Posts Tagged ‘Recession’

I’m talking about malls and how they are one of the biggest losers in this recession we are in. But not because all of these other little stores are going out of business, it’s because the larger retailers like JC Penny’s can’t get the traffic in!! AND no one wants to buy anything because gas is so expensive!! Why would I drive to the mall (if I lived in a mall market) when I could be saving that gas to go to work?? Tune in if you are near a TV- I go on at 2:50 pm EST! Also, thank you to everyone that wrote in with their “time management” suggestions- will post those a little later.

Last week got a little bananas, but I PROMISED to upload my points about how to dress in a recession from my segment on Fox Business and here they are (finally). FBN wanted me to do this segment as a reaction to piece written in USA Today. The author made the point how in a recession, people should buy more EXPENSIVE clothes instead of staying in their means and purchasing cheaper pieces because they last longer. Um, newsflash- that’s just not true. Why would ANYONE spend money they don’t have on discretionary items especially luxe goods like a $2,000 Gucci suit?? I think expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better quality, and if you:

1) Stick to the basics, like combining your old black or grey interview suit with a new cool accessory.

2) Adhere to the 80%,20% rule meaning 80% of your outfit is inexpensive and 20% is on the pricey side (for example, take that dress from H&M and wear it with a pair of Louboutins).

3) Tap into the past- it’s ok to wear clothes from last season, or even from decades ago!!!

Talking about what to wear in a recession (yep,  there IS a different way to dress) . That’s right- we are in a recession. I don’t care what the president or Ben Bernake says. Our capital markets are totally unstable and the worst is yet to come. On that happy note, I will try and load the video for those of you that don’t get Fox Business!

I’m working on a segment and would love to hear your ideas about how you are cutting (or not cutting) back during our current economic turmoil. Will upload my top ten ways to cut back in a bit!!

Carl Steidtmann, chief economist at Deloitte Research and auther of the group’s Leading index of Consumer Spending tells Women’s Wear Daily, “People’s spending on apparel isn’t likely to pick up anytime soon.”

Gee, ya think Mr. Steidtmann?? Maybe it has to do with that little housing crisis we are experiencing, or gas prices reaching (in some areas) to $4 a gallon, the rising prices in staples like milk and eggs or what about the fact that there are no jobs???  I sometimes wonder why we need a 50 page report to tell us what people in the middle of America can tell us in one sentence… 

Last Thursday I went on Fox Business to talk about the dismal retail sales numbers and the midst of my conversation with the lovely Liz Claman and awesome David Asman, I said the “R” word. All day, people were speculated that we might be on the brink of one, danced around the topic, insinuated we may be heading toward that direction, but from what my research told me, I felt I had to call a spade and spade. And so I just said it. 

During times like these, the last thing anyone wants to do is admit that we are in fact, headed straight towards a crap economy, but when economic indicators like retail sales start to slow, and the amount of available jobs are next to nothing, there IS definitely something negative happening. So I will say it again people-we are on the brink of a recession!! Hunker down- it’s unfortunately on the way!!