Unbranded shopping bags, secret shopping parties at homes, purchases made to look like gifts–these are the lengths to which people are going to hide their spending from their husbands, wives and the public this holiday season.

The New York Times and the Daily Beast have both recently run articles about how people who don’t want to be seen as insensitive to the financial crisis are finding more discrete ways to spend money. Who are these people (mostly women judging from the reports), and what do their new habits say about luxury?

I believe that many of these women are classic Thetas–they seek affiliation and control, and want to contextualize themselves in a group of like-minded women (a group that often gets together and has these secret shopping parties.). They are not acting like Lambdas, who seek achievement and uniqueness and want to stand out.

Said an editor at Allure, a likely Theta:

Shopping is almost embarrassing, and a little vulgar right now.

Despite this sentiment, people are still going out of their way to consume luxury secretly; there’s still demand for it. Thetas are seeking it out on their own–perhaps more attention should be placed on reaching Lambdas during the recession to unlock their desire for things they need.