"Christian Lacroix, Histoires de Mode"(at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs until April 20) is an exhilarating take on fashion history that mixes decades, centuries and designers - yet makes sense of each section.

  In Tokyo, dog owners are dressing up their pets in designer garb and attending to their every need, whether it be organic food or massage and grooming sessions at dog salons and spas.

  There were ceaseless celebrations by fashion and art bigwigs at Art Basel Miami Beach earlier this month. There were also wingdings hyping British shoemakers (Choo), Austrian crystal (Swarovski), German cars (Audi), French jewelry (Cartier), Bahamian resorts owned by Turkish developers (Dellis Cay) and, of course, the relentlessly bullish globalized market for art.

  Lovely though it is, one teapot's record-breaking price has more to do with the rarity and fetishism that seduce collectors and inflate auction values, than with its merits as an object.

  After factoring in the fabrics used in clothes and how they were produced, the real benefits of soy versus organic cotton versus recycled polyester may be slight, or confusing, or quite possibly misleading.

  The bucks flow as freely as Champagne amid a ceaseless round of celebrations piggy-backing last weekon Art Basel Miami Beach.

  The boundaries between humans and animals have been eaten away to the point where devoted owners lose all perspective on the pet's role in their social lives.

  The French wine industry may be in crisis almost everywhere else, but not in Champagne.

  Making ganache ?the basis for the easiest chocolate truffles ?is far easier than it may seem.

  US Airways, Midwest Airlines and Delta are among the first carriers to shift their menus in a more nutritional and flavorful direction.

  Karl Lagerfeld rolled out his "Métiers d'Art"collection in London in the show "Paris Londres."Amy Winehouse met Coco Chanel in clothing: mostly long and dark, with flat shoes and highlighted with Gothic crosses, gilded lace gloves or just a fringed front to a maxi tweed coat.

  Lava hewn from the slopes around Mount Etna is transformed into decorative stone tables and tiles by Sicilian artisans. Lava stone is very resistant and is considered ideal for outdoor use.

  Images that once were considered second-class work for hire have earned their place on the gallery wall.

  Millions of adults in interfaith marriages face the December dilemma: the annual conflict over how to decorate homes, how and when to give gifts and which rituals to celebrate.