We were all impressed with your Halston dress and the people that you knew at Elaine's...

Is Peruvian Princess Alex Kuczynski reining in the purse strings? In her NYT Thursday Styles piece, she visits Dolce & Gabbana in Manhasset, and shares a litle Billy Joel trivia, and does not buy anything, though she is sorely tempted by a rhinestone-studded cocktail dress with a matching knee-length jacket.* Has the frequent (and hilarious) ribbing by Choire Sicha and Tom Scocca over at the Observer‘s Daily Transom contributed to this new restraint? Perhaps it’s their sobering influence which causes Kuczynski to consider the economic realities of her fellow New Yorkers while contemplating the purchase of the $4,700 ensemble: