Ever wonder what the difference is between a sheath dress and a shift? An A-line and a trapeze? We all have to get dressed and should know if we're wearing a cowl neck or a halter.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Sparse foot traffic this week in the Las Vegas Convention Center suggests fewer people than usual made tracks to town for one of the shoe industry's biggest conventions.

From Hollywood's Kim Cattrall and Paris Hilton to Springfield's Lisa Geier and Shirley Holt, dog owners seek more than squeaky toys and cushy beds for their pampered pooches.

It's enough to make a chap sit down heavily on the horsehair sofa and fan himself vigorously with a copy of The Times. The Garrick Club, one of the last bastions of establishment formality, is relaxing its rules over members' clothing.

Once dismissed as imperialist fantasies about the Muslim world, British orientalist paintings are once again becoming popular. Their exotic visions tell us much about the social and cultural history of Victorian Britain