LUXX has double page ads of the most expensive items on the market.

The first page features £9,000 gold and diamond sunglasses, a £39,000 litre of bespoke scent, £3,495 for shoes, £850,000 for erotic books.

Who could this magazine be aimed at, the girlfriends of oligarchs? Not even star fund managers would consider buying these items in today’s economic climate.

Have these editors not heard of Northern Rock, corporate failure, credit market disarray, banking meltdown, the slump in the housing market? With consumer spending down and even the high octane end of the investment market advising caution, you wonder how responsible it is for a prestige newspaper to recommend frivolous waste?

I read the Editor’s Letter which states ‘most research points to the fact that during a financial downswing, people still spend money and quite a lot of it.’ What planet does this woman inhabit? What researcher could make such a statement? I looked at the photos of the six contributors and wondered if they have any grasp on reality. Judging from their smug looks, I guess not. The Times wears Prada! Sadly.