Its funny how sometimes simple things like an over-the-top shopping spree by a celebrity will set off a fashion trend. No, we’re not talking about Angelina Jolie’s shoes or Jennifer Aniston’s bikinis.

The issue at stake here is the impact of Sarah Palin’s $150,000 wardrobe makeover, wherein her handlers bought expensive designer clothes for her from Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. Photo by S Baker via flickr (creative commons).

I have nothing to say about what effect this has on the election results, but one place where the impact is already being felt is in New York’s upscale fashion boutiques on Fifth Ave, which are being ostracized not only due to concerns of ‘political incorrectness’, but also due to genuine concerns about spending so much money when the economy, especially New York’s economy, is in the tank.

A slew of articles are underscoring this shift towards budget shopping, or frugal shopping or whatever you want to call it. In fact, Natasha Singer, writing for the New York Times, tells of a name for this new breed of style maven on a budget - Recessionistas. Welcome to “recession chic” and its personification, the “recessionista,” the new name for the style maven on a budget. That the word represents the times could explain why Sarah Palin’s new wardrobe ($75,000 at Neiman Marcus and nearly $50,000 at Saks) struck some as distasteful.

The one who came up with the word is Mary Hall from Los Angeles, CA, who explains on her blog her take of this new mutant species of shoppers called Recessionistas. To me, Recessionistas are people struggling to survive some of the recent economic challenges while still enjoying a few of life’s pleasures… the goal is to take moderate steps towards a lifestyle change. I was asked on the Big Idea if I think frugal is the “new chic.” And it might be for some, but for some, they’ve been shopping like this for a long time. Now the frugality is extending its reach to everyday life for more of us.

Point here is that shoppers were already feeling the pinch, but due to concerns about being labeled as ‘unfashionable’, nobody wanted to be the first to dump the upscale boutiques. Sarah Palin’s shopping spree, and the resultant public outcry over it, gives people just that excuse to back out of high-end designer threads.

Regardless of where Palin ends up - Washington DC or Juneau, Alaska - she’s already pulled the rug out from under Fifth Ave shopping. Add this to the list of things impacted by the Palin Effect. Vacations in New York will never be the same again.

Posted on October 29th, 2008 by Thomas
Filed under: NYC, News