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ONE REASON FOR THE INCREASE IN COVERAGE in The N&O is the growth in this market. Smith said the number of retail clothing stores has quadrupled in the past five years, especially with the arrival in the market of stores like Saks and Nordstrom and the opening of upscale shopping meccas such as Streets at Southpoint and Triangle Town Center.

Sometimes the products are outrageously expensive, but the reality is that there are more people around who can afford it. "It does represent a change in our market," Martin said. "There were always wealthy people here, but they did not show their wealth. Now there are rich people who have money and let you know it."

It must be said that the fashion pages don't hurt advertising sales at The N&O. The Monday Life, etc. section sports a full page of ads for luxury items from furs to jewelry to evening gowns. Jim McClure, retail advertising VP, says the fashion coverage is "exceptionally important" to attracting advertisers and, he adds, helps keep down subscription prices.

Fashion coverage may not be "news," as Peacock complains. But it does cause controversy. Smith and I both got an earful from readers last month in response to a feature about renting $2,000 handbags. One reader noted that it ran the same day as a story on people in Haiti eating dirt for nutrition.

A critical look at men's fashion -- pleated pants are out, it informed us -- perked up male attention to the page, and it was not all positive.

Smith said she recognizes areas for improved coverage. One is men's clothing. Another is the market for college students and young women. Meredith College and N.C. State both have strong fashion design programs, and fashion shows have become a source of entertainment for the college crowd.

And despite our survey's lukewarm response, Smith says she gets much more reader reaction to her stories now than in her previous gig as a business reporter for The News & Observer.

"I've been a reporter for 18 years and I've never had response like I've had on this," she said. "I would write a story about 1,000 people being laid off, and I get a bigger response about pleated pants."

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