Today’s print edition of the Washington Post has an article in the Style & Arts section, “Last Impressions – When It’s All Going Down the Tube, What Stuff Sticks Around to the End?” It verge on fluff but raises interesting and serious ideas.

Among the last things to go in the Depression was — lipstick.

“It was not particularly expensive, but it was a prized possession,” says Jeremy E. Adamson, director for collections and services at the Library of Congress. “You feel bad anyway, but you make yourself look a little bit better. It says, ‘I care about myself.’ Those little things are terribly important.”

The article notes that the scholarship on the subject of last possessions is scanty because most research in the field is regarding consumerism and acquisition of objects.

What I found most interesting is the juxtaposition of this article with the advertisement that appears on the same page – an ad for what is proclaimed to be “the first feel-good film of the year,” Confessions of a Shopaholic.

I typed the URL the ad gives for the movie – shopaholicmovie.com – into my browser and it redirected to bluefly.com, a popular discount-designer label shopping site, which I suppose really is the most logical place to host the movie’s website.