideas,” one page of “Splurge vs. Steal,” and a feature, “Black & White,” that’s high-low.
Total number of deals: 40
Their idea of dirt cheap: $7 Hue socks (Thanks, Marie Claire, I was really overspending on socks.)
Most expensive bargain: $300 Marciano shoes (worn with the $7 Hue socks, natch)
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: $5.80 Forever 21 sunglasses
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: An $18,800 Cartier ring
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: A Chanel top and skirt set that retails for the low, low price of $10,745.
Self
Looks like all the clothes shown in the fashion features under $100, which is excellent.
Total number of deals: 100, according to the cover
Their idea of dirt cheap: It’s a tie at $8 for a Forever 21 necklace and Old Navy earrings
Most expensive bargain: Another tie, this one at $99, for a Nahui Ollin tote, an RJ Graziano necklace, and a $99 Tommy Hilfiger clutch. Those are special prices for Self readers, however, so this hews dangerously close to cheating.
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: See above for $8 jewelry.
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: That tank top Anne Hathaway is wearing on the cover? Yeah. It’s $845, and she’s wearing it with necklaces whose combined total is $5,300.
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: $49 jelly shoes, but probably only because I’m old enough to remember buying jellies the first time around.
Vogue
In “The Economists,” Vogue editors offer “inspired finds under $500 (plus one key investment piece).” Oh, thank god, because I needed help to find clothes that cost so little.
Total number of deals: 31, not counting the home décor and investment pieces
Their idea of dirt cheap: A $127 Sykes London belt
Most expensive bargain: Seven items retail for $495, including a John Varvatos coat, a Moschino Cheap and Chic skirt, and a 3.1 Philip Lim dress. (You didn’t think they’d go four whole pages without mentioning Lim, did you?)
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: A $150 YSL dickey
Priciest item elsewhere in the magazine: A $16,600 Cartier watch
Item whose price makes me question the wisdom of capitalism: Hands down, the dickeys were the most egregiously priced items I saw in any of the magazines. Vogue featured two: a $150 YSL version and a $395 Prada one. That’s an awful lot of scratch for something that isn’t even a real shirt.
Awesome, awesome, awesome post!
I've always wondered how fashion magazines will exploit--or ride on--the recession that's happening in the country.
I have to admit, I thought they'd show very delusional concepts for "cheap," as in a $400 summer dress is considered affordable for them. But seeing as how they're at least able to--horror!--use mass-market brands like Forever 21, you can see their sincerity.
But I still can't forgive the 10,745 Chanel combo from Marie Claire. Does it massage a woman's nipples every 5 minutes?
Posted by: Adam | June 20, 2008 at 09:32 PM
Dickies? DICKIES?!? Even funnier-- a YSL Dickie! I think of a Murphy Brown dream sequence in which she is attending her own funeral and she's displayed in an open casket. She peers in the coffin and yells, "A dickie! I'm DEAD. Dead In a DICKIE!"
Vogue's ongoing attempt to reach out to their readers-- the "Shape Issue", this current (what I call it) "Recession Issue"-- is pathetic at best.
Posted by: T-Bone | June 21, 2008 at 07:30 AM
Wow. That's just insulting.
On the one hand, they don't give a crap about the people who can't afford the stuff in their magazine, but then again, they don't have to. But perhaps they do provide a little "don't you wish you could live like this" escapism (or feel they do).
I think if they actually did say, "if you're broke, you could probably pick up something that looks pretty nice at Sears" that would bother their readership, especially those who could never afford a $400 dickie. They don't want realism - this is all fantasy.
Posted by: Mary | June 22, 2008 at 07:36 AM
what a disappointment. the sad thing is that there are REALLY cheap, cute clothes that you can mix and match and still look as great. I'd love to see them do a real spread where they see how dirt cheap they could go
Posted by: vanessa | June 23, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Cheapest item elsewhere in the magazine: $140 J. Crew flats
How do J. Crew and Banana Republic get away with charging $140 flats? I've never understood this. I would lie awake at night wracked with guilt. The Gap charges $50 for flats at most, and considering the Old Navy/Gap/Banana Republic hierarchy, pricing shoes at more than twice the cost of the mid-tier "basics" store is absurd.
My $12.95 Target flats are just fine.
Posted by: laylaness | June 23, 2008 at 03:47 PM
As annoying as I usually find Lucky, I really did like their "cheap" pages - there were quite a few things I liked and most of the prices seemed reasonable. I could do without their awful descriptions, but I guess most magazines do that.
I don't know why Vogue even bothers though - I doubt their readers are looking to save a lot of money.
And I agree with whoever griped about J.Crew's shoe prices! I also do not get it.
Posted by: Becca | June 23, 2008 at 04:57 PM
I remember a fashion spread in a teen magazine about 15 years ago that was entirely stuff that you could get at KMart, Target, and Wal-Mart. Really. The main point of the spread was something like "Get a new back-to-school wardrobe without blowing everything you earned at your summer job!" Nearly everything was less than $20, and there were several complete outfits for less than $50.
I thought it was awesome-- several pages of cute clothes that real teenagers could afford on a part-time McJob salary! What a concept! Of course, I never saw a feature like that again, and now even the teen magazines feature single items that cost one or more of my grown-up paychecks. Bah.
Posted by: Olga | June 24, 2008 at 09:23 AM
Great post!
I'd run right out and buy that Prada dickie if I didn't have to buy another shirt to wear over it. What a steal!
Posted by: Iheartfashion | June 30, 2008 at 02:28 PM
You couldn't PAY ME $400 to wear a dickey.
Posted by: Jessica | June 30, 2008 at 06:57 PM
J. Crew flats are only worth it when they're on sale for $19.99. I've had one leather lined pair for 4 years now and they've held up remarkably well considering that I wear them nearly every day.
Posted by: Jane | October 17, 2008 at 11:17 AM