Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) are back in fashion! The women's retail clothier missed earnings estimates this morning, but beat on sales, which rose 9% to $475 million for the quarter. Even better, management forecast "low teen percentage" growth in 2011, which when paired with a promised "slight" improvement in gross margins, promises outsized profits over the quarters to come.

So what: An earnings miss in rarely good news, but investors are in a forgiving mood. Taking a "two-outta-three-ain't-bad" approach to the news, they're bidding Chico's shares up 10% in early trading today.

Now what: At 20 times earnings, Chico's shares now fetch a significant premium to those on the rack at rivals like Ascena Retail (Nasdaq: ASNA), Macy's (NYSE: M), and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN). On the other hand, most analysts expect Chico's to outgrow both of these competitors by a sizeable margin -- and significantly, to beat higher-priced Talbot's (NYSE: TLB) growth rate as well.

That alone makes Chico's shares look like a bargain -- but what really gets me interested in the stock is the fact that the $166.6 million in free cash flow that Chico's generated last year exceeds reported net income by more than 44%. When you pair Chico's 17% growth rate with a price-to-free cash flow ratio of less than 14, I'd say Chico's shares aren't just fashionable today -- they're downright stylin'!

Want to learn more about this underfollowed, undervalued retailer? Add the stock to your Fool Watchlist.