I found the definition for this term on a site called www.wisegeek.com. It says a recessionista is “someone who seeks out fashionable items which are also low-cost.” OK, so I can name a couple of my favorite recessionistas, but the queen bee is Kathryn Finney of The Budget Fashionista. Not only is she a fierce dresser and has impeccable style, she can find a discount on anything in all corners of the world. For real. Check out her site if you don’t believe me.

A frequent reader pointed out how he thinks I made a mistake by saying Steve and Barry’s revenues were increased by not spending money on marketing. He thought I meant earnings so I want to clarify.

Dear reader:

This was not me speculating on how Steve and Barry’s made their cash, this was a quote from the chief executive when I spoke with him. You say,”You can’t increase revenue by not advertising- revenue is sales. You can only increase profit by cutting expenses.” I agree with you, but I’m directly quoting from the source that prob. knows his business best… or at least it seemed like he knew his business best when I spoke to him last year. Hope that helps.

XO, Hitha

Rafa Nadal beat Roger Federer in a 5 set marathon of a match. Boo. To make matters worse, you can’t even see the totally cute cardigan he slipped on for the awards ceremony. Boys don’t try the cardigan look at home if you are not tall, dark and euro or skinny and emo.  Only HE can pull off looking this great while being so sad at the same time. I think I am going to listen to some Morrissey now…

(photo Getty Images/ C. Brunskill)

Ok ok, maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but I am watching the Wimbledon final right now and PRAYING Federer wins the title. Yes I think his game is spot on, and of course I would love to see him make history if he wins this match, but more important than all of that is how he looks when he accepts his trophy. Check him out last year. How AMAZING does he look here?? Dapper, relaxed, happy, sexy…

The only thing hotter than a champion is well dressed one!

(photo courtesy of ABC News Australia)

Hitha: So is it romantic that he painted a picture of me?

Andrew: Depends on where he painted it. If he was in Bellevue, not so romantic.

Yes that is me running away from James Roderick the photographer that took this amazing shot!

Oprah is always talking about her “seven minute shoes” which basically means you can only have them on your feet for seven minutes before they hurt so badly you have to take them off. These are my seven minute shoes: leopard print Louboutins that I wear with everything (my current favorite outfit to wear them with is my Calypso Loreal dress ). The difference between me and Oprah is that I don’t take them off in seven minutes even if it is raining.  Wow can I TOTALLY empathize with Chinese women at the turn of the century…

Bye bye Bitten hello bankruptcy!

According to this WSJ article, Steve & Barry’s is closing more than 100 of its stores and contemplating a full liquidation of its assets. I gotta be honest- last year I wanted to do a feature on Steve and Barry’s for my old employer and when I did my research it seemed Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten line was the last ditch effort to make this company really fly on the fashion side. The execs at the retailer insisted the reason why they were able to see an increase in revenues year over year was because they didn’t spend any money on advertising- literally. The only reason why we are even talking about Steve and Barry’s now is because of SJP’s major media tour around her collection Bitten. They DID throw an amazing party for the launch of the collection! Maybe they should have saved that money and spent it more on paid adverts as opposed to wooing us editors…

Rumor has it Barneys New York will be all about peace and love this holiday season, but not in the traditional sense. It’s the 50 anniversary of the peace sign, so what better way than to celebrate it by decorating your entire stores windows with the iconic symbol?  But they aren’t the only ones getting on the trend band wagon. Come September, expect to see the peace sign EVERYWHERE from shirts to spring sweaters as well as patterns. That boho chic look has been sort of in for a while, but now it’s going to get REALLY hippie for Spring 2009. Ya heard it here first!

I am beat street. So instead of zooming all over town to meet friends tonight I decided to take advantage of the empty city and watch Gimme Shelter- my favorite movie EVER. Yes the music is amazing and the film itself rules, but I can not get enough of what Mick Jagger was wearing! Check out the shirt below.  Doesn’t it kind of look like the lululemon logo but f-ing cooler? He paired it with a studded wide belt and tight side snap pants. I am SO re-creating this outfit for myself!!

Yeah… if you’ve been out with me in the last year or so you know I am never on time. It’s a problem andI am trying to fix it. Last Friday was no different. I went to go meet my friend for dinner and I was 35 minutes late. Ugh. I can see where people would think it was a personal “f— you” and totally disrespectful of their time, but I want everyone to know that’s not my intention at all! Some people smoke, drink, do drugs, cheat on their significant others. I’m always late. And I swear I am trying to change!!

Whoa the cab was windy.

I think TV in the back of cabs is kind of genius. BUT it makes me ill to watch TV and drive at the same time. I always turn it off.

We were going 75 MPH down 5th ave!!