As Fashion Week winds down in New York and designers from around the world roll out their clothing collections, two words spring to mind: good riddance.

No, it's not just that the models are often ridiculously skinny and that the fashion industry promotes an unhealthy, unsustainable body image to women. (What typical woman can actually fit these clothes?) Neither am I put off by the over-the-top garments dreamed up by various luminaries from the world of fashion. (Though I do frequently think: besides runway models, who would wear these creations?)

Mainly, I'm glad to see Fashion Week come to an end for one basic reason: money.

Simply put: the vast majority of the women (and men) being marketed to at these events can't afford those extravagant clothes and accessories – at least not on a regular basis. But that won't stop millions of women from trying, and from going into debt to do so.


Who is Fashion Week Really Targeting?

We've all seen the celebrities perched in the front rows or mugging for the cameras at Fashion Week (think Zoe Saldana or Victoria Beckham). But remember: many of these celebrities don't have to buy designer's high-priced wares. If you're an A-list film star, television actress, or singer, chances are designers are throwing their clothes at you. The pros of the fashion business, from up-and-coming designers to iconic veterans of the industry, jump at the chance to get a household name photographed in their clothes. So they give celebrities clothes absolutely free.

For the rest of us, those designers want your cold, hard dollars or you can just keep stepping.

I know that some people suggest that Fashion Week is really just a big show for the media and professional buyers, since the looks on display often wind up in boutique stores and high-end shops, as opposed to mass-market retailers. But try telling that to the 35-year-old working woman shopping at Nordstrom or Macy's. She's often consciously or subconsciously trying to emulate a look she saw on some catwalk on in a fashion magazine. So she too is willing to pay a premium for certain styles or specific designer labels.
The Recession Isn't Exactly Over

But even with the signs of life we're seeing in the economy – I think the Obama Administration calls them "green shoots" – now simply isn't the time to engage in or encourage reckless consumption and unbridled spending, especially on such luxuries as couture dresses from Oscar de la Renta or fur-trimmed clutch purses from Michael Kors.

As women, we all want to look good. So please don't get me wrong. I like to see (and wear) nice clothes just as much as the next person. But there's a line I won't cross – as in routinely buying clothes, shoes, handbags and other goodies that are roughly equal to most people's car payments, or even their monthly mortgages.

From the Catwalk to the Magazine Rack

That's why I'm extremely disturbed by the unrealistic expectations that are fed to women about how to dress and how much money it allegedly takes to "get the look" and look good. It happens at Fashion Week, but it also happens month after month when you flip through the pages of most women's-oriented magazines, from Vogue and Elle to Essence, Cosmopolitan and beyond.

It's as if they're saying to the public: In order to look good (or at least look like this supermodel), not only to you have to be a size 0 or a size 2 like she is, but you also have to wear the clothes and accessories that she does. Oh, and by the way, it'll set you back a couple grand to pull together this whole look. (In fairness to Essence, that magazine is probably the one major exception when it comes to showcasing beautiful women of all sizes). But you get my point: it's that the fashion industry and all its players are constantly trying to sell us very expensive products that most women just can't afford.

So I don't know about you, but the next time someone pitches you a pair of $1,495 boots or a $500 cashmere sweater, I think it's high time we tell them: "Thanks, but no thanks."

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Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, an award-winning financial news journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter for CNBC, has also been featured in top newspapers including the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times, as well as magazines ranging from Essence and Redbook to Black Enterprise and Smart Money. Check out her New York Times bestseller, 'Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom.'