Theory of Relativity

Lynn Yaeger is a freelance writer who until recently was employed by the Village Voice in New York as a writer and editor. If you love good writing and fashion, then you would love her work. After reading her article in the current issue of Vogue, I went back and pulled some of her pieces to read. One article was a description of the first day that H&M in New York brought in the lower line of Comme des Garcons. As I talked about in yesterday's blog, H&M brings in high-end designers to do low-priced lines. Comme des Garcons is a very edgy French line that appeals to people with a very "out there" sense of style. Anyway, Yaeger details how she practically raced to the store on opening morning and raced through the aisles pulling out what she wanted. It is funny and well-written. Another piece details her attempt to take a headphones tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which is narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker. Suffice it to say that the highlight of her tour is ending up in the gift shop and deciding what to buy. Again, very funny.

Anyway, her article in Vogue describes how she has been laid off from the Voice because of deep budget cuts. Though shocked by her dismissal since she had been working there her entire adult life, her biggest disappointment seems to be that she has to return a vintage diamond ring that she has recently bought. She also has to return a Lanvin purse (over $1,000), and she is bummed that she can't return the Comme des Garcons skirt she just bought from Saks because she wore it once.

The article goes on to detail how being laid off affects her shopaholic habits. Her income must now come from freelancing (but hey, if you are freelancing for Vogue, I'm not crying for you), and that means that she has to "budget". She figures that after everything is paid for...all bills and fixed expenses (cable and blackberry are non-expendable), she has $50 a day left to spend. Now in her world, this is depressing. She is no longer able to afford the $900 she normally pays for a sweater. The $118 blouse from Anthopolgie is a steal, but not as good as the $1,ooo Junya that she really wanted. Lunch is the $7.95 chicken-cutlet special. Despite all of the "sacrifices", she maintains a cheerful demeanor, and at the end of the article, she is met with the good news that a book editor wants to talk to her, she gets the freelance article from Vogue...and she gets to buy her diamond ring back.

It's all relative, isn't it? We all live according to our different inner recording of what is required and what is needed. My idea of expensive and your idea of what is expensive may be miles apart, but so may be the things that we are willing to sacrifice. I happen to love the Anthropolgie store, but to me $118 for a blouse is kind of high...and I would have to pace the floor for awhile before making the purchase. While I might realize that the blouse is a "knock-off" of the designer original, it would never occur to me to pay over $1,000 for the "real" blouse. I always wonder at what salary point one becomes able to justify this kind of spending...and I don't mean that in a judgemental way. Yaeger is a single, successful woman who probably made a substantial income. She infers that she needs to earn $92,000 a year to maintain a decent lifestyle...and this is a cut back. Since her occupation is based on her shopping exploits (how great!), it makes even more sense that she considers it necessary to "buy and try".

The flip side of this is more of a reality check. Yesterday I made a trip to TJ Maxx to buy writing notebooks. I fill up several of these a month with random ideas, quotes and words. If I buy them at the stationary store, they become a major expense, but at TJ maxx, I can even pick the pretty ones. As I walked into the store, I was drawn by that inexplicable force that always pushes me to the handbag section. I try to avoid it, but it's like a gravitational pull. As I perused the bags, nothing really caught my eye and I thought I was safe...until I spotted it. There it was, all alone, just ONE...a Lodis laptop case/tote in the most beautiful mohagany leather. I was really thrown. I stood and stared and then looked around to see if anyone else saw it. The coast was clear. Now the question was, would I look at the price? The thing is, I didn't come in looking for it, but I needed it. Not in the "necessities of life" sense of the word, but in the "I want to look professional" sense of the word. A few months back, at this same store, I had purchased a $7.99 faux-croc laptop holder. I use it, but I quickly realized that the fact that it does not stand alone or hold anything else is very limiting. This Lodis was not only gorgeous, but it was practical and useful. So I took the plunge...I looked at the price. $129, marked down from $275...now I had to pace. Was it too good to pass up? I thought yes, but I had to think. So I carried it with me all over the store. I found my cheap notebooks, picked up some clearance pillow cases, checked out the little girls clothes...all the while toting my tote.

Finally, when the decision could be put off no longer, I walked back to the purse area and set it down. I started to walk away, but then I saw another woman glance at it. That did it. I couldn't bear to actually SEE someone else get it. So I grabbed it and ran to the cashier. And that's when I heard the words that we all love to hear....the cute little cashier said..."Oh you got it!!! We just put this out and we only had one. Isn't it great?"....Well, yes it is, and of course, now I felt vindicated. I mean, if the cashier was complimenting me on my purchase, it had to be good.

Upon returning home, I quickly filled up my new purchase with computer, pens, cheap notebooks, etc...it was perfect. And even more so when I went to the Lodis website and saw that it was actually $295 and not even on sale.

So in the end, it all comes down to priorities. Lynn Yaeger needs her vintage diamond ring and I needed my Lodis tote. Everyone has their tipping point.

There is some good economic news today. The biggest British retail store, Tesco, says that it sees signs of life returning to the market place. So do Target, Macy's and even Amazon. They aren't saying that recovery will be quick, but they seem to think think the recession has bottomed out. I suppose time will tell will tell. And meantime, I can feel good about contributing to the recovery...right?

So until tomorrow, when I need to take a day to respond to reader comments...and also make some additions to "the List" ...