With too many people left with too little spending cash, the world's oldest profession (in one of a few countries where it's legal) is feeling the pinch. Hence: brothel discounts!

Not only is "A Month Of Outfits" in the May issue of Lucky for the skinny who live in warm climates, it's for the very rich.

16-year-old Kira Plastinina's company went bankrupt in January, less than a year after a huge write-up in New York. Walking by the SoHo store this week, everything but the zebra print rug was gone.

A piece in Salon suggests that in a recession, we find sexist stereotypes comforting. To that we'd maybe add: girl-on-girl crime?

Editor: "I want to resist, yet I can't help thinking that they're actually really cool." Commenter: "Are these something you'd want to be wearing if you ran into an ex-boyfriend or current meangirl? And the price?…Insulting." [Lucky]

Oh, the DABA Girls. Does anyone better represent the spirit of America right now? Hollywood, home of Shopaholics and Sex And The City sequels, thinks not, for the DABA Girls now have a Hollywood agent.

There's trouble in DABA-land. A trusted tipster says (and the company confirms) that one of the New York Times' infamous, blogging bankerdaters has been fired and another is suffering relationship fallout.

Did the DABA girls, those banker-loving women so devastated by the recession, pull a fast one on the New York Times? And, if so, do we dislike them more or less?

Earlier today, a group of brave young women told the New York Times that dating rich guys who were no longer so rich was very upsetting. And now they may have a book deal!.

At meetings of "Dating a Banker Anonymous," frustrated finance paramours can discuss recession era troubles — like canceled vacations and slashed Bergdorf budgets —"free from the scrutiny of feminists." Ha! Not anymore!

And so it begins: as the cocktail party circuit has buzzed with the novelty of "cutting back" and "shopping their closets" and "haute frugality," the seething has started. And now it's becoming audible: "doesn't 'thrifty chic' make you want to vomit?" rails Alex Renton in today's Guardian. "Is there anything more…

Yesterday, while flipping through an issue of Departures as I enjoyed a pumpkin cupcake, I ran across the magazine's "Necessary Luxuries" column, in which various celebrated people confess what they couldn't live without. Most of them listed very high-minded stuff like family heirlooms, but it got me thinkin': in…

Bliss Broyard's rich friends used to love giving her stuff. At least that's what Broyard, author of One Drop, a memoir about her father's lifelong concealment of his black heritage, claims in this month's Elle. Elle's cover bills the piece as a guide to hanging out with people richer than you — no doubt useful in…

You know, we've talked a lot about the difference between 'fashion' - that remote art form that most of us admire from afar - and style. What we wear. A couple of years ago, Little Edie Beale, the eccentric poor relation of Jackie Kennedy immortalized in Grey Gardens, was discovered by Fashion. We all know the…

If you're hoping to sell some of your cast-off finery to drum up a little mad money, the Wall Street Journal has some tips for you, thrifty! Apparently your best bets are to dress like a high school student ("eBay says that in the third quarter, the most searched fashion labels on the site were Ed Hardy, Nike,…

It seems some marathon shoppers are learning the difference between "want" and "need." Now that the credit crunch is wreaking havoc with our bank accounts, one-time necessities like new Jimmy Choos getting passed over for last year's model. Says the Wall Street Journal's Christina Binkley, "After years of gluttonous…

In lean times, women cut back more than men. According to a new survey, ladies "were more likely to cut back on spending from everything from doctor visits to vacations to holiday gifts." Of course, women are more likely to engage in retail therapy in the first place - and often handle household expenses. In addition,…

In this economy, more and more people are dyeing by their own hand. Yup, salons are the latest economic casualty: P&G reports a 20% increase in home haircolor sales, while the salon chain RegicCorp has seen a 30% downturn. It's not just that people are cutting and coloring themselves, but also waiting longer between…

Since the world learned that hypocritical hockey mom heroine Sarah Palin has spent $150 grand of RNC cash at high-end department stores for herself and her family at a crucial point in the campaign — to say nothing of an economic recession — an overwhelming amount of ink, thought and Texas Instruments battery power…

Take a look at what you're wearing right now. Chances are it's not gonna give many clues to your personal history; for my part, Levis, American Apparel tee and a thrift store cardigan mark me as anyone working from home on a Wednesday. In this era of fast fashion, whose sartorial history doesn't go much beyond last…