Why would they lie?

People all over the globe have had to cut back on luxuries because of the bad economy, but it's apparently not a problem for women in at least one country:

Fashion stores in high streets around the world may be suffering from the global financial crisis, but in communist North Korea women have gone on a dress-buying spree.

"Korean dress shops in Pyongyang are bustling with customers in the current spring season," the state news agency KCNA reported on Friday.

Workers had their hands full dealing with a deluge of orders, it said

KCNA quoted a worker in the Ryonghung Korean Dress Shop as saying: "All of them gasp their admiration for the graceful and fascinating costumes on show in the sample room."

The economy of reclusive North Korea is firmly in state hands and foreign analysts say it faces chronic problems, including food shortages.

So, maybe it's true, then. The women probably had to buy new dresses because they had to eat all their old clothes.