ROBIN GIVHAN

It's a fine line between commenting on social events and exploiting them in a commercial endeavor. This is the tension with which the fashion industry struggles - unfairly.

How much of fashion is fueled by insecurity - for better or worse?

I think of myself as the eyes and ears and voice of the reader.

Because what the fashion industry loves, it woos - then swallows whole.

Clothes are incredibly symbolic.

I've always summed up my definition of fashion as the way that people present themselves on the public stage.

Over the course of the years, I've learned [that] fashion is a fascinating business about selling magic. It is done on the backs of our optimism and our insecurity. It is as much psychology as commerce. But I've also learned that every day we make split second decisions about people based on their attire and those decisions can have powerful implications - see the story of Trayvon Martin and his hoodie. It's important for us to understand how fashion works and how we connect to it.

I am a thorn in the side of designers.

I have a rule that I don't review shows from photographs or from video. I certainly might go back and look at photographs and look at video to remind myself of something or for personal information. But I never review from that.

I hate yoga pants anywhere but the gym.

Fashion designers only occasionally tread outside the realm of clothes as pure commodity. When they do, the results are often a muddled, self-conscious message.

I've always summed up my definition of fashion as the way that people present themselves on the public stage.

For me, one of the most interesting columns to write was about Dick Cheney when he represented the U.S. at a commemorative ceremony at Auschwitz.

Designer Marc Jacobs ended his sixteen-year tenure at Louis Vuitton with a spring 2014 collection that celebrated fashion in its purest and least complicated form - as majestic, superficial beauty.

I think of myself as the eyes and ears and voice of the reader.

Films go into vaults, art into museums, and music into halls of fame. Most fashion is worn for a few seasons and off-loaded into the recycling bin or, worse, some landfill.

The word 'superficial' comes with such negative connotations, suggesting that whatever it is applied to has no value. But the emotional pull of beauty for its own sake cannot be underestimated.

It's a fine line between commenting on social events and exploiting them in a commercial endeavor. This is the tension with which the fashion industry struggles - unfairly.

I have a rule that I don't review shows from photographs or from video. I certainly might go back and look at photographs and look at video to remind myself of something or for personal information. But I never review from that.

In the '50s, women aspired to dress like their mothers - this polished, controlled, formal way of dressing. Then all of a sudden in the '60s, going into the '70s, they stopped dressing like their mothers.

I do think younger women have to figure out how to combine their own sense of style with what is appropriate and authoritative. Some young women think there's no reason why they can't wear flip flops in the office in the summer because their accomplishments should exempt them from a stodgy dress code.

Sometimes those who bloom too early fade fast. Michael Kors struggled for years - and endured bankruptcy - before he became all rich and famous and fabulous.

How much of fashion is fueled by insecurity - for better or worse?

Clothes are incredibly symbolic.

I hate yoga pants anywhere but the gym.

I'm not a vintage/thrift shop girl. I don't have the patience.

I like some of the oversized silhouettes. It's a nice change and exudes ease. Also like the upmarket street wear. It's fashion that reaches people where they live but looks polished.

I am a thorn in the side of designers.

Over the course of the years, I've learned [that] fashion is a fascinating business about selling magic. It is done on the backs of our optimism and our insecurity. It is as much psychology as commerce. But I've also learned that every day we make split second decisions about people based on their attire and those decisions can have powerful implications - see the story of Trayvon Martin and his hoodie. It's important for us to understand how fashion works and how we connect to it.

Avoiding the appearance of queenly behavior is politically wise. But it does American culture no favors if a first lady tries so hard to be average that she winds up looking common.

Because what the fashion industry loves, it woos - then swallows whole.

There is nothing "useful" about fashion, which is why it is fashion and not clothes. My personal opinion about the runway is that it should be used to whisk the audience off to a fantasy world that is possible, but not probably. It should delight and inspire.

I get enough fashion news in my professional life. I like interiors during my downtime.