News & Links: 10/19/2011

A semi-regular round-up of fashion and shopping-related news and links.

» For the first time in three decades, the median monthly mortgage payment is about the same as the median monthly rental payment.

» Sadly for those of us who prefer to go au naturel, wearing make-up improves others' perceptions of a woman's likability, competence, and trustworthiness.

» Beneful is attempting a new tactic to sell its dog food: capture the dogs' attention. Since the dogs can't buy the food themselves, I'm not sure this will have any actual impact on sales...

» St. Croix Collections saw sales of Steve Jobs' iconic black mock turtleneck double overnight after news broke of Jobs' death.

» A great way to boost your property value? Plant trees. Even better, have your neighbor plant trees (people like shade but not yard work).

» According to GOOD, the majority of mainstream Halloween candy is made from cocoa beans harvested by child slaves. Thankfully, they also provide a list of ethical alternatives to the likes of Hershey, Mars, and Nestle.

» Don't always believe the photos on the hotel's web site. Apparently hotels and resorts are big fans of Photoshop.

» If you don't want to sink a lot of cash into your music collection, check out this list of 100 sources for free and legal music downloads.

» One pro-poker-playing soccer mom in Pennsylvania has a $500,000 collection of more than 1,200 pairs of shoes... designer shoes.

» Wal-Mart has announced a partnership with Facebook to offer "Facebook pages specifically tailored for each of its more than 3,500 locations," which will provide discount offers, events, and other information.

» If you have a Kindle, you can now borrow library e-books and have them sent directly to your device. (Nook users are able to download library e-books and sideload them to their devices.)

» If you (or your kids) have a bunch of LEGO sets, check out the new site Rebrickable, which shows you what you can make from the combined collection of pieces you have.

» As one Borders location was closing for good, its employees posted this epic list of "Things we never told you: Ode to a bookstore death."

» Bagged lunches don't have to be uncool. Save money and make your kid the envy of his classmates with awesome paperbag artwork.

» Quicken has a great visual top-to-bottom guide to saving money around your house.