What can lingerie tell you about the economy?

The myth that the stock market and skirt lengths go up and down together gets tossed around whenever something notable happens in the economy.

The Hemline Theory says that hemlines rise during economic upswings, and fall when times are tough.

Sounds like a stretch, but could there be anything to this theory, which has circulated since the 1930s?

Probably not, Robert Shiller, Nobel Prize-winning economist told Time Magazine last year. “I wouldn’t put too much faith in any of these theories,” he said.

Alas, it seems Shiller has never been asked to market underwear.

In a spirited, if dubious Valentine’s Day advertising ploy, Schick is pointing to a connection between the Canadian dollar and women’s underwear trends. The company insists that when the dollar is performing well, racy lingerie is more popular, and when the loonie goes south, trends become tame.

Taking the theory one step further, the razor manufacturer suggests that wearing lacy lingerie might even give the economy — or at least your love life — a boost.

“Even if lacy lingerie doesn’t help the Loonie recover, it might just improve some peoples’ love life,” says Christine Jew, a spokesperson for the company.

She explains that when there was accelerated growth in the 1960s, babydoll dresses were popular as both apparel and nightwear, and in the early 1980s, another period of growth, bras as outwear hit pop culture.

Now this is the Finance section not Style, but with the exception of Madonna, most women wore more than underwear in public in the 1980s. Right?

This isn’t the first time vested interest groups have tried to correlate sales of their products to economic trends. The term “lipstick index” was coined by Leonard Lauder, chairman of cosmetics giant Estée Lauder, but sorry, the connection just isn’t there.

Other small luxuries that have been tied to the economy, often unsuccessfully? Lipstick, manicures, heel height, tie width, and lattes.

Our suggestion? Spending more time worrying about your finances will give you more purchasing power for lingerie — and everything else.