I have a confession to make. As I’ve smugly watched magazines struggle to cope with the new reality of the non-shopping American public, I myself have been struggling to stop laying down plastic. It’s pathetic. But, oh, the opportunities! Dernier Cri’s half-off closing sale (a beaded Manish Arora number! a silk Lerario Beatriz shift! a wool Trosman jacket!). And then the backless Moschino second-hand sundress that presented itself in Austin, Texas ($68!). And finally — I hope! — a YSL Matisse-print two-piece at the Piers Show that I never considered not acquiring, despite a price I’m too embarrassed to print here. All this in three weekends — and only one practical purchase in five. So it was with some level of fear — and maybe a little ilicit excitement — that I dove into New York’s “100 Under $100″ Gift List. What if I wanted everything? Well, no worries there. Apparently, anything less than a c-note only buys trinkets or fancy flashlights, and what New Yorker needs crappy clutter? (Matches for $3.95? I’m pretty sure those are still free at most restaurants. A Juicy Couture digital camera for $45? If it sounds too good to be true … And so on.) Here’s the thing. Pragmatism is a bummer. Like Depression-era Hollywood, gift-guide escapism is key — especially if you are like me, and you don’t believe in presents for anyone beyond bar-mitzvah age anyway!

Good thing Agyness Deyn’s Missoni denim shorts are credited in this shot! The question of what she is wearing — see? if you squint real hard you can glimpse that scrap of blue at bottom left! — was definitely the first thing that sprang to mind when I opened POP’s table of contents. Just to be thorough, the gold hoop earrings are by Louis Vuitton, and the nips are the model’s own.

When my daughter entered her “no” phase, I tried to encourage her to speak in the affirmative by appealing to her artistic side. “Say ‘yes,’ like Yoko Ono,” I’d coo. Then a counselor at the Soho Parenting Center explained that every kid goes through a “no” phase because “no” is how we protect ourselves. And then I spotted this sweet sequined T by V&R in French Vogue, and I saw it less as a symbol of teen rebellion than a fashionable and empowering chastity belt! Not that my daughter needs to know my sex-ed intentions when I give her the T for her 13th!

Credit: Viktor & Rolf. $760. www.viktor-rolf.com.