Recession in a Lexus

This story on Andrew Sullivan's site about a homeless family bathing their young children at an Orange County gas station is heartbreaking.  A curious detail is that they were driving "a nice sedan - maybe a Lexus."  

If it was indeed a Lexus, does the car speak to years of one family's overspending and undersaving leading to this terrible situation?  We'll never know, but the irony of finding a homeless family in a Lexus is stark.

All about Recessionista

Lest more Marie Antoinettes contract hypothermia wandering Madison Avenue in fruitless search of their favorite stores, it's time for them to go home, warm up, and dial their therapists. Their worst nightmare has hit, in the form of this Reuters headline:

Recessionistas In, Fashionistas Out in Bad Economy

So it seems that Recessionistas — or, those who enjoy being fashionable on a budget — are replacing Fashionistas as the "It" Girls of our economically-beleaguered moment.  

While Fashionistas have been pouting and wingeing about the major cramp the Economaggedon has put in their outrageous lifestyles, Recessionistas have been quietly emerging from the wings, hunting down online bargains, picking up Fashionista cast-offs at their local Goodwill branch, and (gasp) nourishing themselves with home cooking. 

Now, armed with their very own blog and a growing list of articles detailing the tenets of their cause, Recessionistas are taking center stage. 

Here's a choice quote from the Reuters piece about how Fashionista habits are now passé:

"There is something grotesque about paying full price -- $2,500 - $3,500 on a handbag. It is such a dumb thing to do," said Mandi Norwood, former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and Mademoiselle magazines. "It is very chic to save and very chic to get a deal. Any girl wants to look stylish but also be perceived as smart." 

So, then, it took nothing less than a global economic meltdown to make being "a smart girl" hip.  Fine, we'll take it.