Be an conscientious consumer. Check out this article from columnist Amy Goodman on the toxins that are in everyday stuff like cosmetics and toys — yes, your children's toys! Here's an excerpt:

Schapiro told me, "Whether it is your nail polish, eye shadow, shampoo, essentially personal-care products, is not regulated by the (Food and Drug Administration) ... numerous times in the Senate, over the last 50 years, there have been efforts to expand the purview of the FDA, and it's been repeatedly beaten back by the cosmetics industry." Details on the toxins are hard to come by. Schapiro continued, "The reason I even know what kind of material is in cosmetics is not because the FDA has told us; it's actually because the European Union has taken the action to remove that stuff, and they have a list."

And another:

In the wake of the 2007 China toy recall in the Unites States (because of lead found in the toys), Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. A key provision, mandating a ban of phthalate- and lead-containing products intended for children 12 years of age and younger, went into effect Feb. 10. If you bought a plastic toy before that date, beware: After the law passed last summer, some stores stuffed their shelves with tainted toys and sold them at fire-sale prices to unload their inventory.

For the Michael Jordans in the world, you can always buy clothes at Casual Male or Big & Tall — clothing stores that specialize in dressing, well, big and tall men. But what about small and short men? How can men of shorter stature buy clothes and get them altered without looking like they're wearing their dad's clothes?

Simply shortening a suit's hems and sleeves can leave the collar too broad, the pockets oversized, the armholes gargantuan, the elbow curves too low and the rear droopy.

All this can make a small man look even smaller. "Taller men can get away with having things look a little baggy," says Mr. Lefkowitz. But the wrong fit "can make us look schlumpy."

In today's Wall Street Journal's On Style column, writer Christina Binkley tackles that very subject by interviewing 5-foot-2 designer Jimmy Au, whose Beverly Hills store sells clothing cut to fit shorter men.

There should be more of these stores, considering one out of three men in the United States is under 5 feet 8 inches tall, don't you agree?

Height, for a man, is the ultimate power marker. An added inch of height is equivalent to an extra $30,000 year of salary, on average, when it comes to attracting a mate, says Andrew Trees, author of "Decoding Love," a book about the science of attraction. Height also affects earnings -- though less dramatically: Each inch earns you about $600 more per year in salary after controlling for variables like education, he says.

Read the full story here.

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping.

• Bartering booms during economic tough times: USAToday.com

• Survey: Small business owners resilient: CharlotteBusinessJournal.com

• K-Fed to make line of children's clothing: Style.com

• How did NY Fashion Week's 116 shows treat models of color?: Jezebel.com

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping.

• Lowe's to give Habitat for Humanity $20 million: CharlotteBusinessJournal.com

• T-shirt theft turns into brawl: CharlotteObserver.com

• Nordstrom to lower prices: WSJ.com

• Nintendo DSi available on Walmart.com: TalkingShopping.com

Interested in knowing more about the current spending habits of Charlotte while in a recession? Are people shopping or aren't they? Check out a story from reporter Cheris Hodges: "A mixed bag of spending."

• Look at all the cars at Northlake Mall.

Despite the “Space Available” and “Goodbye Sale” signs popping up all over Myers Park storefronts, retail owners are surprisingly optimistic.

Nonie McVicker, a sales associate at Tennille & Co., which is located in Selwyn Corners shopping center, admitted that shoppers have been slower to purchase. But she also made sure to mention that “business was doing better this January than a year ago.”

One owner of a store on Selwyn Avenue, who asked not to be named, offered the same information, claiming that after selling antiques in Charlotte for over 30 years, business showed no signs of slowing down.

“If women don’t have the intention of shopping, then they don’t come in. We don’t get a lot of accidental traffic,” said Erin Zelickson, a former employee of the fashion-forward boutique Surface.

Surface recently closed its doors, but Zelickson has continued to work at Perris, another boutique across the street owned by the same mother-daughter duo, Kerry and Kendra Surface. Perris has been a fixture in Charlotte fashion — opened by Kerry over 20 years ago.

“Women feel guilty coming home with shopping bags when their husbands have just been laid off,” Zelickson said, offering another reason why she felt women’s clothing boutiques were having such a hard time.

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping.

• Ritz Camera files Chapter 11: Twice.com

• Style Network's Running in Heels aims for documentary look at fashion: WSJ.com

• Woman accused of selling baby for $130: CNN.com

• AmEx offers $300 to credit card holders to close accounts: MSNBC.com

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping.

• Oscar fashion hits and misses: MSNBC.com

• Winner of Project Runway lures retail execs: WSJ.com

• Recall Alert: Old Navy stuffed toys: TalkingShopping.com

• Target spreads across map: Consumerist.com

I like Michael Kors' fall line.

I figured I'd start this post off with a quick, simple assertion of my opinion to get it over with. If you want to skip reading the rest of this post to watch the video, I understand.

Michael Kors' fall collection is dangerous and sexy: high-slitted skirts, lots of attention to the shoulders with puffy sleeves and one-shoulder dresses.

And the pink dress with one pocket? How gangster.

From WWD.com:

For his answer to the great recession quandary, Michael Kors came down firmly on the side of elegant practicality over indulgence. “Investment pieces don’t have to be boring,” he said. “They can be sexy.”

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping.

• Texas Stadium sale: Everything must go:  CBS/Dallas local news

• Barefoot is the new killer heel at Brian Reyes show: Glamour.com

• Gamestop sees growth despite economic slowdown: Reuters.com

• Lowe's profit tumbles as shoppers scrimp: MSNBC.com