Dish-Houston

Super affluent shoppers have been tightening their Gucci belts over the past year forcing luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc. unveiled its Christmas Book Tuesday with a nod to frugality.

More than 40 percent of the gifts in the catalog's 83rd edition cost less than $250! This list includes another change in the famed holiday catalogue...practical items! Don't misunderstand, prices are still out of reach for the average American. New items include $75 plaid stockings, $235 Italian wool scarves, $100 Ugg slippers, $175 cases for iPhones and $250 Ralph Lauren rain boots.

"Tokens of affection don't have to be extravagant to be brilliantly received," the book's introduction imparts.

Extravagant gifts still abound giving shoppers an escape from the tumult in the financial world. There are limited-edition $105,000 Jaguars, motorcycles for $73,000 and DISH favorite a $25,000 "Cupcake Car" custom-made of colorful fabric, wood and sheet metal and powered by a 24-volt electric motor.

Neiman's is not forgetting the GREENIES, there's an eco-friendly chandelier made of 366 plastic bottles rescued from the landfill. Yours for just $12,000. Forget the fact that you can make your own for 12 dollars!

The Dallas-based chain and its luxury competitors are being forced to adjust their inventory and prices as their well-heeled clients splurge less since the financial meltdown ballooned last fall. While luxury stores' sales have stopped falling in recent months, they remain weak to say the least.

Neiman Marcus, privately held since 2005, reported last month that its fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened compared with a year earlier as revenue fell 26 percent and consumers kept a lid on their spending. For the quarter that ended Aug. 1, the retailer reported a loss of $168.5 million, compared with a loss of $35.6 million a year earlier. Revenue fell to $768.1 from $1.03 billion last year.

For the full fiscal year — as revenue fell 21 percent to $3.64 billion from $4.6 billion — the retailer lost $668 million, compared with a profit of $142.8 million a year earlier.

P.S. DISH wants to e Ralph Lauren Rain Boots and the Cupcake Car. Just and FYI =)