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Meet Margaret Mickles, 2006's first victim of New York mag's Look Book. Mickles is a former model who, after 6 years, just left the industry after to feed her mind and pursue her education in religious studies. She doesn't really believe people can express themselves through their clothes, but that doesn't stop her from donning her funky crochet pants and pursuing a folk-esque, East Village look and hunting for mountain laurel flowers. Big words from a chick living in Gramercy. After the jump, Intern Alexis rounds up Brian Stromquist, Noah Carr, and Neel Shah for a discussion on Ms. Mickles' pickles.

Brian Stromquist, Harvard Design grad student

What are Margaret Mickles's pants all about?
 Margaret's pants are "folk-esque" in much the same way that her taking the train to Lyon qualifies as "seeing the locals." If Margaret wants some real down-home French flavor the next time she's in the voisinage, I suggest she hop on the Metro to Clichy-sous-Bois and smother some car fires with her chunky-ass scarf. Sorry Marge, no riots in Neuilly this year. Oh yeah, her pants - I think I saw them in Anthropologie, part of some avian window display.

What does Margaret Mickles prefer? Sour pickles or Don Rickles?

Golden sickles? Harvey Nichols? Come now, Alexis. I don't know, we have to use this sour apple spray on my dog when she's biting her feet; perhaps Margaret could use a similarly sour pickle-flavored product as a behavioral deterrent in her future career as school guidance counselor. Those Tennessee fourth graders won't be having sex once they smell like kimchi!

Margaret's ready to feed her mind; suggest a three-course meal for her.

The meal would ideally be a metamorphosizing experience, carrying her from the world of fashion to the realm of religious studies. The main course would include a sizable portion of The Devil Wears PradaJesus Christ, He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Judas (Behrendt, Tuccillo, John the Baptist et al., Simon and Schuster, 1 BC).

What part-time job do you suggest Margaret get?

A locksmith's apprentice, so she can finally make a key to that coveted little park. She just *loves* the East Village, and Tompkins Square is fun and all ("see the locals!"), but sometimes you just gotta keep the riff raff out. Um, I mean, I hear the mountain laurel is really nice this time of year.


Noah Carr, former model

What are Margaret Mickles's pants all about?
 They're about self-expression. They are meant to evoke mountain laurel and that type of shit. It's all about finding a space for yourself in the folk-esque realm of vintage style that's going on in the East Village.

What does Margaret Mickles prefer? Sour pickles or Don Rickles?

Ew. Why not both? If you know what I mean. No seriously I knew a girl who ended her career with some "modeling" in Singapore and now she has Human Papilloma Virus and a swarthy child. It's a long and lonely road.

Margaret's ready to feed her mind; suggest a three-course meal for her.

Feschbach, S. (1955). The Catharsis Hypothesis and Some Consequences of Interaction with Aggressive or Neutral Play Objects. Journal of Personality, 24, 449-462.

Glazer, I. M. (1992). Interfemale Aggression and Resource Scarcity in a Cross-Cultural Perspective. In K. Bjorkvist & P. Niemela (Eds.), Of Mice and Women: Aspects of Female Aggression (pp. 163-171). San Diego Academic Press.

A nice salad with Hearts of Palm.

What part-time job do you suggest Margaret get?

Waitress at steakhouse.


Neel Shah, incredibly employable Gawker Intern

What are Margaret Mickles pants all about?

I dunno, but they look like they're covered with track marks. Though not the ones you typically associate with the fashion industry.

What does Margaret Mickles prefer, sour pickles or Don Rickles?

Intern Alexis, what the hell does this question even mean? While the other commentators you have badgered into performing this thankless public service may sit back and play your monkey games, I, for one, will not. I demand a new Look Book moderator! Perhaps there's a waifish, open-minded ex-model from Tennessee with a predilection for making vaguely philosophical statements about religion, the self, and human nature who can assume your part-time responsibilities.

Margaret's ready to feed her mind; suggest a three-course meal for her.

After six years in the modeling biz, I'd suggest to Ms. Mickles that she spend some quality time feeding her stomach before undertaking more cerebral pursuits (her nostrils, no doubt, are adequately satiated.) If she's truly serious about furthering her education, though, she should enroll at Columbia—the Ivy League school of choice for salvation-through-education-seeking actresses and models who couldn't quite get into Harvard.