Black Friday Notebook: Flexing some buying power

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Although Black Friday is usually considered a deeply portentous barometer of the economy, sometimes it’s also a chance to let loose, some shoppers said.

At the Third Street Promenade, Timothy Yeh, 17, sat outside the Urban Outfitters store giggling with a group of friends, surrounded by bags and waiting for their ride.

The high school senior from Rancho Palos Verdes dropped $185 on 15 items, all but three for himself. A friend spent $300 on sweaters and coats.

Yeh got to Urban Outfitters 1 1/2 hours before it opened at 6 a.m. and struggled to squeeze through a wall of shoppers before nabbing a gray peacoat marked down to $50 from $150.

“As I was going into the store, I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “But if it’s for Urban Outfitters, I’m OK with that. I want to be a hipster so bad.”

He then waited an hour to check out.

Black Friday “separates all the true shoppers from the wannabes who all drop out because they can’t take it,’ he said.

At a Kohl’s store in Ontario, Cheryl Smith, 57, was looking forward to all five of her sons and their families being around for the holidays. She used to spend just $150 per household for gifts; now, she’s shelling out $100 per person.

And why not spend to reflect her good mood, reasoned the church bookkeeper, who bought a 42-inch flat-screen television for $398 at Wal-Mart and then picked up pillows, necklaces and other items at Kohl’s.

“It’s been a good year for my husband and I,” she said. “We got to buy a house this year, we’re secure, our jobs are secure, and with all of our kids coming home we want it to be extra special.”

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-- Nardine Saad and Rick Rojas