Alexis Bittar's Father Dragged Him Out of Danceteria When He Was a Teenager

The New York Timesprofiled Brooklyn-based hottie (sorry boys, he's taken), and jewelry designer Alexis Bittar. The accessory afficionado was charmingly candid about transformation from druggie club kid to fashion elite. In addition to explaining his casting choices when it comes to advertising (past faces for the brand have been septuagenerian Joan Collins, 70-year-old Lauren Hutton, 90-year-old Iris Apfel, and, most recently, the camp-tastic stars of Brit comedy show Absolutely Fabulous, he says:"Every ad features models age 16 to 22 with a blank stare, when the real consumer in luxury fashion stores is more like 35 to 65. I hate when a woman says she's 45 as if it's a bad thing."

But our favorite tidbit is the anecdote he tells of his hard partying days when he was a mere teen. Brooklyn born and raised, Bittar frequented legendary clubs like Area and Danceteria, but his strict father did not like that one bit. In fact, he was so displeased that, "My dad pulled me off the dance floor at Danceteria one night, saying, 'You are never, ever going there again.' It was humiliating."

Look, everyone--even top-tier fashion players--have mortifying stories, thanks to mom and dad. As I always like to say: that which does not kill me, only offers me another opportunity to make a fool of myself.