Further proof that the Obama clan is down to earth in their fashion choices. Let's go back to the Access Hollywood interview back in July, when Maria Menounos talked style with the Obamas. An amused Michelle admits Barack needs a new pair of shoes and a belt and his pants are, like, ten years old (he hates to shop, he says). Then she gives the ultimate endorsement to Gap. "Fortunately now they make really pretty stuff at all price ranges ... [Barack] will be happy to know that this is, like, a $30 dress." After high-fiving her husband, daughter Sasha chimes, "Mommy buys everything from Gap!" Well played!

Did you read Thursday Styles section of The New York Times? Egads! There could not be a more telling read into how the pending global financial meltdown has turned us into duplicitous schizophrenics. On the front page, Eric Wilson writes a standard gloom-and-doom piece about coming tough times for designers and retailers. Nothing new there. But he leads with a shocker -- at least it shocked and almost angered me. Designer Christophe Decarnin charges $1,500 for a Balmain T-shirt. That's just a plain old cotton T-shirt with a few holes in it.

Can you guess who the world's largest clothing retailer is? If you guessed Gap, you would have been right up until a day ago. Zara has reportedly taken over Gap's top spot. The Spanish fashion chain overtook Gap thanks to aggressive expansion; Zara now has almost 3,900 stores across 70 countries, resulting in €2.22 billion ($4.21 billion) in the first quarter of its financial year. That's a lot of moderately priced blouses. Gap's pinning hopes for a rebound on new creative director Patrick Robinson.