Cheap Is Chic, If You’re Rich

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times Image section -- sort of an equivalent to the New York Times Sunday Styles -- reviewed the bizarre ways Hollywood power players are "cutting back." It's all about thinning out the wardrobe and rethinking purchases. Filmmaker Liz Goldwyn (one seriously stylish lady) is selling her excess wares on eBay. Ryan Patterson, a supervising producer of Access Hollywood, returned a recently purchased Balenciaga bag because she felt "guilty." Art dealer and independent film producer Howard Askenase reveals that's it's not the local Starbucks where you'll find the super-rich; rather it's " ... in the parking lot of the 99 Cents Only store, you see more Mercedes and SUVs than ever before."

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And lastly, it’s about cutting back on those little extras. No more power lunches at the Ivy; instead, Tupperware lunches are all the rage. Cameron Silver brings his lunch of organic greens and a can of tuna to his high-end designer vintage store Decades. His reasoning: “I got sick of spending $30 on lunch everyday at Erewhon." Even an institution like valet parking may be dwindling, as the upper classes chose to circle the block to find a spot themselves. Fashion publicist Marilyn Heston says for the first time she’s “ .. thinking twice about valet. It’s $10 at that Philippe Starck sushi place [Katsuya]." Skinflint status is the new luxe largesse.