Does this make my ass look big?

Who out there besides me thinks Jenna Lyons of J.Crew fame looks kind of stupid? For that matter, what about Michael Kors and Reed Krakoff? Come to think of it, what about Vera Wang? Why is it designers feel the need to make up a cartoon image of themselves and then stick to it forever? What happened to looking your best? Isn't fashion about looking good? Even though Alber Elbaz is full figured, why does he make himself out to look like the moribund clown in Leoncavallo's opera, Pagliacci?

Of course, these are questions that will never be answered. But if you look at photographs of Mademoiselle Chanel, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, even man-tanned Valentino, they all looked elegant in their own inimitable way. Exaggeration and silly props were not necessary.
Lagerfeld was perhaps the first to pervert the image of the designer followed closely by Claude Montana, he of the tight, basket revealing jeans, high heeled cowboy boots and a heavy handed application of base make-up, lip gloss and the mascara brush.

Still, that playfulness had its place back in the rocking 70's and early 80's. Now it's just a tired retread on what should be a new-ish wheel. Perhaps Anna Wintour is the only person capable of working a pair of shades without looking silly. I would venture to say that all the others and that includes Vera Wang, who might consider putting down her cocktail long enough to eat some solid food, look like big butts in poorly cut Jeggings.

But maybe that's just me. I'm only a cat who has chosen to dispense with fur. That's my attempt at political correctness.

Now back to the shows. I promise.