More Latte Index News

Wait, here's yet another offbeat economic indicator, this time from the New York Times: sunglasses. In a story today, the Times says designer and high-end sunglasses are one luxury item people are still willing to splurge on, particularly young girls.

Prices for designer sunglasses have jumped to $350 or more in recent months, from an average of $250, retailers say, and the price spike has not turned off shoppers. “The youth of America has discovered sunglasses to be the aspirational and prestige item of the moment,” said Marshal Cohen, a senior analyst with the NPD Group, a market research firm. He predicts, “Sunglasses will replace the handbag as the image item” among teenage girls and young women.

Personally, I don't know anyone who has paid $350 for sunglasses, only because everyone loses them at some point and that's a lot of money down the drain. This is one of those Times pieces about trends among the rich and famous that don't apply to most of us, like the one last month about rich people worried about their marriages will dissolve because their net worth has decreased. Still, spending trends at the top often trickle down to the bottom. Maybe it means most people who buy their sunglasses off the street will move up to snagging the knock-offs at Target.

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