It's prom season. Please mothers, do not, I repeat, do not let your daughters wear this. If I have to explain why ... well ... I won't.

This dress was found on Lightinthebox.com. Here's the original photo, courtesy of BestWeekEver.tv: (And if you think this might be the work of a dirty mind at BestWeekEver.tv, click the previous link to see a screenshot of the site with the original dress).

Since then, Lightinthebox.com has posted up a better-looking photo:

But are all the dresses now altered to this new look? Or is this the handy work of Photoshop?

I'm considering buying my 4-year-old goddaughter an Easter basket. But she's so incredibly spoiled ...

Anyway, if you're looking to throw together a basket for someone for Easter, one shop you should check out is Paper Skyscraper, (of course). Along with a great selection of Easter cards, candy, books and toys, other items that are selling really well this week are spring scarves, jewelry, pretty decorative wallets, Lake Champlain Chocolates, beautiful Tea Forte assortments for hot and iced tea, and cocktail infusers.

The E Bunny visited Paper Skyscraper today. (Photo from Twitter. Follow @paperskyscraper at twitter.com/paperskyscraper)

330 East Blvd

704-333-7130

"My son is going to try to make some money this summer, so he can help, too," she said, walking out the glass door, complete with black burglar bars. She bought the Wii for her son last August as a birthday gift.

With the economy's swirl down the toilet and the need for fast cash on the rise, it makes you wonder — how's pawn shop business doing these days?

Well, it depends on the product and the customer. Sales are down, but the number of people who want to sell their stuff is up. Pawn shops around the Queen City are also seeing a lot of return customers. They won't say how their sales are doing, though, since many of the stores in Charlotte are owned by national chains and even traded publicly on the Stock Market.

"At Christmas, everyone liquidated what they didn't need so they could afford gifts," said Sonny Horne, a gold buyer in Gastonia. He's quick to tell you what he does is different from what pawn shops do, calling the gold market, "Phenomenal."

Ah, springtime. A season known for its birds, bees, flowers and trees, not to mention warmer weather (finally)! So what do we ladies do now? We shop for dresses, of course.

• Found at Civilian

This season's dresses are all about bright colors and exotic prints. The look is girly, yet casual, and both trendy and fun. Several of our favorite trends from the past make a return this season, but a few new looks may steal the spotlight. Here’s what to expect:

Grecian and Roman dresses hit the racks again this spring, as well as other ethnic-inspired pieces. Hope Nicholls, owner of Borris & Natasha, says, “For our store, it’s all about an African motif this season. We have a lot of dresses with African-like beading, and a lot of African inspired accessories as well. That’s definitely our strongest trend right now.”

By Cheris Hodges

As the economy continues to slide into the crapper, some Charlotte residents, community leaders and entrepreneurs are working to keep the businesses in their communities afloat by initiating "shop local" campaigns.

The hope behind these initiatives is that neighbors will choose to spend cash close to home and buy what they can from shops in their own neighborhoods.

James Mathis, Historic South End director for Center City Partners, said it was about last fall when things started to get tight.

"Anyone who was paying attention knew that the economy was declining," said Mathis. "I started to hear from my retailers down in South End that things were a little tight and there was less traffic. They were really looking to Thanksgiving and Christmas as being really vital to their year. That's when we leaped into action."

Mathis leapt and helped to launch the Web site www.discover-southend.com, which was designed to direct more people to South End-based businesses. The site hit the Internet a week before Thanksgiving in an effort to help shops in the neighborhood during the holiday shopping season.

"We created it in two weeks and [South End business owners] put their information on there," he said. Take a visit to the Web destination now and you'll see South End shops -- including restaurants, clothing shops and art galleries -- listed, along with the businesses hours of operation and directions.

Once it was constructed, www.discover-southend.com was promoted via ads in local magazines, banners on buildings in South End and through Center City Partners' marketing department.

"In this economy, it was important. It's one of those deals where in tight times you sort of tighten your straps and do what you have to do to survive and make through this bad economy," said Mathis. "The feedback that I've received is that [residents and business owners] feel a camaraderie when they go and shop locally. They feel like if they are going to spend money that they would like to spend money with people who are going through the same things that they are."

• THREE'S COMPANY: South End business owners (l to r) Josh Frazier (Black Sheep), Johnathan Cuevas (Apostrophe Lounge) and Bobby Webster (Niche)

Of course, everyone was eyeballing the celebrities as they walked down the red carpet for the Oscars. I'll admit it, so was I. I watched the Oscars Sunday, I watched the highlights last night, and I've concluded which dresses I absolutely hated. Here are my three picks for the "WTF were they thinking?" dresses at the Oscars. And these, my friends, are in no particular order.

Miley Cyrus. Why in the world would you wear a dress that's heavier than you? OK, I can see the princess reference that everyone's talking about, but this is just too much. When I saw her walk down the red carpet, I immediately disliked it. Then she opened her mouth and in that Southern twang said she wanted Angelina Jolie to adopt her, and it was over.