Fashion has long had an influence on society. What people spend on beauty and fashion products can almost directly correlate to the state of the economy. These trends can sometimes be helpful indicators of economic growth and recession. I saw a video the other day talking about this same thing, and I decided to write my blog about it.
Now, speaking specifically about economic growth, there is actually a documented phenomenon that indicates this. Economist George Taylor created the Hemline Index circa 1926 that said the shorter hemlines in fashion Trends are, the more the economy is growing (think flapper dresses of the 20’s and miniskirts of the 60’s) and vice versa, longer hemlines for the recession of an economy (pants and maxi skirts in the Great Depression). Even hair can indicate a recession, a hair trend from 2009 called “recession blonde.” Recession Blonde is a term coined for the grown out blonde color that comes from not going to the salon for a touch up. This can almost directly show that a person does not have enough money to maintain a near constant bottle blonde. Because, of course, when your bank account is low, you’re not going to waste your money on a touch up, are you? Unless looking blonde is an incredibly important thing to you, then I think it’s safe to say you wouldn’t be getting regular touch ups when you’re low on funds.
Makeup especially can show a declining economy. The uptick in buying smaller things can show that not many people have the money for things other than small luxuries. The increase of lipstick purchases can also indicate a recession. During the Great Depression, women began buying more lipsticks, a product that was relatively cheap during the time. This phenomenon is aptly deemed the “Lipstick Effect.” It’s a sort of manifestation of something else called by economists the “income effect.” Basically, when a consumer’s income lowers, demand for more everyday items goes up. And since people can’t buy a trip to the Bahamas to soothe their economic distress, they go to cheaper places like the movie theater and chain fast food stores to forget about their money troubles for a bit. Just like this, people begin buying lipsticks, small luxuries that give you a feeling of beauty without a hefty price tag.
Now, as nice as this indicator is, it does come with a few problems for the economic-savvy consumer. One of these is, lipstick sales aren’t public domain, so consumers can’t have these statistics on demand. The BEA publishes a monthly statistic of “personal care items” purchased, but this often comes with a few months of lag time, so it’s difficult to get an accurate estimate for the consumer of if we’re heading to an economic recession.
I could go on talking about this for hours, but I don’t particularly have the attention span for it. I love the idea that beauty and fashion are so so intertwined with a country’s economy that they can be such a great indicator of a recession.
Much love,
Jude
