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Google search czarina Marissa Mayer explains her "personal style philosophy" — or, at least, that of her personal shopper and the staff at Bergdorf's — in a comprehensive if hardly hard-hitting followup to the launch of iGoogle's designer themes in the Wall Street Journal. Yes, the woman who showed up to her first interview in a sweater from Macy's INC International Concepts line is being crowned as a new tastemaker. Even as the economy takes a nosedive, Mayer jokes about being an unrepentant label chaser:

I remember I'd be babysitting and I'd be saving up money for the latest Guess? sweatshirt at the mall.

That kind of early influence would explain the smiley-face sweater she's modeling in this picture from the slideshow. At least she's a fashion savant compared to Sergey Brin and his white, latex bodysuit.

The launch of a designer-influenced iGoogle aside, is this a good time for Mayer to be bragging about her expensive wardrobe? Last we checked, Google's stock is in the tank, recession talk abounds, and ordinary people are choosing between new Wal-Mart George jeans and gasoline. Perhaps there's some countercyclical wisdom in Mayer's aspirational Web layouts: This is as close as most Google users will get to Mayer's lifestyle.