The economy might still be in the crapper, but that hasn’t stopped luxury retailers from trying to lure shoppers through less traditional means. Recently, Christie’s launched an app to let users browse million-dollar works of art for sale. And now the latest to join the mobile shopping world is Net-a-porter.com, the site full of drool-worthy designer items, some of which cost more than our yearly salaries. Called Net-App, it allows iPhone users to view new additions and make purchases. While that aspect of the application is pretty straightforward, there’s also a neat tool included called ClosetFlow, which allows you to zoom in on images, and flip your phone to see the item from different angles. But is this a good or a bad thing?

For those of us who get our kicks shopping online, we look forward to this special time all year long: Right now, retailers are rolling out the fall merch, and that means they’re desperate to clear out all the spring and summer leftovers (and especially so considering extra sluggish sales over the past few months). There are Zucca thigh-high boots and APC blazers for over 70% off at yummy LA boutique Creatures of Comfort, Barney’s has Alexander Wang and Acne dresses for under $200, and don’t even get me started on the Vivienne Westwood Anglomania on the cheap right now at La Garconne. BUT! Before you rush off and kill a few buying the stuff you wanted earlier in the season but can only afford now, heed our advice. Because as a person who has a closet filled with tight, avant-garde pants that neither fit or even look remotely flattering off the computer screen, I’ve learned a few lessons and I feel the need to share so you don’t make any mistakes you regret.

So basically, Kelly Bensimon went on a shopping trip with The Daily Beast for stuff she already owns. (Gold $370 Gryphon shorts? Wore them to a Kim Kardashian party! “Sexy rocker chick” miniskirt from Intermix? It’s already packed for this weekend’s trip to Miami! An “Alaia meets Pocahontas” belt? Just snapped it up!) Seriously, every photo she’s in, Kelly’s pawing a dress or an accessory that’s presently hanging in her closet. So what’s to talk about then? If you ignore the actual “shopping” part of the shopping trip, Kelly offers up some of her usual nuggets of complete and utter nonsense. Gems after the jump!

Hold that credit card! Double X excerpted a section from the forthcoming book, Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, by Ellen Ruppell Shell, which reveals the scams at outlet malls are lamer than the kids who hang out in the food court all day.

The author visited at an outlet mall in Las Vegas with a prices and branding expert to scope out the “deals.” At a Crescent jewelry store, the ladies examine an $832 diamond-and-white-gold pendent, marked down from $3,329, which the jewelers are eager to give them “a better price on.” But back at home, Shell does a little googling and discovers the pendent’s diamonds can just barely pass as gemstones according to diamond grades. Plus, nearly identical pendents could be found on eBay for only $229!

Yeah, markups pretending to be markdowns suck. And it’s sneaky that stores selling comparatively-cheap wares at inflated prices are shacking up next to the Barney’s Co Op and La Perla so they look fancier. But…that’s business, isn’t it?

I remember shopping in Kids ‘R Us (well, not exactly shopping, it was more trailing behind Mom while she picked out clothes and held them up to my and my sister’s little bodies for an instant size comparison) and wondering what those signs were for their “Layaway Plan.” Once upon another desperate time, layaway programs rose to popularity during the Great Depression and became a common form of payment for people who couldn’t afford to pay the dolla-dolla bills for stuff upfront. Now, for obvious reasons, layaway is making a big-time comeback. Unlike credit cards, programs charge no interest and require no credit history, but customers can’t take their items home until they’ve paid in full. Most plans charge a small fee, usually around $5, and require customers to pay within a limited time period. Intrigued? Stores like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Kmart and Burlington Coat Factory are offering the option to pay-to-buy—your credit card will thank you.

And online layaway programs are even more rad—you can pay-until-you-get-it on iPods, LCD Sharp TVs, GE refrigerators, almost anything at elayaway.com.

We’re sick of shopping metaphors being used to explain dating. Maybe it’s because we watched way too much “Sex and the City” back in the day and grew tired of the comparisons, but we don’t see how men are anything like purses, shoes, jewelry, or little black dresses. Author Janice Lieberman does just this in her new book, How to Shop for A Husband, in which the guy equivalent of the LBD is the PGHM, or “perfectly good husband material.” Barf. If finding a date were anything akin to scoring a mint-condition vintage bag on eBay, we’d have triumphed ages ago. [Today]

There’s no denying that in Hollywood, you are what you wear. In fact, everyone is so well styled that it’s often hard to tell the normals from the celebs (okay, that size two girl being followed by paparazzi? Yeah, she’s famous).

Yet, we gotta love LaLa land for its diverse and plentiful shopping areas. Hit up Beverly Hills for super luxe labels, Robertson for start gazing and fancy boutiques, or Melrose for funky thrift shops. Whether you’re looking for California-cool style or the latest celebrity trend, our list of Los Angeles shops will have you covered.

Have you ever spent so much money you wanted slap yourself? Well, now you don’t have to! Thanks to a Saudi Arabian court, if a wife spends too much of her man’s dough, he can put her in her place for her. What a savings!

Many of the local men, and now the courts, have been hitting wives hard because of how they choose to use cash. Saudi Arabian women like Princess Adila bint Abdullah, deputy chairperson of the National Family Safety Program, as well as international human rights groups, have complained about the seemingly court-sanctioned spike in domestic violence justice. If you offer Judge Hamad Al-Razine a penny for his thoughts, he’ll tell you that women are the ones doing the shopping, “but nobody puts even a fraction of blame on them.” The judge argues that men are just reacting to the financial sitch and someone has got to knock some sense into these women, right?

Oh no! The country’s second-biggest mall operator is totally bankrupt! General Growth Properties, which manages more than 1,500 malls across the country, is $25 billion in debt. With vacancies at a 10-year high, many malls are being converted into offices or going dark. Is this the end of the mall as we know it? [NY Times]

What’s a teen girl to do without a place to buy shoes, cookies, and a bra—all at the same time? After the jump, a list of our favorite mall rights of passage we’re sad tomorrow’s kids will miss out on.

If you’re trying to be good about keeping a budget, the week before you get your period you might want to stay away from Madewell, or J.Crew, or Gilt Groupe, or whatever store makes you want to pull out your credit card. According to a study by professor Karen Pine of the University of Hertfordshire in England, women were more likely to make impulse buys or overspend during the later stages of their menstrual cycle. Pine told the BBC that women use shopping as way of regulating their intense emotions. Besides all of the hormonal changes in our brains, it’s possible that we spend more at this particular point in our cycle because we want to dress to impress when we’re fertile. Pine’s research found that most of the purchases made were for adornment, i.e., jewelry, makeup, and high heels. This explains why I absolutely had to buy a new nail polish after work on Friday. Yes, it was an impulse buy, but it was a damn good one. Essie E-Nuff is E-Nuff is the perfect color for now: a coral-y red that is nearly fluorescent (the product photo really doesn’t do it justice). [BBC]

People often laugh at me when I tell them I shop on QVC and HSN, but little do they know, both of these shopping networks have awesome fashions, handbags, jewelry and makeup. Plus, you can pay in installments for some items, and they’ll ship the item before you’re even finished paying. 

It’s Christmas Eve. Dinner is ready, the house is decorated, and the lights are aglow with holiday magic. You are about to relax in the recliner with some eggnog and watch “A Christmas Story” when you get a call from your brother. He has decided to bring his new girlfriend and he forgot to get her a present—would you mind? Or maybe you are heading out to a party and realize you forgot to get the host a gift. Maybe things have been so crazy, you forgot you have three nephews, not two. Whatever the reason, you need a gift, you need it now, and all that’s open is Walgreen’s, Bob’s Liquor, and Safeway. Take a deep breath, down the eggnog, and grab your keys. You’ve heard of last-minute gifts? Here are some last last-minute gifts that don’t seem so, well, last minute.

Forget self-help books and magazine columns. For dating and relationship advice, I recommend Craigslist. Don’t believe me? Yesterday, I was perusing the New York City section of the site, hoping someone might be unloading a pair of Veronica slouch Frye boots in a size 7, preferably barely used, and hopefully well under the $328 they retail for, when I came across the following ad. The subject header: “Mens clothes, My ex’s xmas gifts he’ll never get, It’s a steal.”

Despite it being shopping season right now, none of us are buying as much we did last year—at least not from regular stores. While the retail industry is in its worst slump in 35 years, resale and thrift shops have reported increases in sales. I have definitely contributed to that rise; Besides a new winter coat (and underwear, of course), I haven’t bought any new new clothes since this summer. I even went to a super fancy wedding in a dress that cost $3! Below, find out how to work the Goodwill racks like a pro from three highly successful thrifters…

I can’t stand Christmas music.  After a weeks worth of shopping I’m already up to my eyeballs in “Silver Bells” and “Feliz Navidad.” Don’t get me wrong, I love buying gifts, but if I hear one more light jazz rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock,” I’m going to lose it. There are plenty of non-Christmas celebrating shoppers out there, slowly being tortured by seasonal elevator music—the Heebs, Muslims, Buddhists, Jehovah Witnesses, Atheists, Taoists….well, you get the point. Still, since it’s our job, if we have the means, to help boost the economy, I would just like to suggest some tracks to the retailers out there, unless they want me to do my holiday shopping at home—where I can blast my own awesome non-denominational music. Now, let’s get in the mood to spend with these hot holiday-free jams that revel in consumerism…

On Monday it was finally made official: the U.S. is definitely in a recession. While most of us have been feeling the pinch for a while, the holidays bring an added challenge to stretch our dollars as far as we can. The good news is that from gift giving to decorating and dressing for parties, there are definitely stylish ways to celebrate this time of year on a tight budget. Learn a few tips after the jump.

Happy Black Friday everyone! Hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous and fattening and as devoid of family drama as possible. It is a straight up miracle that I was not up and out of bed this morning at 4am, ready to raid the stores like the shopaholic that I am. But you know? I had an epiphany in the middle of the night. There are so many BETTER things to do on this lovely Black Friday than battling long lines and psychotic deal lovers—after the jump, five things you could do instead today that will be relatively bruise free. (Seriously, I just saw a news report that said a man was TRAMPLED TO DEATH when a Walmart opened this morning.)

Why must Rachel Zoe insist on being so entertaining? On last night’s episode of “The Rachel Zoe Show”, Brad and Rachel stopped by one of Rachel’s favorite vintage shops for an impromptu shopping spree. In 20 minutes, I gather they spent about $50,000! And then they went home and played dress up, and when the light hits her skin just right, you can actually count her bones! For the record, we have yet to see Rachel eat. I’ve been watching.