GREEN & GLOVER: Horsin' around

By Stephanie Green and Elizabeth Glover

The Economy, Briefly

When times are tough, economists have a strange way of gauging how desperate people are to save a few pennies. Former Federal Reserve Chairman and erudite money man Alan Greenspan told National Public Radio that the sales in men's underwear are important indicators of how bad things are. He theorized that when people have to scrimp, they are less likely to buy new underwear because, unlike shirts and socks, underwear is one thing they can get away with recycling because it can't be seen.

Building on Mr. G's premise, our friends over at undies retailer freshpair.com have launched a new Web site called cheapundies.com, which offers a wide swath of labels such as Diesel, DKNY and, of course, Calvin Klein at nearly 75 percent off so the cash-strapped can still be sexy on the inside.