Please take a moment to look down at your shirt. Have you worn it before? If yes, congratulations! You are not only living economically in the recession, but you are stylish and trendy—a real recessionista! It may have taken twenty years, but you’re a cool kid now.

Sarcasm aside, the current glorification of recessionistas in the media is inescapable. Prominent recessionistas include First Lady Michelle Obama and her family, and for the moment there is no cooler company to keep. The freshly inaugurated First Family occupies the limelight though leading a decidedly ordinary life—as ordinary as any life in the White House can be.

Headlines in publications ranging from the New York Times to Glamour magazine tout the Obamas’ habit of “recycling” apparel. The New York Times notes the President’s suggestion that the first lady stop buying new shoes, while an article tagged “cheap and chic” in Glamour reports that Michelle Obama “does re-wear some of her favorite wardrobe pieces.” Photographic evidence confirms that Mrs. Obama indeed wore the same pin to a transportation conference, a funeral, and a dance performance.

Hallelujah. While I admit to a certain fascination with reading about the Obamas and their daily lives, I have to stop and ask for a reality check. Who doesn’t re-wear their favorite wardrobe pieces? I re- wear my favorites, as well as my merely okay and positively mediocre selections on a regular basis. Though continuously buying new clothes might save on trips to the bank for quarters, it’s still cheaper to pay for an entire load of laundry than even one new t-shirt. Reading that the first lady wears the same coat on both the plane rides to and from Chicago fails to impress me.

It must impress somebody though, or it wouldn’t make news headlines. Who is this audience? Is it the fashion writers who aren’t used to watching a high profile family behave in a down-to-earth manner, or are there really that many people who didn’t realize re-wearing outfits could help save money? If the latter is the case, the United States is in deeper trouble than we realized. If re-wearing outfits is a foreign concept, then it’s not just the lack of regulation on Wall Street that caused this recession, it’s also our lack of common sense.

Suddenly my penny pinching past puts me in the lucky group of trendy recessionistas. I not only know how to recycle my outfits, but also how to save money on transportation (try walking), food (Rainbow sells cornflakes for $1.85), and electricity bills (turn off the lights and call the mood “ambient”).

Recessionista fashion has side benefits as well. Walking instead of driving will cut both pollution and obesity rates, buying cornflakes supports Midwestern farmers who surely don’t get enough in government subsidies as it is, and “ambient” lighting just might spark a few passions—especially if candles are involved.

Still, there are some limits that every penny pincher should respect. My infamously cheap brother turned his heat down to the point that his water pipes burst, costing him more than a little extra electricity would have—not to mention turning off any guests who didn’t want to wear their winter parkas when stopping by for a chat. Certain things (like heat) are essential, others are not.

The key is common sense. For those who aren’t aware that clothes can be worn more than once, know now that they can be. Living simply, cooking a few more meals instead of eating out, and buying only what you really need can make a significant difference in financial security. At the same time, putting on your coat and turning off the heat to save on electricity will turn you into a lonely icicle with an angry landlord. It shouldn’t take reading about the Obamas in the New York Times or Glamour to understand money saving basics, but if it does, by all means read away. For the moment, the Obamas are America’s sweethearts in a fashion I’d encourage imitating.

While I doubt that the Obamas are struggling to make ends meet, it’s important that they are aware of the impact of the recession on ordinary Americans. With the presidential family and their life as visible as it is, it wouldn’t do for them to live flamboyantly. Not only are they role models to millions of young Americans, but appearing materialistic or ostentatious will distance their supporters. Critical to Obama’s victory was his connection to the people—the people who re-wear even their not-so-favorite pieces time and time again.

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