Yet Another Recessionista Post: Stylish Economic Indicators

We realize we are obnoxious and repetitive and insist on reminding you of the very grim things you are probably trying to forget by browsing frivolous blogs.

But we can’t help it; we have nothing else to talk about. Every morning our inbox is flooded with 40-, 50-, 60-percent-off sales emails as suffering retail outlets desperately try to lure customers; every time we so much as walk by a shop or boutique, we start picturing our hardass Depression-era grandmother, who would kill us with her eyes if she were alive to see us contemplating an orange tweed jacket (even one 60 percent off) in times like these (or, actually, ever).

As we patted ourselves on the back for not. Buying. ANYTHING since September, we had never heard of the Lipstick Index or, more recently, the Hosiery Index.

But then we started seeing stories about these ridiculous yet apparently accurate economic indicators—which rely on the premise that as the economy nosedives, women stop buying clothes but still purchase small accessories as inexpensive pick-me-ups—and we realized that we are, in fact, walking economic cliches.

While we wisely refrained from that tweed jacket…we did buy a MAC Slimshine lipstick a month ago…and there were those couple pairs of tights we grabbed at Banana to spruce up old dresses and skirts. Oops.

The good news? While lipstick never goes on sale, we’ve been seeing some decent deals on tights, leggings, and socks.