Skip the Cocktail (and Hangover), Get a Promotion

Fashion-industry parties are known for being boozy, but some insiders are staying sober to help give their careers an edge, Page Six magazine reports. "Sobriety has made me productive—to a deranged degree," says Barneys' creative director, who quit drinking 20 years ago. Maybe the teetotalers are on to something: Anna Wintour and Diane von Furstenberg are known to skip the hooch at events.

The music industry also is catching on to the career advantages of a clear head and no hangover. But nondrinkers don't always advertise it. One editor reports drinking Diet Coke without ice to keep people guessing. And for good reason. "When you're drinking water, people act like they can't tell a secret around you," another nondrinker says.
(More Fashion Week stories.)