Bear Stearns Wives Tighten Gucci Belts

Taking into account that Bear Stearns' (BSC) stock plummeted from $160 to $11, consider that its employees’ holdings account for 30% of the company. According to Reuters right after the news broke of JP Morgan’s (JPM) hurried acquisition of the investment giant, spouses of Bear Stearns’ senior level employees took to the phones, nixing $300,000 apartment renovations and even putting vacation homes on the market.

It might be time for Wall Street’s significant others to tighten their proverbial Gucci belts, but it doesn’t have to come at the expense of their social status. Here are some suggestions (free advice!), courtesy of your pals at MainStreet:

• Tickets to premiere charity events can run more than $1,000, so scaling back on the number of benefits you attend is an obvious cost cutter. And it can be done without raising suspicions. Benita Das, a partner at Collective LA, a brand identity and interactive design firm, advises society mavens to “edit your causes and chose to concentrate your time and money on one particular niche. Instead of spreading yourself thin, you’re efforts are focused. Your attendance might be more limited, but there will be no question as to why.”

• “To really seem like you’re in the know, it should be about the exclusiveness rather than the expense,” says Das. With the growing trend of eco-consciousness, everyone from Hollywood to the Hamptons wants genuine products produced on a smaller scale. “Buying limited editions of wines made from a garage wine shop in Napa turns a consumer trend on its head," says Das. "It doesn’t have to be expensive, but maybe they only produce three cases. For that you have to be in the know.”
• Reprioritizing spending is a priority for anyone in a financial crunch, but for spouses of the Wall Street elite, it manifests itself in a slightly different way. New York interior designer Darren Henault recounted to Reuters that one banker’s wife recently called him to make changes to their décor. “She said they’re not poor, and are never going to be poor,” he said, “but their capacity for discretionary income for things like window valances just went out the window.”

And, of course, if it’s Chanel you’re craving there’s always the Chinatown version. Just keep in mind that sharp-eyed friends may spot that the label reads “Chanell”!