CHICAGO — The rich are different from you and me in a way they should probably get more credit for. They don’t whine so much about the economy.

That makes it hard, economists say, to get an accurate read on whether affluent people are feeling the same kind of financial pain and insecurity that is afflicting their less well-heeled neighbors. Disappointing results at some upscale retail chains such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom seem to suggest they do.

On Tuesday, Saks said its second-quarter revenue dropped 3.5 percent and predicted the rest of the year won’t be much better.

But there is little hard data that indicates a broad spending pullback by the wealthy.

“The rich are not income-constrained, which is why they are rich,” quips Carl Steidtmann, chief economist with Deloitte Research.

Anecdotes and surveys of the rich, however, abound, even though they often offer conflicting views.

Victor Skrebneski, the well-known Chicago portrait photographer, says cutting back is not a topic of conversation at the parties and dinners he attends. He still charges $25,000 a pop for portrait sittings and shoots dozens a year.

“The portrait business is terrific. I don’t know why but it’s terrific,” says Skrebneski.

Ikram Goldman, owner of the tony Ikram boutique on Chicago’s Rush Street, says she isn’t picking up any economic jitters either. “It’s ridiculous to talk about the economy with what we sell,” she said. “We just don’t fit the mold of what happens in the real world.”

When her customers are debating whether to splurge on a $1,100 Narciso Rodriguez suit or a $500 dress by Thakoon, the last thing they complain about is $4 a gallon gas.

Still, when asked whether they’re trying to cut back, rich people give the same answer as everybody else.

In a recent survey by American Express Publishing, 80 percent of America’s richest households said they were looking closely at their spending in every category to see if they can save money, an increase of 12 percentage points since April. The number of affluent and wealthy households reporting they were cutting consumption rose by 33 percent.

The survey defined affluent households as those with discretionary household income of $100,000 to $499,000 after subtracting taxes, mortgage payments and children’s educational expenses. Wealthy was defined as households with discretionary income of more than $500,000. Those two groups represent just 10 percent of the U.S. population but they represent about half of all retail sales, according to American Express.

That means the spending behavior of the rich has an outsized impact. Any significant economizing would be felt by a wide range of industries and service providers from apparel manufacturers to art galleries to pet groomers.

Pam Danziger, a retail consultant who studies the luxury market, says she has witnessed the evolution of a high-end consumer who questions the worth of the luxury lifestyle: the Temperate Pragmatist.