The 100 by 30 project

CNBC knows how to do snarky graphics

This post at Diana Olick's blog is both infuriating and hilarious.

Luxury in price only

I found this this article on luxury goods very interesting. It is a review of a book that claims that "luxury" goods (mostly clothing) no longer come with a level of quality, durability, and craftsmanship that is commensurate with their price tag. In other words, you really are buying it just for the label.

For some goods, this is clear to anyone -- obviously a designer T-shirt is not something that becomes a family heirloom. But being someone who never has and never will own a $3000 purse, I wouldn't have guessed that this might hold true in general.

At my particular price point, there still is a clear correlation between price and quality. The difference in craftsmanship between a pair of pants from Old Navy and one from J. Crew is significant. For some of my goods, the durability actually increases a price decreases, but that's due to the cheaper synthetic material being hardier, e.g. my pleather Nine West purse has survived things in years of daily use that would have stained or deconditioned real leather.