Recessionista? Now Celebrities Are on the Bandwagon
What: Now that the term “Recessionista” is in, you’re going to see a ton of celebrities (and pseudo- celebrities), many of whom who would rather go a week without Botox than shop in “budget” store, pushing “budget friendly” items.
What They Say: From a very misguided press release we received: “The event was a “Recessionista” Trunk Show hosted by Lucy Sykes for the clothing line XCVI. Lucy was chosen as the host of the event because she understands that women want to look chic even in these tough economic times, and she brought with her friends and colleagues who support the same ideals. The event was on Friday, December 19th at the Bloomingdale’s on 59th Street in NYC from 7-9 pm, and was a preview of XCVI’s Spring line. The event was attended by numerous fixtures in NYC society, including Lucy’s husband, Euan Rellie, Susan Shin, Jen Bell, Lora Krulak, Katrina Pavlos, Elizabeth Reid, Melody Weir and many others.”
What I Say: It’s great that more folks are going frugal, but do we really believe that Lucy Sykes, former Marie Claire editor, is now all of a sudden frugal?
Here’s a quote from her bio on her site:
“The children’s line, which has a sophisticated European sensibility, became an instant press favorite from New York to London and a “must-have” for the babies of chic moms, celebrity clients and fashion editors. It is now available in over 60 stores internationally and has included Saks, Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Scoop and Yoya in the US, and Harrods and Selfridges in London.”
So exactly what is budget to her? The $70+ adorable children dresses she designs? Not to pick on Lucy, but it’s a bit of an insult to those who are actually living on a budget, or to use a term that is everywhere, true “recessionistas”, to have celebrities and other folks who’ve never had to look chic on a budget, most who don’t even buy their own clothes, “teach” us that do how to be a “recessionista”.
Case in point, I recently interviewed the editor in chief of a very high profile fashion related magazine that is trying to go budget. During the interview, I asked the editor what she thought about the Norma Kamali line at Wal-Mart and she expressed that she didn’t know about the line, even though it was featured in the magazine a month before. She later confessed she never been to a Wal-Mart and only to Target once in her life, despite an almost ubiquitous presence of these stores in the pages of her magazine.
So what do you think of the emergence of celebrities embrace of the term “Recessionista”? Do you think it’s possible to be both a “Recessionista” and continue to live a high income lifestyle?
| Posted by The Budget Fashionista
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Member Comments
I think some of these people are not in touch with reality. They are using the recessionista term as a hot new trend but do not understand the basics of budget fashion.
I remember reading an article about Isaac Mizrahi’s fashion shows and his ability to mix his target collection and high-end pieces together. The audience couldn’t tell the difference and often favored items from his target line. http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/mixinghighend_sdkt.htm
As it is often touted, fashion can be bought but style must acquired. It is often not about how much one spends but how one mixes it together. What about Sharon Stone’s gap t-shirt at the Oscars? Or Marc Jacob’s grunge-chic inspired collection from $5 flannel shirts and torn jeans?
Personally, I am not impressed with the sudden interest of being a recessionista. I am more impressed with people that look great on a budget all the time. Even as income grows, being wise about purchases should never go out the window. If I get a raise, I would prefer to invest and save rather than run to the mall. Besides, getting a bargain and looking great is always a lot of fun…
This sudden obsession with being “budget” among celebrities strikes me as being almost as disingenuous as various media outlets declaring that being environmentally friendly is “in”.
I would like to see how they translate their new found interests on the red carpet this season.
@targetbabe I wonder too and I think it is going to be interesting to see what is considered “budget”
I think these celebrities believe that they are jumping on the ‘Recessionista’ bandwagon, but this alone proves that they have no idea what it means to live on a budget. I don’t really think that those of us who live on a budget/have to buy our own clothes/ have to try to look great everyday with little cash to do so are necessarily ‘Recessionistas’ anyway. We’ve been doing this all along; thanks to places like this website, we’re all able to find more than we might have on our own. As TexanBargainHunter said, these celebs only see this ‘Recessionista’ thing as a trend, but just don’t get it. Perhaps the celebs have lost a little in the funding of their lifestyles, and they may fancy themselves to be great bargain shoppers, but they just don’t get it. When everything rebounds their wallets might get fatter and they will probably go back to showing off how much they can blow on a pair of sunglasses, but everyone else will be in recovery mode for a while and most of us will always be following a “Recessionista” mind-set pretty much forever. This is the life of the true Budget Fashionista I guess!
I agree with TexanBargain Hunter - it’s great that they are finally realizing how ridiculous it is to pay some of the prices they do, but there is still going to be a stigma about buying retail, discount, etc. once the economy bounces back. And the rest of us will still be getting great finds for much better prices. http://goodfashionforless.wordpress.com/