Yo, Vogue: Broke is the new black

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Oversized clutches are a must, darling. Don’t even think about leaving the house without a crocodile day bag. Haven’t you ever heard of a pre-fall collection, silly? Is that last year’s Balenciaga? Get with it.

The scent of a recession -- much like day-old Chanel No. 5 -- wafts before us. Housing prices are down, gas prices soar. And yet the fashion industry soldiers on blindly in its $1,200 python pumps like an heiress with amnesia in a Wal-Mart.

On Vogue.com, the week’s ‘Most Wanted’ list includes a pair of Miu Miu suede and leather boots -- see left -- that cost $4,300. Over at Elle.com, there’s a jeweled Azzaro hair comb that rings in at $630 --though in all fairness to the mag, there is also a $58 woven belt from Arden B. At HarpersBazaar.com, the best buy of the day for Feb. 29 is a $1,275 Chris Benz jacket. It’s gorgeous, but a best buy for whom? Oprah Winfrey? And even better, it’s listed in their ‘Affordable Fashions’ section.

The real question is this: Will the fashion magazines even acknowledge the fact that our economy is heading for a downturn. An interesting AP article quoted Allure editor Linda Wells saying: ‘All that ridiculous bling and ‘it’ bags — there will be a shift away from that.’ Not yet, apparently. But Pam Danziger, luxury analyst with consumer market research firm Unity Marketing says: ‘I don’t think fashion magazines have their eyes on the needs of consumers. Vogue doesn’t care. It’s all about image.’

The Rage doesn’t expect Vogue and Elle to feature articles like, ‘How to make an oven mitt into an ‘it’ bag!’ or ‘Hats that double as dog dishes and diaphragms!’ But would it kill them to admit that the economy sucks?

Are you tightening your Prada belt? Buying less?

photo: Miu Miu.