After a Fashion

Charmaine McGill and her dance partner Curtis Prevost were the winners of Dancing With the Stars Austin's coveted mirror ball trophy in 2010. This year's competitors have been announced for the Dec. 4 event. All details at www.centerforchildprotection.org.

Eternally Old

In the 1950s, Christian Dior said: "Women are most fascinating between the ages of 35 and 40, after they've won a few races and know how to pace themselves. Since few women ever pass 40, maximum fascination can continue indefinitely." I laughed at Dior's wicked sarcasm, thinking what a dated statement that is. Or is it? Though magazine covers implore us to Be Fabulous at 40, Be Fantastic at 50, and Be Sexy at 60, they usually imply that you're not fabulous unless you look half your age. Mothers who dress like their teenage daughters look ridiculous. Plastic surgery has molded, sculpted, and carved women to look like beings of unidentifiable age, even though we know they're older than they look. The real travesty is when people in their 20s and 30s get plastic surgery thinking it's going to make them look younger (how young? 12? 14?), and thus they, too, achieve that weird, alien look that will follow them the rest of their lives (hello, Victoria Beckham!) – all in the name of looking younger and better. On the flip side, there are the true plastic surgery addicts like Jocelyn Wildenstein (never seen her? Take a pain pill, and have a quick spin through Google images) and Amanda Lepore, whose complete head-to-breasts-to-genitals-to-toes makeovers are staggering in their surreality. See Lepore perform and you get to see it all – more than you ever dreamed. These are the entertainers who go under the knife for themselves and their admirers, and whose identities depend on surgical architecture. There are plenty of times in my life when I considered plastic surgery, but like many of our youthful generation who regret having tattoos all over themselves, I'm afraid I, too, would have regretted my surgery choices. When I was heavier, I bemoaned the fact that my cheekbones were no longer visible. I dreamed of having implants put in to balance the effect, but it would have only served to make a large, heavy face even larger and heavier. Of course, having lost the excess poundage and rediscovering my perfectly adequate cheekbones, I'd look like a freak now if I'd had implants and would have to figure out something else to do with the unwieldy protuberances under my eyes ... like hang coats on them or holiday ornaments or coffee cups. I guess the theme is, "To each his own," aka "Thank God I never did that."

Guilty

In a spectacular fall from grace, former Dior designer John Galliano has been found guilty in the French courts of making anti-Semitic comments against at least three people in a Paris cafe. In France, it is illegal to incite racial discrimination based on a person's origin or membership in an ethic, national, racial, or religious group. Though a pariah in France right now, Galliano, who is British, still has many supporters who would love to see him open up shop in London again. Eventually, he might be forgiven and would be able to resume his place among the great designers of the world. The public loves a good redemption story. Speculation still sizzled over whether Louis Vuitton's Creative Director Marc Jacobs will take over at Dior. It is said that he's asking $10 million annually. Personally, I think Jacobs doesn't have what it takes to fill the spot at Dior. He's fine at what he does and fine for LV, but I just don't think he has the broad, over-the-top vision required for Dior.

Fashion Week Part 53

At least it seems that way, doesn't it? Tribeza magazine, the original founder of what is called Fashion Week in Austin, is having its annual Style Week, Sept. 22-29. Events include boutique crawls on SoCo and the 2nd Street District, a seminar called Sketch for high school and college students interested in the fashion industry (What? They have the fashion-free Marques Harper on the panel but no fashion designers?), a brunch and showcase, the Rock & Runway men's show, a hair show, and its well received women's fashion show, which is always glamorous and memorable. For tickets and info, go to conta.cc/oSCPCg.