What is Sexy Now?

I laughed a lot today chatting with a friend who said: "let's face it, I will never have to buy shoes again, because the nice black heels I still have should be perfectly alright for another 10 years, and then I'll take them off and start using a walker anyway". Aging may not be fun (although better than the alternative) but talking about it is in fact heaps of fun. 

I took her thoughts on the subject and used them as full justification for buying my second pair of Valentino block heels the other day. I was thinking these shoes are lovely today and will be just as lovely/comfortable in the future when I may be playing strip poker canasta in a Florida retirement home.

Isaac in his studio - 1994

Speaking of retirement, I was reading an article about Isaac Mizrahi in the New York Times and it made me very sad. Isaac Mizrahi was the manic designer featured in Douglas Keeve's documentary Unzipped, about the run-up to his Fall fashion show in 1994. Then, The New York Times described Mr. Mizrahi as the "happy napoleonic personality" which made this documentary such a success. In this latest interview, however, the newspaper reflects on his fashion career, his immense critical success possibly lost because of a lack of focus.

"Friends say that he struggles personally with not being the intellectual force in fashion he once saw himself to be. He was reportedly very hurt when New York Magazine described him as having "twice the bitchiness of Michael Kors with half the wit (and professional success)."

I went to fashion school in New York because of Isaac Mizrahi. I loved his designs, and I loved his wit. What happened there? And why are people talking about him as if his best years are behind him? If you feel like getting depressed, find the article HERE. 

In spite of my love for fashion I won't advocate that material goods will make you happy - but if I have worried you about old age, just get prepared like I did, and buy some of those block heeled strip poker canasta shoes for that Florida retirement community. I promise you'll feel better.

It is 1995 and Vogue asks "What is Sexy Now?" - And the answer was Isaac Mizrahi's yellow sequined dress

Shalom Harlow at her very best in Isaac's 1994 show for Fall