IF AMERICAN CONSUMERS ARE SO WORried about their jobs and armpit-deep in debt, why do Mont Blanc's five U.S. stores keep running out of their 888 Prince Regent pens, at $5,900 a pop? And why does Chanel have a waiting list for its $2,999 double-breasted tweed dresses for spring, which have yet to reach the stores?
Well, if you have to ask, it's because the rich are back to being different. Following a brief, unsatisfying fling with modesty in the early 1990s, they've renewed their lust for luxe and are making upscale stores the brightest spot on the dowdy U.S. retail...
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