Even Harper’s Bazaar, a magazine that I love, has a page in September’s issue called “Smart Shopping—Best Buys for Every Budget”. Here are the items listed on the page:

DKNY jacket—$425

Kulson Vest—$430

Coach pump—$196 (the cheapest item)

Miu Miu bag—$545

Tory by TRB top—$775

Patricia Underwood Hat—$220

Exactly whose budget are they talking about? Paris Hilton’s? Oprah’s?

Bazaar, a magazine known for glamour and high brow taste, should be embarrassed to even try to wax poetic on anything dealing with the term “budget.”  Magazines like Bazaar and Vogue are not—and should never be—budget focused. They are aspirational, fulfilling our Chanel.com”>Chanel and Lanvin covered dreams. The occasional Isaac Mizarhi for Target is acceptable, but other than that show us the stuff we can put on our mental fashion wish list.

This obsession with the term “budget” just shows how out of touch those in the world of fashion media are with the rest of the world.  If they were in touch or on a budget themselves they would know that $200 bucks for a pair of shoes is not cheap. Cheaper than Manolo’s, yes, but not cheaper than, say, a pair of Hype shoes from DSW. Bazaar should do what it does best—give us clothes to lust for and styles to imitate. Leave the budget stuff to the rest of us.