From Capitalistic Chic to Depressive Chic: Is this for you?

There's a movement afoot - Depression Marketing. In this
movement, Black Tuesday is the new pink and
everything from fashion , books, and insurance is a
target of savvy marketing.

First, I noticed that Allstate Insurance tied a TV ad, Back to
Basics, to the Great Depression.

The online book sales of Amazon, December 2008 marked a
750% increase in sales of Depression-related titles which
includes The Great Crash, The Forgotten Man
and Ben Bernanke's Essays on the Great Depression.

.

Buyers are searching eBay for the bread and soup line
clothing look. A tattered, worn denim jacket, complete with holes,
recently sold on eBay for more than fifty dollars. The worn
look of the jacket , attributed to hard work, labor and poverty,
had as much to do with its collectible value as the title,
Vintage 40's DEPRESSION ERA Denim Chore Jacket.

It's hard to believe selling "hard times" could be so
in; yet, eBay reps claim that auctions of Great Depression
related items have surged since the first of the year with
strongest spikes in cloche hats (up 65 %) to only an 8% increase in
1930's music.



However, this trend isn't limited to vintage finds. Marc
Jacobs Spring/Summer 2009 catalog showcases the Dust Bowl look with
designer panache - a high-brow bag lady look. See below.

Supposedly, for the very wealthy, this newest decorative style is a
well deserved slap to Capitalistic Chic. The
idea is that it is such poor taste to flaunt anything luxurious in
today's home; tsk, tsk, the economy, don't cha
know. The only problem is Depression Chic is every bit as
expensive as Capitalistic Chic.

Check out the Kurrency Chandelier, by Stewart
Karten Designs featuring real
currency. This is available in pesos, euros, or dollars.

Of course you gotta be wealthy enough to have no need to
spend the light away;r otherwise, lights out. The light
has a projector feature that flashes words such as
"GREED" on your table. Gotta say, that chandelier would
be naked within a week at my house; but I could handle a fun
knock-off Monopoly Money chandelier hanging over what - a
game table, of course.



But hey, even the tables are changing. Below is the perfect table -
an industrial trolley , sure to remind you of back breaking
work and long hours with very low pay. Who knows, this cart might
be a real winner, a child may have pushed it for pennies a
day. Who couldn't enjoy that reminder with price tags for
industrial tables beginning at a mere $1200.00

.
Can you get into this trend?

Personally, I think we should see the promoters this movement and raise them
one. Instead of spending outrageous sums of money on items
intended to shout , "I am so aware of the many
poorer-than-I souls hurting in this economy", why not
quietly acknowledge hard times for some with
a spirit of generosity,
paying it forward,
actually helping
where/when/how you can?

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