5. Laura is trying on clothes in a store. She is undecided between 8 blouses, 5 sweaters, and 6 pants. To save money, she will buy only two items, of different types (i.e., not two blouses or two sweaters or two pants). In how many ways can Laura make her purchases?
(A) 114
(B) 128
(C) 342
(D) 171
(E) 118
Problem 5. The answer is (E).

If Laura buys a blouse and a sweater, she has $8 \cdot 5=40$ possible choices; if she buys a blouse and a pair of pants, she has $8 \cdot 6=48$ choices; if she finally decides to buy a sweater and a pair of pants, she has $5 \cdot 6=30$ choices available. The number of possible purchases is therefore $40+48+30=118$.

(Problem proposed by P. Francini)