When I climbed into a Body Magic reshaper last month, I stepped into an emotional magnet.
I tried Body Magic for a few days and wrote about it on Oct. 26 ("Body Magic or medieval torture?"). Following that column, numerous readers and Ardyss independent distributors weighed in about me and the product.

NORFOLK Maryfrances Jerez pondered her options. Sequins, beads or lace? Strapless or halter? The wedding dress she chose for her mother, Carmen Baca, had to be perfect.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Even for a venue as grand as New York's Carnegie Hall, there was a pretty dazzling concentration of star power at Glamour magazine's Women of the Year awards.

This is a rags-to-riches story that stops before we get to the riches.
"Coco Before Chanel" deals with the life of an orphan named Gabrielle Chanel who became the most influential fashion icon of the 20th century, a champion of women's liberation and a jet-set icon. As the title suggests, it is the before, not the after.

The economy is in the toilet.

Consumer confidence is right beside it.

Unemployment is up. The stock market is iffy.

And Sears, Foot Locker, Waldenbooks and others have closed stores this year.

So, what’s a luxury retailer to do? Keep doing business as usual, baby.

VIRGINIA BEACH

Virginia Fashion Week is already in full swing. Check back Monday for full coverage of the events and a video.

Some of the fashion by designer Yulia Rock is displayed by models in the Virginia Fashion Week. (Ross Taylor | The Virginian-Pilot)

Virginia Fashion Week will host its first hair competition tonight, Oct. 28,  at Guadalajara Town Center, Virginia Beach. 
The event, which starts at 6 p.m., will feature three categories - cut, color and style; special occasions and fantasy. 

I pick up the phone some weeks ago, and on the line is a frequent caller to this newspaper.
"Jamesetta, have you heard about Body Magic?" Karen Mitchell of Portsmouth asks.
"No, Karen, what is it?"
"Jamesetta, you mean to tell me you haven't heard about Body Magic?"
I'm going crazy. What the heck is Body Magic?

NORFOLK When a couple people asked Petty Officer 3rd Class Tommy Doerflinger if he wanted to model for GQ during his ship’s Fleet Week visit to New York City, he thought it was a joke – until a magazine scout approached him at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square.