I don’t know what’s happened to me. I used to love shopping. Next to having sex, drinking, and eating great food with friends, shopping used to rank pretty high on my list of activities that make me happy.

And no, I was never one of those girls who “bought to fill the void” or anything like that. As a fashion lover, the biggest draw of hitting the boutiques was a satisfaction of being able to change my style with something simple. I never dumped huge amounts of money on clothes, but I definitely had patterns. Maybe one nice designer purchase every three to four months; one to three smaller things per month like tops, accessories, and sometimes shoes from places like Urban or Forever 21. I rarely bought out of necessity.

Now that’s not the case ...

The retail industry is getting pretty desperate these days—how many more special events and functions will we see that scream “Oooo! Please, please come shop in our store!” According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest tactic in trying to woo the recessionary customer is to assuage shoppers’ guilt.

In some cases, this goes straight to the point instead of tip-toeing around the you shouldn’t be spending atmosphere. Take, perhaps, the best example out there, Gilt Groupe, a sample sale website (and admitted Frisky obsession) whose name is a play on the word “guilt.” The site’s co-founder, Alexis Maybank, explains that now retailers like her are placing emphasis on battling this new culture of consumer guilt: “It used to be about keeping up with the Joneses, and now it’s about outsaving the Joneses ... We need to encourage people to get excited about fashion.” Gilt’s short-timed sales have set off a wave of similar online initiatives, which rev up shoppers and distract them from negative feelings.

The fashion industry has been hard hit by the recession, and it looks like it may take some strategic political partnerships to find the path of recovery. After the collaborative efforts of Fashion’s Night Out, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is helping to launch another initiative to help stimulate the fashion economy. This time, it’s a designer contest which will begin next month, reports the Post: “The mayor will stage a competition to pick 12 up-and-coming designers for a new city-sponsored fashion ‘incubator’ facility. The project is aimed at helping New York attract young talent by providing cheap design space.” [NY Post]

“Fashion trends speak volumes about the human condition and wordlessly point us towards the zeitgeist,” writes South Africa Times columnist Jacquie Myburgh. Huh? They do?

Ms. Myburgh, like many a fashion journalist, didn’t originally seek a career in the style world, acknowledging the frivolous-sounding nature of such work. She explains: “Telling your parents you want to go into fashion is right down there with acting and air hostessing on their list of favorites.” But, over the years, she’s come to understand its importance in society, when, especially in an economic downturn, our instincts are to shun conspicuous spending and get back to less “superficial” activities.

However, maybe we should start taking the fashion industry more seriously.

Kerry Coryell wanted a nice wedding, but she and fiancé Kurt VanDerLinde couldn’t afford the costly photographer, limo, DJ, and all the other expenses that are part of a fancy ceremony and reception. But it was her dream! So, Coryell put an ad on Craigslist offering to barter for goods and services she couldn’t afford. Since she had done this before (instead of paying money for $8,000 worth of dental work), she figured it was worth a try. Here’s an excerpt from her ad:

“I am not at all superficial and my clothes usually come from garage sales. I never ask for anything for myself … but this day … just this one day, I want it to be mine, without limits, without settling. I hope you can help me.”

Luxury department store Neiman Marcus is really feeling the economic downturn. So much so that they’ve totally scaled back their annual “fantasy gift” catalogue to exclude seven- and eight-figure products. In the past, reports the Wall Street Journal, offerings included $10 million Zeppelins and an even more expensive submarine. This year, the recession has forced us to deal with the marked-down leftovers—an $8,500 preserved African Flower Beetle (ewwww); some six-figure, special-edition Jaguar (yawn); and a “literary experience” with an acclaimed author (bo-ring). And to think that in past years they offered trips to outer space! What are we going to get Granny for Christmas now?

There’s no doubt about it. Getting laid off sucks. What happens next is the stereotypical lifestyle of depression, daytime television and sweatpants. This may be fine for a week or two, but after a while you will start to go crazy and feel disgusting.

We would never say, “Hey! Awesome! You lost your job!” Though, we do believe you can get something out of this time of unemployment for yourself. And if you look on the bright side, believe it or not, you might find yourself looking a whole lot hotter. After the jump, check out our suggestions.

If you want a job done right, hire more women. According to data from Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, Columbia University, and Pepperdine University, having more women in senior management positions means higher profits for a company. So could turning up the estrogen level in big corporations be a lasting fix to the financial crisis that does not involve another bailout? That’s what Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, authors of Womenomics, argued in yesterday’s Washington Post. They say that this latest data makes sense—after all, women are generally better at working with others, not to mention that we make more cautious decisions and think in the long-term, while guys are often about high-risk competition. Could the financial melt down of this year be the death of macho on Wall Street? [Washington Post]

Teen Vogue got the scoop on the latest from Marc Jacobs: Everybody’s favorite desginer is launching a moderately priced bridge collection in August called “Don’t Miss The Marc.” The small line includes some solid pieces like pleated denim skirts, three-button blazers, and some loud (but ‘80s-trendy) t-shirts. The rest of the goods look to be targeting a younger audience via wacky leggings and cartoon-y tees. It would seem that Marc is heading in that direction, by giving a teen publication the first look, and pricing everything under $200. Yet, is the low(er) price point enough to capture a younger audience?

Millions of college students cringe at the word “FAFSA”—-fun to say, not so fun to fill out. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid helps a large number of students pay for college…after they’ve spent hours answering questions, nagging their parents for tax info, and enduring an experience close to torture. But it looks like the financial aid future is getting a lot brighter. Starting today, the U.S. Department of Education debuts a new, less aggravating, shorter FAFSA.

Employment rates reached 9.4% this month—the highest they’ve been in the past 26 years. Great, so nearly a tenth of the U.S. is unemployed, and I’m graduating college in a semester––yikes! While I’d totally love to embrace “funemployment” come December, I just don’t think my Dad will approve of that. So in the spirit of I-better-start-looking-for-a-job-now-or-I’m-gonna-need-food-stamps-and-I-don’t-know-how-they-work, here are some very creative ways other people have taken to the job search.

If your bedroom buddy has been sporting the same skivvies over and over, it may be a sign that the recession is still in full throttle. According to economist Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chief, underwear sales are a great indicator of the economy’s status. Over the course of 2008, male underwear sales declined by 12%; as we all know, GDP took a sharp drop as well. So just in case you didn’t already have enough on your mind during the brutal economic meltdown, you now have to worry about (and be wary of) your dude’s holey undies, too. Here’s hoping the economy—and our boyfriends’ boxer collection—are on the rise.

Besides making a lot of gay and lesbian couples very happy, extending marriage to same-sex couples would help the economy, according to a report from the Williams Institute School of Law at UCLA. The report only covered the state of Maine, but in that state alone it is estimated that there would be $60 million in economic gains within three years with as many as 1,000 new jobs created. After the jump, eight ways we think same-sex marriage would help the economy.

As the economy goes soft, some women are seeking to earn extra cash as freelance sex workers. As it turns out, there’s a market for powerful career gals who can dominate a man’s world—literally. According to Tracy Quan’s “Kinkonomics,” recently laid off ladies are freelancing as professional dominatrixes. Although sex workers generally consider pro-domme work the most difficult sex work, these well-educated, middle-class working girls have decided to try their hand at the kinky version of the world’s oldest profession. It’s another type of economic stimulus package; this one includes bondage, verbal humiliation, and foot worship. [The Daily Beast]

The Times reports that champagne sales are down this holiday season and not necessarily because people can’t afford the bubbly.  Amid layoffs, foreclosures and other economic losses, as well as a shortage of the usual celebratory occasions like “mergers, closings, bonuses and office parties,” “People just don’t want to look extravagant today,” said Paul Grieco, a Manhattan restaurateur. “They still want to drink, so they cut out the Champagne and go directly to whatever they’re drinking with dinner.” Convinced this includes sparkling wine priced $10 to $20, “the sweet spot these days for good wine values,” the Times gathered a wine panel to taste test 25 bottles, admitting that, “While our price range was $10 to $20, most of the wines in the tasting were $15 to $20.” This makes total sense since a $15 bottle of sparkling wine looks so much less extravagant than a $15 bottle of champagne. “Let’s be honest,” the reporter mused, ”none of these bottles will match a very good Champagne. But they cost half what you would pay these days for the least expensive Champagne.” Half as much, huh? Clearly the Times has never heard of Andre.

So have you been cutting down on your Champagne toasts this holiday season because of the recession? And if so, what are you drinking it its place? [NYTimes]

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…

Because the stock market and the economy are so volatile right now, people are looking for any kind of guidance they can get—even if that means turning to the supernatural. According to a New York Times article, psychics and astrologers are doing big business these days, with clients paying anywhere from $75 to $1,000 an hour for a little insight. While we love our Kiki T and her advice, we can think of a few things that would make us feel better than knowing we’re going to lose another chunk of change this week. After all, a psychic’s advice about the stock market lasts for a day, but a horse bit necklace is forever. Keep reading for 10 alternative ways to spend $75 that will make you feel better about yourself, if not the world…

If history is any indication, you may want to stock up on your favorite lipstick before every tube is sold out, and go ahead, splurge on that cupcake — curves are coming back in vogue. Since our recent economic crisis, people are once again talking about the Leading Lipstick Indicator, a surprisingly reliable theory that suggests consumers turn to inexpensive little treats, like lipstick, when they start freaking out about the future.  For example, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, lipstick sales doubled. The term was coined by Leonard Lauder (chairman of Estee Lauder), “who consistently found that during tough economic times, his lipstick sales went up.” Hmm…Sephora has been unusually crowded lately (last time I was there, I couldn’t find an available mirror to save my look, I mean life).

Unless you’re living in a cave somewhere in, I don’t know, rural Alaska, far, far from civilization, you’ve probably noticed that our economy is in the crapper. And despite last week’s presidential election of Barack Obama and his message of change and hope, it will take some time before things stabilize and we’re back on track. In the meantime, many of us are choosing to embrace our inner recessionistas, shunning the big-budget shopping sprees and pricey meals out that we may have enjoyed in the past in favor of clothing swaps and cozy dinner parties in. But quaint as all that sounds, it isn’t always easy to go from spendista to recessionista, to save for a rainy day instead of splurging on a cute, new pair of Wellies the second we spot anything less than clear blue skies. After the jump, a few tips to try in the next 30 days to help you find your own inner recessionista and jump start a new lifestyle of living large, but spending small.

With the state of the economy as it is (sad, very sad), U.S. retailers are cutting orders an average of 10 to 15 percent and expecting reduced spending in the coming months. You might think that when shoppers do make a purchase, they’ll stick to buying basics that can be be worn more than once without anyone noticing. However, JC Report spoke to several retailers who said they were seeing an increase in the buying of pieces that make a statement. “To some degree, there’s an element of fantasy going on—our customers are buying more daring pieces, perhaps to escape from what’s going on in the world,” said Jenny Le, manager of Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles.

A look through my closet, and those of other Frisky staffers, backs up this theory. The last three things I’ve purchased: a dress covered in giant hot pink polka dots, a black dress with an extremely drapey neckline that can definitely not be worn to work, and a pair of neon tights with different colored legs. None of these items can be worn on a daily, or even weekly, basis without me becoming known as “the girl who always wears that crazy polka dot dress,” but they’re exciting articles of clothing that will put me in a good mood whenever I wear them. Heck, even thinking of them hanging out in my closet makes me happy.