What is your idea of perfect happiness? Staying in bed with a book on a gray Sunday morning

What is your greatest fear? Mirrors

What historical figure do you most identify with? Oscar Wilde

Which living person do you most admire? My mom and dad (I know that’s two, but I’m not playing favorites)

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Can I say everything?

What is the trait you most deplore in others? Self confidence

What is your greatest extravagance? Adding both butter and sugar to my Cream of Wheat 

What is your favorite journey? Anything, or anywhere that distracts me.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Ambition

On what occasion do you lie? When it’s convenient

What do you dislike most about your appearance? Again, can I say everything?

Which living person do you most despise? Dave Matthews

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Exactly

What is your greatest regret? Never learning to play the piano

What or who is the greatest love of your life? Petula Clark

When and where were you happiest? I was surprised, I was happy for a day in 1975 (Sorry, this is actually a lyric from a Belle and Sebastian song).

What talent would you most like to have? An analytic mind

What is your current state of mind? Somber

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I’m going to go with my standby – everything.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? I wish they didn’t buy me gifts from Yankee Candle.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? My relationship with my nieces

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what do you think it would be? Probably a tapeworm or another gastro-intestinal parasite

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be? A Jan van Eyck painting

What is your most treasured possession? My Partridge Family lunchbox signed by Shirley Jones

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Feeling heartbroken

Where would you like to live? Iceland      

What is your favorite occupation? Stenographer

What is your most marked characteristic? Sarcasm

What is the quality you like most in a man? Silence        

What is the quality you like most in a woman? Silence

What do you most value in your friends? Kindness

Who are your favorite writers? Virginia Woolf, Bradley Udall, Anne Tyler, David Sedaris, and Jackie Collins

Who is your favorite hero of fiction? Dorian Gray

Who are your heroes in real life? David Bowie and Morris the Cat

What are your favorite names? Constance, Edna, Prudence, and Hazel

What is it that you most dislike? Slugs

How would you like to die? With the assistance of a handful of pills and a bottle of rum

What is your motto? "If at first you don’t succeed, failure may be your style." (That’s Quentin Crisp’s line,)

Which era of fashion history do you personally romanticize the most? The 1960s

Which three fashion icons, past or present, would you most want to meet? Mary Quant, Christian Dior, Halston, and Pierre Cardin (even though that’s cheating to list four)

Who do you think has made the greatest contribution to the art fashion in the past 10 years? Alexander McQueen.

Where did you first experience the power of fashion? In the Paris workrooms of Chanel and Dior in 2006

What is your current go-to fashion accessory? A paper bag to put over my head

How many pairs of shoes do you own? 20-ish

Which contemporary designer do you believe will stand the test of time? Commercially: Diane von Furstenberg. Artistically: McQueen.

Which fashion designer do you believe most influences your personal style? Jaclyn Smith (Kmart collection)

How do you weigh in on fashion versus style? Fashion is what people follow. Style – for better or worse – is what they are.

What trend do you regret having followed? My 1986 mullet