# A pauper's budget \[sic\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-paupers-budget-sic/325512 "2005-10-10T05:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-paupers-budget-sic/325512/1 "2005-10-10T05:49:24Z")
Ha. I have recently started receiving, absolutely free, a magazine called _In Style._ I have no idea why I’m getting it, but it comes through the mail slot and I read it. So in the current issue (oct., p. 350) there is a little item about how costume designer Sophie de Rakoff dressed Cameron Diaz for her role in _In Her Shoes_, taking the challenge of “making a star look stunning on a pauper’s budget.” Here is what your average pauper is wearing, these days: 14k yellowgold pendant, $520 Juicy Couture cashmere sweater with tie, $210 Metal bangles, $6.50/set, 2 sets. (Okay, that IS cheap.) Juicy Couture cotton T, $44 Old shorts from Abercrombie & Fitch, not available but substitute is $34 Juicy Couture zip-front jacket, $88 Gold hoop earrings, similar pair, $50 Naturally it tells where these things are available.Neiman Marcus for the Juicy stuff, f’rinstance. Hey, Neiman Marcus! Where the paupers shop! Who knew? And here all this time I thought it was Ross Dress For Less. Umm…what’s below “pauper”? ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-paupers-budget-sic/325512/2 "2005-10-10T05:54:17Z")
> [@Hilarity N. Suze](#): > > Hey, Neiman Marcus! Where the paupers shop! Who knew? And here all this time I thought it was Ross Dress For Less. When I worked for a living, I thought Value Village was costly! (heck, I still do.) I’m pretty damn well off these days… but it looks like I’ve got a way to go before I can live the high life of a _pauper_. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-paupers-budget-sic/325512/3 "2005-10-10T06:06:26Z")
The price list for that one outfit exceeds the value of my entire wardrobe. If only I could afford to be a pauper! ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-paupers-budget-sic/325512/4 "2005-10-10T06:34:16Z")
Someone needs to tell that designer about Wal-Mart. Heck, even Sears is out of my price range. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-paupers-budget-sic/325512/5 "2005-10-10T07:47:38Z")
The sweater and necklace are patently ridiculous, but to be frank, $34 US is not unreasonable for a pair of shorts, if they’re good quality. As a larger girl, it often costs me $50-$60 (AU, which works out to about $45 US ATM) for a single pair of jeans. No studs or fancy embroidery or faded denim or anything. No brand names. Just blue jeans. I’ll admit I can get a pair from Target sometimes, if I’m lucky, for about $30. But they generally only last me about three months, where a good pair will last about 10-12 (I wear them every day). So paying about $45 AU for a pair of shorts isn’t terribly offensive. But anyone who thinks $210 for a sweater is a “pauper’s” budget deserves a slapping. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-paupers-budget-sic/325512/6 "2005-10-10T08:23:54Z")
I can hardly wait to be poor. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-paupers-budget-sic/325512/7 "2005-10-11T00:05:59Z")
> [@Sierra Indigo](#): > > The sweater and necklace are patently ridiculous, but to be frank, $34 US is not unreasonable for a pair of shorts, if they’re good quality. > > As a larger girl, it often costs me $50-$60 (AU, which works out to about $45 US ATM) for a single pair of jeans. No studs or fancy embroidery or faded denim or anything. No brand names. Just blue jeans. I’ll admit I can get a pair from Target sometimes, if I’m lucky, for about $30. But they generally only last me about three months, where a good pair will last about 10-12 (I wear them every day). So paying about $45 AU for a pair of shorts isn’t terribly offensive. > > But anyone who thinks $210 for a sweater is a “pauper’s” budget deserves a slapping. Yeah, and I would point out that the shorts in question looked about as substantial as a pair of boxers. (In fact, they may have _been_ a pair of boxers.) Actually the $$$ for the jewelry probably wasn’t unreasonable either; I just don’t see that kind of jewelry on myself, and before this little article I considered myself somewhat above pauperhood. Either that writer was trying for irony or she needs a reality check.