Fashion discussion panel with. . .

Ashley Olsen! It was a trill to hear Ashley speak fashion, and to see Mary-Kate, who was a few rows up from me supporting her sis. I am such a fan of The Row and Elizabeth and James, their two fashion labels, and I absolutely love their sense of style. (The pic above is a tear that I used to have on my inspiration board at work. I can't believe I was able to find it. I LOVE this image. Everything from the way the dresses compliment each other to the fabulous dramatic eye and nude lip. Even the set is stunning!)

Last week, in midst of my computer dying on me (which is why I didn't blog about it until now) I headed across town to the 92nd Street Y for a discussion about "The Future of Fashion" with Ashley Olsen, Isaac Mizrahi, Robin Givhan, and Cindi Leive.

Robin Givhan, Washington Post fashion critic, provided the most food for thought on the topics discussed. There was one answer of hers that really stayed with me. The question posed was: "why do people love to hate fashion"? Robin said "it's partially cultural, that in this country fashion is not thought of as fine art. It is not valued, and is not thought of as being in the same category as say painting or sculpture. Fashion is also a woman's industry. No one would say that spending thousands of dollars on season tickets for football is ridiculous, but a woman spending serious money on a gown is frivolous!?!?" Amen Robin! :)