Supposedly, few people have money to burn lately, but you'd never know it based on what I'm seeing at some area stores. For at least the past three weeks, the major retail centers along Greenbrier Parkway in Chesapeake have been overrun with customers. People are streaming into Bed, Bath & Beyond, T.J. Maxx, J.C. Penney, Target and the like.

It was an evening to remember.

The grand finale of Virginia Fashion Week 2008 was indeed a treat.

A dizzying array of designs hit the catwalk one after another Sunday afternoon in a fashion event poised to put Virginia on the style map.

It's really too much to even talk about in one review. You should have been there to see it.

Only three things are almost guaranteed to send me into a hissy fit and maim you if you're the offender: 1. Marring my wood floors with indentations from the exposed nail on the heel of your shoe, 2. Purposefully stepping on any given pair of my purple boots and 3. Touching my plum faux-fur jacket from Value City.

Michelle Obama has quickly become a style icon. She's just like anybody else, so I wouldn't say she gets it right every time, but she's striking enough hits to keep people clamoring for her look.

Spirit Fingerz (noun) gloves of spirit, designed around your favorite team, group or club. Each Spirit Finger contains a pompom attached to the tip of the finger, which is used to intensify your levels of spirit!

My whole life pretty much has come off the clearance racks – clothes, house, job … whatever. Nabbing high quality for less hasn’t bothered me much. Then, the report came out last week that the Republican National Committee had spent $150,000 in two months on clothes and accessories for vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska. 

If a person named April Spring were anything other than spunky and full of reinvigorating ideas, it would be like a chilly, windy day in July. Unnatural.

But April Spring, the designer from Norfolk, is true to her name.

She will not give an idea time to turn cold.

In case you haven’t gotten the memo, frugal is the new black, the new green, the new vogue.
Yeah, big news.

Give and receive The Salvation Army and Stein Mart have teamed for the "Give & Receive" campaign that lasts through Saturday. Stein Mart is accepting gently used clothing that will be given to The Salvation Army. In return, contributors will receive a 20 percent off coupon for purchases at Stein Mart. In South Hampton Roads, Stein Mart is located at these two locations:

Tucked into an off-center artery of Norfolk’s historic Ghent business district sits éclectique Mélange . Everything about this boutique is off-center – in a Kimora-Lee-Simmons fabulosity way – from the spelling of the shop’s name to its eccentric merchandise to its glam owner.