Kristopher Dukes

Always climbing the career ladder and a healthy dissatisfaction always pushing her for more.

MODW: "You say on your web site that at 8 you'd decided to be a writer. Was there a monumental moment or funny anecdote that made you reach that career conclusion?"

Kristopher: "When I was in third grade, my teacher assigned us short stories to write. Once I wrote a story that was apparently long: my teacher said, 'This could be a book, Krissi!' I remember my brain smiled, and from that point on I ditched any goals to be a veterinarian or housewife. Which is good, since the only pets I own are vintage mink and ostrich bags, and the lord knows when I'll marry."

MODW: "What's been the hardest thing you've had to deal in your career and why?"

Kristopher: "It's easy to forget that passion for a career isn't always this sexy desire, this burning lust -- often "passion" is waking up and deciding to write, to do whatever, when you're not in the mood. But, thank god, I'm very rarely not in the mood."

MODW: "The fashion biz is notorious for it cut-throat quality - and for being an industry which many moderately talented women make the lives of the more talent girls utterly miserable. What's your take on women in the fashion biz and in fashion journalism? Do you think women are their own great enemies in this industry?

Kristopher: "Maybe I've been listening to too much Jay-Z, but women come off catty in general.

"Emphasis on the general -- obviously not every woman is a cat."

"Women, more than men, are mistaught by culture to be 'nice', rather than honest and selective about who they respect, and this misresponsibility to play nice often decays into passive-aggression. I'm sure that seeps into the fashion industry."

"I just happen to write about clothes because the topic's fluffy enough for me to poetically masturbate."

MODW: "What's eluded you in your career so far?"

Kristopher: "A net worth of a billion dollars, and an Italian toyfriend twice as young as me. But I've got some years -- half my age at this point would equal jail bait. Maybe even junior high."

MODW: "Finding your voice isn't easy to do, particularly for a writer. When was that moment that you knew you'd found yours?"

Kristopher: "Since I started freelance writing in high school I had a particular view I wanted to share. As I climbed my career ladder, the bigger magazines of course had so strong a brand that my voice had to be shaped to fit theirs... Which is why I started my blog. I get to talk about f**k-you shoes and why hookers are better off than housewives as much as I like."

MODW: "Do you feel it's possible for women to have it all today - careers, great love lives, money, great sex? Or are women deluding themselves in believing that?"

Kristopher: "It's possible, but no matter what you want to do, whether you're a chick or a dude, a hooker or a housewife, there are only so many hours in the day. In other words, I won't pop out kids without a nanny lined up."

MODW: "What have you accomplished in your life that you're most proud of."

Kristopher: "Almost every time I reach a goal, I'm still hungry for more and have this healthy dissatisfaction... I'm proud that my ambitions grow higher than any goal I meet."

MODW: "What's the biggest fashion purchase you've ever racked up?"

Kristopher: "I actually shop like a dude -- I rarely buy things impulsively. There are boss, beautiful thousand-dollar shoes on KRiSTOPHERDUKES.com, and then in my closet there's a beaded 1920s flapper frock I bought for $90 in Brooklyn, in college. I care less for fashion and more for intelligent design, and building this culture of quality, and -- Hooker heels."

MODW: "What's been your worst fashion moment?"

Kristopher: "Hard to say. I used to wear hooker heels, too much eyeliner, and dark bobbed hair even in high school in the Valley of LA. People thought I was a foreign exchange student."

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