When the going gets tough rich women go out and buy Hermes scarves

In an article published September 25th, 2008, journalist Susan Dominus, writing for the New York Times, shared a story about a Hermès sample sale that brought out Wall street’s high earning women who formed a line “stretching along 18th Street between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue” waiting to spend money on high priced scarves, bags and other accessories despite the mounting financial crisis on wall street.

There was a line once uttered in an episode of Dynasty stating something to the effect that when the rich are faced with trying times financially they go out and spend more money whereas the poor cut back on spending when money is tighter for them.

I suppose it’s easier for a rich woman to go shopping to relieve stress caused by financial troubles than it is for a poor woman to do the same. Financial troubles for the rich don’t usual mean having absolutely no money at their disposal. It usually just means having less money; and less money for them is usually still significantly more money than a poor person dares hope to ever possess.

Image: Yana Paskova for The New York Times