Would you buy a $2,500 Valentino dress for your company Christmas party (if it hasn't already been cancelled)? We've all gotten used to seeing and buying luxury goods over the last few years, they are easy to find and with credit, it's easy to buy and forget the high price—once it has been lumped in with all those other "necessary" purchases on the monthly statement.

What if that same dress was now $750 instead of $2,500? That's 70% off for the math impaired. Looks like finding yourself in a designer original is getting easier these days. How luxurious is that?

Let's make a quick review of the expected qualities of luxury brands and see how they stand up in today's marketplace. High-quality... yes, but maybe not as high as it used to be. Expensive... apparently good deals can be found. Hard to find.... checked your discount department store lately. Limited quantity... again, questionable. Exclusive... ask that lady next to you pawing through a pile of Prada wallets in the sale bin at Saks.

Bulgari will spend less to make your very expensive watch. Is that ok?Luxury brands are finding themselves in a bit of a quandry. In the push to become more profitable, they have created a genie that won't go back into the proverbial bottle. With the acknowledgement of the current recession and expected further downturn in the economy and jobs, how will luxury brands continue to stay in the black? In this article from the New York Times, Francesco Trapani, chief of Bulgari admits that the company is searching for ways to save money in these difficult times—but are cheaper boxes really going to make a difference to the bottom line? From my perspective luxury goods producers have two options—go mass market (as many already have) and hope like hell no one notices or, pull back, retool and get back to being all the things luxury brands are supposed to be—high-quality, high-priced goods that can only be found and afforded by those with both money and access. In this guilded age, I imagine there will still be a few millionaires and billionaires wandering around, even in bad economic times.

As I've opined before, a Louis Vuitton bag just doesn't seem as rarified and desireable if every woman in the market is carrying one. Though I've never really been able to afford super high-end items, I have been known to scrimp and save for a trendy, indulgent item (thank you Tim Gunn). Knowing that my Luella Giselle bag is only one of two or three in my neighborhood makes it special and worth every penny I spent on it. I may never be able to buy another, but this one will be handed down to my daughter and hopefully will retain it's value. This won't be true for those brands that want to sell more and give less.

These next few years will be interesting in so many ways, but I'm betting that the trends in the luxury market will be riveting!