Boys beware, the girls are eying your jackets.

Retailers may have to scrap their growth plans and shrink in 2009 to survive as they face the grimmest economic environment since the early 1990s. Many U.S.

Charles & Colvard Ltd's Chief Financial Officer James Braun resigned, and the moissanite gemstone producer cut four other jobs as part of a corporate reorganization to manage costs and return to profitability.

Marks & Spencer is reining in investment, slashing costs and stepping up promotions amid signs of mounting pressure on consumers as banks tighten lending and house prices fall at the fastest rate for 17 years.

Clothing manufacturer and retailer Ted Baker said trading in the last two weeks has been adversely affected by growing economic turmoil. It announced a 5.4 percent increase in pretax profit for the first half.

It's become a tradition to pelt Christian Lacroix with the carnations left on the seats at his haute couture shows, but on Wednesday, October 1st the designer's favourite flower starred on the frocks.

Shoe maker Wolverine World Wide Inc said on Wednesday that quarterly profit rose, driven by strong results from its Merrell brand.

Hennes & Mauritz , the world's third-biggest clothing retailer by sales, reported lower-than-expected third-quarter pretax profits on Tuesday as sales slipped in tough market conditions. The firm made a pretax profit of 4.

Jean-Paul Gaultier's ready-to-wear show for next summer on Tuesday was a celebration of dance and movement, which brings clothes to life."Movement is crucial.

Nearly half of U.S. retailers have seen their lenders tighten credit this year, and a majority don't expect a turnaround in the economy to occur before the second quarter of next year, according to a new study.

By Hiro Muramoto TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - You can call it Jane Eyre meets the Addams family, but for the hundreds of Japanese girls who dress in Victorian dresses trimmed with lace, eyes rimmed with heavy black makeup, it's "Gothic-Lolita.

The Anglo-Japanese design duo Mark Eley and Wakoko Kishimoto brought in to rejuvenate Cacharel presented their first runway show on Monday, September 29th as the vintage French house celebrated its 50th birthday.

Luxury brands appear so far to be weathering much of the current credit crunch but with consumers becoming more cautious designers are sticking with simple go-anywhere clothes and counting on accessories to tempt buyers.

Lanvin is in talks to sell a stake to a Qatar-based investor in a deal that could value the French fashion house at around 150 million euros ($220 million), according to industry and financial sources close to the matter.

John Galliano heeded the call of the wild for Christian Dior on Monday, unveiling his "tribal chic" look for next summer which partnered tame silk chiffon with python and sharkskin.