Thrift, c'est chic

Or take an inarguably practical gift featured in the Holts catalogue. It's a log holder -- and what man wouldn't thrill to that on Christmas morning? It's a gleaming glossy hand-stitched buckled leather carrier the colour of a cured acorn. It's by Arte & Cuoio. The problem is that it lacks the quality most in demand among those who haul logs: Spreadability. You're supposed to lay the thing open, pile in six logs and stagger back to the hearth. This thing might carry three sticks, plus the tedious buckling. You'll need six trips, and the neighbours, assuming you're just showing off your new Italian handbag, will giggle.

It costs $800.

Here's the definition of the new thrift. Don't buy it.

In Heather Mallick's new thrift world we will be discerning consumers with an eye for value and quality. And I ask you, what's so new about that? Ordinary folk have been doing that for decades. (I mean, mon Dieu, would someone actually buy a log carrier that didn't work at any price? Yes, I know the answer and I'm deeply disappointed by it.)

What's new, of course, is that the women of Rosedale are making thrift fashionable. They are becoming like Frenchwomen, "cheap, with great taste." As evidence, Mallick reports on one woman who opted to paint her own bedroom rather than hiring painters and ensconcing herself in some luxury hotel while the painters work. The bedroom "turned out fine," which is good news since only a moron could ruin an application of latex paint. (Actually, I have mixed feelings about this, since I'd almost prefer a couple of blue-collar painters with a job over some wealthy couple slumming by painting their own house.)

So if you're the kind of person who cares about what's in fashion, and if you're not already thrifty by either necessity or nature, take note: thrift is in. Until next week.