Another Sign of the Recession

It's one of the ironies of Depression 2.0 that right as the economy needs all the consumer spending it can get, the people who can afford it suddenly grow a conscience about their shopping bonanzas at Nordstrom's. Take tennis superstar Serena Williams, who is normally clad in the latest from Paris and dripping with jewels, but now is proudly touting $12 bags from American Apparel at the Australian Open. "I don't know if it's because it's everywhere in the media, the financial crisis, but it's low tide for me. I'm not out there buying crazy things," Williams said. She did add that the new toned-down Serena might not last forever, so maybe there's hope for a Williams-based stimulus package after all.