Forbes, 01.07.02 What Recession? Matthew Swibel Amid war and a bear market, people still pay for luxury. Experts are predicting a drop in sales of pashmina shawls and other first-class trappings. Bah, humbug! Check out some of these over-the-top purchases. In November a customer at Herms' John Lobb shoe store on Madison Avenue rang up a $10,000 bill on handmade leather loafers ($725) and seasonal patent-leather evening shoes ($680). Over Thanksgiving a Los Angeles family of six paid Blue Star Jets $24,000 to ferry them and two nannies from New York to Los Angeles aboard a Gulfstream III. Catered meals of caviar and crab cost an extra $4,000. Last month a shopper at Ultimo, a tony boutique in Chicago, spent $50,000 on an Agnona cashmere-and-leather coat ($3,800), suede shoes and other goodies. A Pasadena, Calif. couple has been making camp at The Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa since October while their house undergoes renovation. The $45,000 bill doesn't include $4,000 in room service. A recent customer at Harry Winston in Manhattan paid $65,000 for a cluster diamond bracelet. Sales manager James Haag claims to have registered nearly a dozen $500,000-plus sales since September. Copyright © Forbes, All Rights Reserved.

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