Status Strollers

I must admit to living in a neighborhood where conspicuous consumption is the name of the game. In my community, homes are being built that are true monuments to excess. And it doesn't stop there. These homes are being used as receptacles for yet more consumer items. From the luxury SUVs parked in front, to the custom kitchens inside, to the multilevel hardwood swingsets installed out back, the Five Towns is definitely not what I would call a model community for restraint when it comes to spending. So I guess I should have seen the advent of the "Status Stroller" as inevitable.

Evidently, the new must-have accessory in the Five Towns for hip mommies in the know is the $1,000 stroller (with accessories). It started small. Six months ago, I only saw a few of these dotted about the shul stroller parking lot. But now, these strollers (called bugaboos, in case you might not be up on the lingo) seem to be proliferating...well, like bugs. You know what they say about roaches, "if you see one, there are 100 more where that one came from"? Well, that seems to be the case with these bugaboos. They are crawling out of the woodwork. Unlike roaches, though, they don't only come in brown. I have seen them in every color imaginable, in denim, even in ultrasuede! They have managed to creep their way into almost every conversation. Overheard in the coffee shop yesterday: "I'm so depressed. I jumped on the aubergine, when really, I should have waited until the 2006 colors came out." Yeah. Whatever. Really depressing. Want to know what I find depressing, girls? That this is what passes for conversation these days.

Now excuse me, I need to take my baby out for a walk in my jalopy of a stroller. And it doesn't depress me a bit. As a matter of fact, I couldn't feel luckier - not even if I were to get a gray bugaboo cameleon with orange and red fleece fabric, complete with diaper bag, bag clips and footmuff (did I leave anything out?).