Hadley Freeman on how fashion magazines are coping with recession

The awesome Hadley Freeman commented yesterday on how the fashion press are reacting to the recession . If you don’t already read Hadley’s Guardian fashion columns then I highly recommend them – always funny, insightful and amazingly written. I would quite like to be her when I grow up.

I have to say I too have found it puzzling how we’re being encouraged to ‘invest in key designer pieces that will last, blah blah blah, instead of throwaway fashion’ – I almost failed GCSE maths but I can still work out that buying one expensive item instead of several cheap ones adds up to, ermmm, spending roughly the same amount of money surely?

But yes, I never buy fashion mags for their solid life advice (thank god, or I’d probably be homeless and anorexic). I buy them for the pretty pictures, hence why my favourite magazine is French Vogue – the only word I can make out is ‘Oui’, but just look at those amazing photos!

Unfortunately my humble little blog doesn’t have access to the photographers, outfits, models and budgets that French Vogue pours in to its photoshoots. So I’ll try my best to make the words far more useful, just to compensate.

Killer heels and lipstick: What we buy in recession

Last week at the PTC new journalist of the year awards Celia Duncan, associate editor of Vogue, was asked how they planned to cope with the impending recession. Surprisingly, she replied that Vogue tends to do very well in times of economic downturn because it’s seen as an ‘affordable’ luxury. We’ll buy a nice glossy fashion mag as a treat rather than splash out on a new designer coat.

This got me wondering what other products may sell well over the next year or so. Apparently cosmetics sales go up, as women buy a cheap-ish lipstick for a little pick-me-up instead of pricey clothes. Sexist assumptions about women relying on their appearance for their happiness aside, it’s interesting that the article advises readers to invest in cosmetic companies at a time when the FTSE resembles more a rollercoaster than a motorway.

Rising sales of mega-high heels have surprised many commentators, and Christian Louboutin has just launched its first 8-inch spike heel. It’s suggested this is due to the ‘pick me up’ factor many feel when they put of a pair of killer heels. The extra height makes the wearer feel powerful, a sensation many us are lack as we realise how tightly our lives are controlled by the whims of bankers and politicians.

Having said all that, today it was announced that retails sales overall have actually been holding up pretty well. I don’t know what this suggests, though – we’re all in denial, perhaps?

(photo by Porcelaingirl, shared under a creative commons license)