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?

A LOT CAN HAPPEN in four years. You can lose your mind and not even realize it.
A couple of months ago I received a pitch for a fragrance called Ageless. It's marketed as anti-aging. That claim alone made me game to try it. I was skeptical that anyone could just spray something and erase years, but science is amazing these days.

A FEW MONTHS AGO, some co-workers and I got into a raucous discussion about whether anyone still sews. The conversation involved something about Eunice Farmer and the Sew Simple advice column she was penning at the time, before she retired. My colleagues weren't feeling it. Someone asked if it was practical anymore to buy your child a sewing machine.

NEVER should good, unused fabric be tossed, because someone else might want it. 
I am guilty of this misjudgment and have been wallowing in guilt ever since calls and e-mails started coming in after a reader’s inquiry about where she could donate her fabric.

Any store that draws you to drive past it day after day, when it's not on your path and there isn't a thing in there for you, is pretty darn powerful. The storefront display of Stark & Legum men's store in Norfolk speaks. It's the custard-colored fedora tilted just so. The red newsboy hat. And the purple wingtip shoes. Who's wearing that? You wonder.

On one of the coldest day of the year, on a day that wasn't his, President George W. Bush still couldn't mask his charm at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration. There you had an exiting, unpopular president dressed in all black – and he still looked chipper and dapper! Go figure. Gotta love it.

About the time we turn the page on the calendar and head into the dead of winter, something exhilarating happens. The perfect time for shopping begins. You can get in-season closeouts plus discounted apparel being rolled out for warm weather. A double bonus!

Event to focus on fashion, empowerment

While many men loathe putting on a necktie, or play it safe with traditional patterns, Roger Hirsh hoards them, relishes them. They are an extension of his personality, an opportunity to spark cheer in others. Hirsh has so many ties, he estimates it would take him the better part of a year to wear each one.

Twenty or more of my friends were gathered at the home of my spiritual mentor, who was hosting a going-away party for me. I was about to move a whopping 115 miles away to Houma, La. to take my first full-time reporting position. The food was flowing, the merriment was maximum and the presents were perfect. Well, most of them.