The NY Observer ran an article on recession dressing recently– surprise, surprise, it’s not so popular anymore to spend a ton of money on pieces you wear only once, even for celebs.

Even Anna Wintour wore a “turquoise Oscar de la Renta dress to no fewer than four public events.”  Oh, the tragedy!  Having to wear something four times?  Wow, we must really be in a recession now.

I love fashion and style, but since the whole industry revolves around creativity, innovation, and individuality, don’t you think buying things off the rack at full retail takes most of the fun out of it?  The high of scoring a great find at a sample sale or repurposing something you thought was destined for goodwill is actually pretty awesome, in my book, and it’s what keeps me coming back time and time again.

According to the article, “Shopping as sport—collecting one $1,500, gilt-strapped It bag in three colors, for example—is suddenly seeming very 2007 (the year Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs made $67.9 million). Nowadays, shopping is an activity to be undertaken cautiously, solemnly, with an eye toward the future.”

Hm.  Sports involve competition, challenge, and some level of talent. Spending $1500 on one bag and then multiplying that mistake by 3 does not involve any sort of challenge or require a display of talent, in my book.  Shopping can be qualified as sport when you put a fabulous outfit together for an unbelievably low price– now that takes an eye for detail, perseverance, and a sense of style.  As MasterCard would say, “priceless.”  Guess a lot of people are discovering common sense just now.

My date night dress a couple weekends ago? $18, but felt like $800 the way my BF looked at me– plus I reeled in several compliments from total strangers.

What are your favorite sub-$100 finds that make you feel like a million bucks?