The question is whether this woman has stopped shopping, faced with tightening the family budget, or whether she has transferred her apparel budget elsewhere?

One possibility is she's shifting her apparel spending to less expensive and more casual active apparel, an increasingly acceptable substitute for sportswear. According to a 2006 survey by Lucy, which VF Corp. bought last year, two-thirds of American women dedicate at least half of their closets to activewear. Brands like Lucy, Lululemon, Nike and Adidas all seem to be soaring despite the economic downturn, and it's possible women are choosing to buy a pair of yoga pants — which can be washed, instead of dry-cleaned, and which are less expensive than better sportswear — instead of dress pants.

"When gas goes to $4 and you have to pay more for food, it affects everyone, and this woman is being more selective," said Andrea Goldreyer, better market analyst for The Doneger Group, the fashion merchandising consulting firm. "Business is challenging, and everyone is all about inventory control. Overall, the more modern zone is gaining space because that's what the customer is reacting to. It's a significant movement, but even our more classic resources are updating with more sophistication and color."

Better dress resource Donna Morgan is seeing its sales maintained at around $35 million, even as sell-throughs slip by up to 50 percent and the line is slightly reducing its door count to around 1,000.

"There are no consumers in the stores," said Kathleen McFeeters, ceo and president of Donna Morgan. "For fall, retailers are being very cautious, trying to figure out where is the breaking point for the customer between gas prices and the recession."