Diana's wedding dress, gowns in exhibition coming to West Edmonton Mall

With news of the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy causing excitement among fans of British royalty, the late grandmother of that yet-to-born heir to the throne is the focus of an exhibition coming to West Edmonton Mall.
"Diana, A Celebration," chronicling the life and work of the Princess of Wales who died in a 1997 Paris car crash, has toured widely in the U.S. and has had only one other Canadian stop, at Toronto's Design Exchange a decade ago.
Covering almost 650 square metres, the exhibition contains 150 objects including Diana's wedding gown with its 7 1/2-metre-long train, as well as 28 of her designer dresses. It will run Feb. 9 to June 9 on Level 2 of the mall.
All profits from the show, on loan from Britain's Althorp Estate, go to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

Read More..

School Modesty Club Says Cover Up

High-school freshman Saige Hatch was sick of seeing her peers revealing too much skin when she came to school each day.
The 15-year-old saw midriff-grazing tops, exposed cleavage, short shorts.
"From elementary to middle school, and then to high school, I noticed immodesty," she told ABCNews.com. "I really wanted to start a club to bring awareness to it and bring remembrance to what modesty is."
Inspired by her brother's No Cussing Club, Hatch started the Modesty Club at South Pasadena High School in South Pasadena, Calif., in September to bring attention to her cause.
"A shift is coming, sneaking through the literal fabric of our culture," read a statement on the club's website. "Our bright heroic women are being made the fool. A fool to think that to be loved they must be naked. To be noticed they must be sexualized. To be admired they must be objectified."
While South Pasadena High School has a dress code that requires students to cover the "range of skin from armpit to 'The Bottom Line,'" defined as "a hand's width below the bottom of the buttocks," Hatch is crusading for a more traditional definition.
She said she views immodest dress as showing cleavage, showing one's midriff or one's shoulders. Immodesty also includes shorts, dresses, pants and skirts that are too short or tight, she said.
The Modesty Club only boasts 17 members at school, but Hatch said the website has helped to garner more than 1,000 members who come from all 50 states and 14 countries.
This week, Michael Cacciotti, the mayor of South Pasadena, commended Hatch for her efforts and granted her a proclamation. The city has declared Dec. 3 through the 7 "Modesty Week" in South Pasadena.
Cacciotti had granted her brother a similar proclamation when he started his own club.
"People are afraid to stand up," Hatch said. "I know there are a lot of people who wanted to start it, but sometimes it's hard to stand up and take the courage to start a club."
But Brent Hatch, Saige's father, said he was hesitant to let his daughter start the club after he saw what his son went through. When Saige's brother, McKay, started the No Cussing Club in 2009, it spurred thousands of hate messages.
"During the death threats and the bomb threats and the packages and the calls and all the chaos, my daughter said to me when she was in the fifth grade that she wanted to start a modesty club," said Hatch, who co-authored "Raising a G-Rated Family in an X-Rated World," with his wife, Phelecia. "I laughed and said it's not going to happen, especially with what McKay's going through.
"I said, 'You're going to get made fun of at school for going against the grain,'" he said. "My son, I could handle. But my daughter, I didn't know what was going to happen."
Saige was persistent, and ultimately her father caved.
He's finding that even though she has support, the mocking has returned.
"My van was egged, people graffitied on it," he said. "We had people call our house making threats again."
Saige said that as she moves forward with the club, she plans to put together an online petition to members of the film and magazine industries for more modest attire.
She has plans to write to clothing designers to make more modest clothing for women, in general, and to arrange to have a vote in school to enforce the dress code or switch to uniforms, she said.
But her biggest inspiration remains her brother.
"I want to make a change in the world, like he did," she said.

Read More..

Australian prank call radio to donate profits to nurse's family

The Australian radio station behind a prank call to a British hospital will donate its advertising revenue until the end of the year to a fund for the family of the nurse who apparently took her own life after the stunt, the company said on Tuesday.
Southern Cross Austereo , parent company of Sydney radio station 2Day FM, said it would donate all advertising revenue, with a minimum contribution of A$500,000, to a memorial fund for the nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, who answered the telephone at the hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife, Kate.
The company has suspended the Sydney-based announcers, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, scrapped their "Hot 30" programme and suspended advertising on the station in the wake of the Saldanha's death. Southern Cross said it would resume advertising on its station from Thursday.
"It is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts continue to be with the family," Southern Cross Chief Executive Officer Rhys Holleran said in a statement.
"We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time."

Read More..

Dry Cleaning Mix-Up Leaves Woman with Wrong Wedding Dress

Many women love to shop, and there is one particular shopping occasion that they'll never forget -- the day they buy their wedding gown. After the wedding, some brides have their dress cleaned and preserved by a professional dry-cleaning company and put into a preservation box forever, or at least until they are ready to pass the dress to their daughter, granddaughter, or other close relative.
Kim Jones of Georgia and her daughter Emily opened the box containing what she thought was her wedding dress, 26 years after it was originally preserved. What she found inside was not her dress. It was an entirely different dress that had sleeves and was a completely different color than the dress she had worn on her wedding day. Understandably, Kim and her daughter were stunned and upset by what they found. She had hoped to pass down her dress to her daughter to wear on her wedding day. Emily told the Tennessean, "As the only girl in the family, this is the one thing that my mother had for me. She took the time to keep it and preserve it. And to find out that it wasn't hers after all these years was very disappointing."
Kim believes that the mix-up of her dress and someone else's must have taken place at the dry cleaner. The ticket number for her dress was just one digit off from the one on the dress in the box. She tried to contact White Way Cleaners in Brentwood, Tennessee, but found the store was no longer in business. Kim is still searching for her wedding gown.
If you have any information that could help Kim find her missing gown, please contact Bonnie Burch at The Tennessean who first reported the story. You can e-mail her at bburch@tennessean.com. Hopefully, our stories and word-of-mouth will help Kim locate her lost dress.

Read More..

Teen fashion blogger branches out with book

Tavi Gevinson has accomplished more in her 16 years than most people double her age.
The style blogger, writer and darling of the fashion set launched a fashion blog from her suburban Chicago home before she turned 12. Two years later it was getting 50,000 hits a day and she was a fixture in the front row of fashion shows in New York, Paris and Tokyo.
Profiles of the young fashionista followed in the New York Times and the New Yorker, along with stories in French Vogue and in teen magazines.
Gevinson has added editor to her credits with the publication of "Rookie Yearbook One," a compilation of articles, photographs and drawings from her Rookie website, which she started about 15 months ago.
"I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to do a print component. Each month on the site is a different theme. I eventually realized that to do a yearly book, and call it a yearbook, would be the best format," she said.
The second book, due next September, is already in the works.
Despite its young audience, the yearbook claims it is not a guide to being a teenager. But with topics ranging from family, friends, relationships, to fashion and school its appeal is obvious.
And Gevinson admits she started the website, which focuses less on fashion and more on teen life, because there wasn't an online magazine for adolescent girls that respected its readers' intelligence.
"I decided to make a website and now a book that didn't talk down to teenagers and had beautiful art, fine articles about TV and all of that."
FROM BEDROOM BLOGGER TO BOOMING BUSINESS
With more than 300 pages, 80 contributors, and articles ranging from "How to Bitchface" to "Breakup Breakdown" and "How to Approach the Person You Like Without Throwing Up," the book navigates teenage angst and a range of other topics and includes photos and graphics.
"Rookie is a place to make the best of the beautiful pain and cringe-worthy awkwardness of being an adolescent girl," is how Gevinson described it.
It has also attracted some star power, namely online interviews with "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm giving advice about love and guys, and wise words from actor Paul Rudd and producer/director Judd Apatow.
When Gevinson started her blog at 11 she saw it as an outlet that helped her get through middle school. She never expected it to mushroom into a website and the business it is today with a huge fan base.
The youngest of three children, Gevinson recently completed a tour to Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Toronto and other cities to promote the book and still manages to keep up with her school work.
Her father, a retired English teacher, oversees the business side of Rookie, and there is a staff of paid adult editors, photographers and designers who work on the website and manage its contributors.
Despite it all, Gevinson seems unfazed by her success and the celebrity status that has come with it.
"I've enjoyed feeling I make something and people understand it, and that there are other people going through the things that I go through," she said. "That to me is the most valuable thing -- being heard by people who understand it.

Read More..

US fixed mortgage rates fall to new record lows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed U.S. mortgage rates fell again to new record lows, providing prospective buyers with more incentive to brave a modestly recovering housing market.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.62 percent. That's down from 3.66 percent last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.89 percent, below last week's previous record of 2.94 percent.
The rate on the 30-year loan has fallen to or matched record low levels in 10 of the past 11 weeks. And it's been below 4 percent since December.
Cheap mortgages have provided a lift to the long-suffering housing market. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are up from the same time last year. Home prices are rising in most markets. And homebuilders are starting more projects and spending at a faster pace.
The number of people who signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose in May, matching the fastest pace in two years, the National Association of Realtors reported last week. That suggests Americans are growing more confident in the market.
Low rates could also provide some help to the economy if more people refinance. When people refinance at lower rates, they pay less interest on their loans and have more money to spend. Many homeowners use the savings on renovations, furniture, appliances and other improvements, which help drive growth.
Still, the pace of home sales remains well below healthy levels. Many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.
And the sluggish job market could deter some would-be buyers from making a purchase this year. The U.S. economy created only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year. The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent last month, up from 8.1 percent in April.
The government reports Friday on June employment.
Mortgage rates have been dropping because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. A weaker U.S. economy and uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis have led investors to buy more Treasury securities, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increase, the yield falls.
To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.8 point, up from 0.7 percent last week. The fee for 15-year loans also was 0.7 point, unchanged from the previous week.
The average rate on one-year adjustable rate mortgages fell to 2.68 percent, down from 2.74 percent last week. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans rose to 0.5 point, up from 0.4 point.
The average rate on five-year adjustable rate mortgages was unchanged at 2.79 percent. The fee stayed at 0.6 point.

Read More..

W.Va. teachers to attend 'Finance University'

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University's business school is teaming up with the state auditor's office and a nonprofit economic literacy group called the West Virginia Jump$start Coalition to present a conference for educators to learn personal finance — and how to teach it to their students.
This year's Finance University is the 10th annual event for middle- and high-school teachers. It will be held Monday through Friday at the Charleston Conference Center.
Conference organizers say that participants will take a course to prepare for teaching their students personal-finance topics, including credit-card use, saving and investing, insurance, retirement plans, and more. Fifteen financial experts also are expected to give presentations.

Read More..

Average on 30-year US mortgage stays at 3.55 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage held steady this week, staying slightly above the lowest level on record. Low mortgage rates have aided a modest housing recovery.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan was unchanged at 3.55 percent. In July, the rate fell to 3.49 percent, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.85 percent, down from 2.86 percent last week. That's above the record low of 2.80 percent.
Cheap mortgages have helped lift the housing market. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are well above last year's levels. Low rates have also allowed people to refinance, which lowers monthly mortgage payments and helps boosts consumer spending.
Home prices are increasing more consistently this year, largely because the supply of homes has shrunk while sales have risen. And the number of Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth declined in the second quarter.
Still, the housing market has a long way back. Home sales are below healthy levels. And many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.
Mortgage rates are low because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. A weaker U.S. economy and uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis have led investors to buy more Treasury securities, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increase, the yield falls.
To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.6 point, down from 0.7 point last week. The fee for 15-year loans was changed at 0.6.
The average rate on one-year adjustable rate mortgages was steady at 2.61 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans also was unchanged, at 0.4 point.
The average rate on five-year adjustable rate mortgages fell to 2.72 percent from 2.75 percent. The fee declined to 0.6 point from 0.7.

Read More..

Ahead of the Bell: Weekly mortgage rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — Loan buyer Freddie Mac reports Thursday on whether mortgage rates are continuing to hold near recent low rates.
Last week the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage held steady at 3.55 percent, slightly above the record low of 3.49 percent that was reached in July. Meanwhile, the average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, dipped to 2.85 percent from 2.86 percent.
Cheap mortgages have helped the housing market recover this year. Sales of new and previously occupied homes are well above last year's levels.
Home prices are increasing more consistently this year, largely because the supply of homes has shrunk while sales have risen. And the number of Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth declined in the second quarter.
Still, the housing market has a long way back. Home sales are below healthy levels. And many people are still having difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks.

Read More..

Rate on 30-year mortgage hits record low 3.40 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell again to new record lows. The decline suggests the Federal Reserve's stimulus efforts may be having an impact on mortgage rates.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.40 percent. That's down from last week's rate of 3.49 percent, which was the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage, a popular refinancing option, fell to 2.73 percent, down from the record low of 2.77 percent last week.
The Fed is spending $40 billion a month to buy mortgage-backed securities. The goal is to lower mortgage rates and help the housing recovery. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the program will continue until there is substantial improvement in the job market.
Some economists expect mortgage rates to fall even further because of the Fed's bond purchases.
The housing market already is benefiting from the lowest mortgage rates on record. Sales of both previously occupied and newly built homes in the U.S. are up from last year. Home prices are rising more consistently. And builders are more confident in the market and are starting to build more homes.
The broader economy is also likely to benefit from a revival in the housing market. When home prices rise, Americans typically feel wealthier and spend more.
Still, the housing market has a long way back. Sales and construction rates remain below healthy levels.
And some economists question whether lower rates will make much of a difference. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has been below 4 percent since early December. So most people who can qualify have likely already taken advantage of the lower rates.
Many people who would like to refinance or buy a home can't because they fail to meet stricter lending requirements or don't have enough money to make a down payment.
To calculate average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.6 point, unchanged from last week. The fee for 15-year loans also held steady at 0.6 point.
The average rate on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages dipped to 2.60 percent from 2.61 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable rate loans was unchanged at 0.4 point.
The average rate on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 2.71 percent from 2.76 percent. The fee remained at 0.6 point.

Read More..