There is a link between high spending on children's apparel and number of senior residents, according to Pitney Bowes Mapinfo, a demographic research firm. Three of cities with high spending patterns on children's clothes have retirement homes for affluent grandparents. These are in Juneau, Alaska and West Palm Beach and Fort Myers in Florida.

A dress code banning urban wear at the Brunswick House, a popular nightspot for University of Toronto students, is generating controversy. The decades-old establishment has signs which explicitly prohibit baggy pants, do-rags, bandanas, track-suits, jerseys, tank tops and reverse baseball caps. Most of these items are apparel associated with the black community, raising the specter that the ban may spark controversy.

Probably as long as there have been children and elders, there have been different ideas about fashion. Kids want the freedom to express themselves and have peer approval. Parents want their children to present themselves as respectable, whatever that may mean to the parent. In one Chicago suburb, though, the town government has gotten involved.

The waif-look could soon be officially out in the land of fashion houses. On Tuesday, the lower house of parliament adopted a landmark measure making it illegal for anyone -- including fashion magazines and celebrities - to incite or promote unhealthy thinness.

The French fashion industry led fashion houses, advertising firms and media outlets signed on Wednesday a charter to fight anorexia among models in magazine advertisements and catwalks. The anti-anorexia drive in the world's fashion capital was led by Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot along with groups in other countries worldwide. This will put an end to the display of ultra-skinny bodies of fashion models.