When people complain about inflation, they mention $4 gasoline, $5 lattes and beef steaks that now cost more than $10 a pound.
You know what else is pushing up the cost of living? Fifty-dollar bras. That's how much consumers can spend for specialty items at Victoria's Secret and other undergarment stores.
I set out this week to write about what really causes inflation by looking at the various components of the Consumer Price Index.
But I got sidetracked when I stumbled across a little-used price index on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website that showed that during the past three years, the cost of women's underwear has increased 25 percent.
You know what else is pushing up the cost of living? Fifty-dollar bras. That's how much consumers can spend for specialty items at Victoria's Secret and other undergarment stores.
I set out this week to write about what really causes inflation by looking at the various components of the Consumer Price Index.
But I got sidetracked when I stumbled across a little-used price index on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website that showed that during the past three years, the cost of women's underwear has increased 25 percent.
The index is the BLS's Department Store Inventory Price Index. It is a specialty index that is used mainly for tax purposes and it is not part of the Consumer Price Index.
The department store index measures several items, mostly apparel, that are also covered by the CPI, but from a slightly different perspective, and it uses a different and smaller database, according to the BLS.
Having said that, none of the other apparel categories in the department store index exhibit anything like the raging inflation found in women's underwear. During the same three-year period, other apparel categories in the index posted price changes that were much closer to the actual rate of inflation for the period, about 4 percent.
The department store index measures several items, mostly apparel, that are also covered by the CPI, but from a slightly different perspective, and it uses a different and smaller database, according to the BLS.
Having said that, none of the other apparel categories in the department store index exhibit anything like the raging inflation found in women's underwear. During the same three-year period, other apparel categories in the index posted price changes that were much closer to the actual rate of inflation for the period, about 4 percent.
In fact, the CPI category that includes women's underwear increased just 3 percent during the three years between April 2008 and April 2011. But it is a much broader category that also includes women's night wear, sportswear and accessories. The department store category is just underwear.
The point is that I stumbled across statistical evidence (the department store index) that supports what a couple of female friends tell me they have suspected for some time: that the price for women's underwear is on a steep incline.
The point is that I stumbled across statistical evidence (the department store index) that supports what a couple of female friends tell me they have suspected for some time: that the price for women's underwear is on a steep incline.
If you think I'm wrong, ask the parent of a teenage girl what her daughter's favorite mall store is. Or explain why Victoria's Secret has its own annual prime-time show on a major television network.
In any event, there may be another consumer price category that is every bit as volatile as gasoline, coffee, meat and other items that are commonly cited fueling current inflation fears.
Of course, women's underwear isn't a major factor in the overall economy. Nor will it cause the price of other items to increase the way higher fuel costs and farm commodities do.
In any event, there may be another consumer price category that is every bit as volatile as gasoline, coffee, meat and other items that are commonly cited fueling current inflation fears.
Of course, women's underwear isn't a major factor in the overall economy. Nor will it cause the price of other items to increase the way higher fuel costs and farm commodities do.
Nor is it likely that bra price inflation will continue much longer. The department store index shows that price increases began during the summer of 2008.
From what I've heard, the increases seem to have been driven in large part by new technology, including new designs and new fabrics that are more controlling and more comfortable to wear.
It's not unlike what happened to the golf industry several years ago, when new club and ball technology allowed golfers to hit balls farther and straighter than ever before.
From what I've heard, the increases seem to have been driven in large part by new technology, including new designs and new fabrics that are more controlling and more comfortable to wear.
It's not unlike what happened to the golf industry several years ago, when new club and ball technology allowed golfers to hit balls farther and straighter than ever before.
As a result, golfers invested in new and more expensive equipment.
The CPI has no golf index, but I'm sure that new technology caused golf to become an inflation factor, albeit a small one, just like bras are now.
"We eventually reached a leveling-off point" once technology improvements became much less dramatic, said Des Moines golf store owner George Kinley.
It's a safe bet today that golf equipment sales are more of a deflater than an inflater of the overall economy, just as the falling prices of computers, televisions and cell phones are.
The CPI has no golf index, but I'm sure that new technology caused golf to become an inflation factor, albeit a small one, just like bras are now.
"We eventually reached a leveling-off point" once technology improvements became much less dramatic, said Des Moines golf store owner George Kinley.
It's a safe bet today that golf equipment sales are more of a deflater than an inflater of the overall economy, just as the falling prices of computers, televisions and cell phones are.
In recent years, Kinley said, golf equipment manufacturers would wait until after Father's Day to lower the prices on new model drivers and putters. This year, he said, the price cutting is already under way by some manufacturers.
Will something similar happen at Victoria's Secret next Valentine's Day?
Will something similar happen at Victoria's Secret next Valentine's Day?
