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Beauty against recession: Taiwan’s “Lipstick Effect” 妝美麗抗不景氣！台灣出現口紅效應

A model applies lipstick back-stage prior to the start of a fashion show during the Wills India Fashion Week in New Delhi on March 19, 2009.三月十九日，在新德里的威爾斯印度時裝週上，一位模特兒上台走秀前在後台補口紅。 照片：法新社╱馬南．維茲亞亞納 AFP PHOTO/ MANAN VATSYAYANA

Models wear creations by US fashion designer Marc Jacobs for the Louis Vuitton fashion house during his spring-summer 2009 ready-to-wear collection presented in Paris, on Oct. 5, 2008. 二ＯＯ八年十月五日於巴黎，模特兒穿著美國設計師馬可．賈柏為路易威登時裝公司設計的二ＯＯ九年春夏成衣系列走秀。照片：美聯社╱克里斯多夫．艾納 PHOTO: AP/CHRISTOPHE ENA

The “Lipstick Effect” that occurred during the US Great Depression in the 1930s has now appeared in Taiwan.

According to a study by AVON Cosmetics Taiwan, the local lipstick champion, over 50 percent of female respondents are very unsatisfied or unsatisfied with their personal economic situation. The biggest reason is the imbalance between income and expenditures, and almost 30 percent also say they have been laid off or had to take pay cuts or unpaid leave.

As incomes shrink in the economic downturn, Taiwanese women must tighten their budget for cosmetic products. This has caused the relatively cheaper lipstick to buck the trend with increasing sales. Last year, the domestic sales figure for lipstick was almost NT$1.2 billion (about US$365 million), with 3.29 million lipsticks sold, the highest in a decade.

Using Avon’s sales figure as an example, Avon General Manager Karen Wang says the average individual lipstick purchases increased by 55.5 percent last year, and she expects double digit growth this year. The “Lipstick Effect” has reached Taiwan.

Chen Li-chin, the CEO of Perfect Image, an image management company, says that a historic view of the beauty industry shows that the beauty and make up of women has had a significant impact on social atmosphere. By applying lipstick to look good in difficult times, they cheer people up, as did those women who applied lipstick to fight the suffering of World War II with a happy face.

Apart from the “Lipstick Effect,” US economist George Taylor also proposed the famous “Hemline Theory” in 1926, claiming that stock prices move in the same direction as the hemlines of women’s skirts: Lower hemlines means lower stock prices, while a mini skirt fashion means surging stock markets.

However, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, two leading French brands, made completely opposite predictions in their spring/summer collection shows.

Led by fashion emperor Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel displayed a more conservative and pragmatic style at the Paris Fashion Week. Not only did the long skirts trail on the ground, but they were also black-and-white. This is in line with the theory that claims long skirts will be in fashion in a downturn.

Louis Vuitton, however, fought recession in its collection, where over 70 percent of the dresses were super-miniskirts with bright colors.

Fashion critics say the two extremes are not necessarily the designers’ predictions of the economy. Whether recession-hit consumers want to dress conservatively or boost their morale by wearing miniskirts, all depends on their personal choice.

(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG)

經濟不景氣，一九三０年代、美國經濟大蕭條時的「口紅效應」也出現在台灣了。

根據國內口紅銷售冠軍品牌「雅芳 AVON」調查，有超過五成以上受訪女性完全不滿意或不滿意個人經濟狀況，其中最大的原因是自認「收入與付出不成比例」，也有近三成原因是遭公司減薪、裁員或休無薪假。

不景氣、收入減，台灣女性只好緊縮化妝品預算，反而造成單價較低的口紅銷售逆勢成長，去年台灣口紅銷售額近十二億元、賣出三百二十九萬支，是近十年來最高。

雅芳總經理王子云說，以雅芳銷售額為例，去年平均每人口紅購買金額逆勢成長五十五．五％，今年預估還會有兩位數成長，「口紅效應」已出現在台灣。

Perfect Image形象管理學院總監陳麗卿指出，從美容歷史經驗來看，女性裝扮美麗對整體社會氣氛的影響非常巨大，不景氣時期使用口紅裝扮，能振奮人心，正如同二次大戰時期，女性搽上口紅裝扮快樂的面容用以對抗戰爭的痛苦。

其實除了口紅理論，一九二六年美國經濟學家喬治．泰勒也有個知名的「裙襬理論」，裙子越長股市越低迷，而迷你裙盛行，往往正是股市一飛沖天的時刻。

但是對於這個知名的「裙襬理論」，法國兩個代表性品牌香奈兒和路易威登（LV）在春夏大秀裡，則做了截然不同的預測。

由時尚大帝卡爾拉格斐領軍的香奈兒，在巴黎時尚週中，展現保守實穿的風格，裙襬拖長及地，顏色更是以黑白為主調，完全符合裙襬理論中，經濟不景氣長裙將大行其道的說法。

不過LV春夏大秀，則力戰經濟不景氣，有超過七成的服裝以超迷你裙為輪廓，顏色也十分鮮豔。

時尚評論者說，兩種極端的創意，不見得是設計師對景氣的預測。不過消費者在景氣蕭條時刻，到底是要穿得保守低調，還是要以迷你裙提振士氣，就得看消費者自己的選擇。（自由時報記者高嘉和、方惠宗）

QUICK FACTS 補充知識 The “Lipstick Effect” or “Lipstick Theory,” first appeared during the US Great Depression in the 1930s. Simply put, women usually tighten their cosmetic budget in harsh economic times. If they can only afford one product, they are likely to choose cheaper lipsticks. This leads to strong lipstick sales. Similar phenomenons are the “Hemline Index” and the “Short-hair Effect.” As hemlines, stock prices, and wealth drop, women may cut their hair short and wash it themselves to save money. 「口紅效應」或稱作「口紅理論」，最早出現在一九三０年代美國經濟大蕭條期間。簡單來說，就是不景氣，女性會緊縮化妝品預算，在只能考量買一件化妝品下，最優先選擇就是較低價的口紅，造成口紅逆勢熱賣。同樣還有「裙襬指數」、「短髮效應」等說法。當裙擺愈低時、股市愈低迷，或是愈不景氣，女性為省錢，乾脆剪短髮好整理。

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