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The Times' Thursday Styles is like a bloodhound of fluff journalism, sniffing out the stories before they even break. Case in point: today brings us an exploration of the disproportionate number of successful gay males in the fashion industry to their straight, female counterparts. While Miuccia Prada and Donna Karan have built empires, notes the Gray Lady, the glittery buzz of being an "it" designer seems reserved for young gay men. Uh, no shit.

Nevertheless, the facts are compelling: Since 1986, The Council of Fashion Designers of America has given its Perry Ellis award for young talent to 8 women and 29 men, 20 of whom were/are openly gay. Bill Blass designer Michael Vollbracht, a self-proclaimed gay elitist, believes that women are too "confused" to design high fashion, and the sentiment can be summed up by former Gucci and YSL creative mastermind Tom Ford, who noted, "Men are often better designers for women than other women."

Thank you, gentlemen. You're right. A man truly understands how to design perfect slacks based on the potential for pre-menstrual bloating, or how to cut a slip dress so that it de-emphasizes those little globs of armpit fat. Men really ARE better at designing for women — just like they're also better suited for business, parenting, driving, voting, and castration.

In Fashion, Who Really Gets Ahead? [NYT]