The cascading glass escalators in the lobby of Norman Foster’s new Hearst Tower, which carry the ladies of Cosmopolitan, Town & Country, and Harper’s Bazaar to their offices, also offer a view up their skirts. Some editors were concerned enough that they warned members of their staff prone to wearing trendy mini-minidresses or ballooning short skirts to take care to keep their legs closed. “It’s the visitors that see the ‘view,’ ” said one editor. “A lot of tourists walk in from the streets to see the building.” Other employees were more blasé. Says Marie Claire editor-in-chief Joanna Coles, “I know we’ve got some great views from Hearst Tower, but I was not aware of the one from the bottom of the escalators. We’ll have to add that to our docent notes. As for me, I don’t wear minis.” Besides, noted another editor, “I’m not sure it’s that much of a problem considering the fact that I can probably count the number of straight men who work in the building on one hand.”

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Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Janelle Nanos
• Table of Contents: August 27, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!