Yesterday, we reproduced a tip from a long-ago Observer intern who worked for "pre-plastic surgery" Alex K., whose "cackling" at this young lady's unfortunate choice in panstwear still causes her pain. As you know, our goal is to bring you balanced coverage of the issues that matter, and it's in that spirit that we bring you this counterpoint:

I don't mean to steal the thunder of the girl whose entire subsequent life was destroyed by one comment on her (obviously questionable) pants, but: I also used to be Alex K.'s intern at the Observer. And she was never, for one second, bitchy. In fact, I thought she was nothing but fabulous and encouraging. She encouraged me to contribute to her column, and gave me some books and Hard Candy eyeshadow she had received (it was a big brand at the time) and took me shoe shopping with her on a slow day. And yes, while at the shoe store I uttered the inane phrase "black goes with everything!" and no, she didn't laugh — even though I probably would now. So, you know: perspective.

We're still stuck on how this turtleneck-aficionado has the power to affect anyone's self-esteem, but we guess she might have seemed more credible back in her wild days. Speaking of her wild days, does anyone have footage of her auditioning for Club MTV?

Earlier: Alex Kuczynski's Bitchery Has Long, Storied Past