Slaying the devils who wear Prada

There were reports that Stein had antagonised Lowery, blowing marijuana smoke in her face and hurling racist insults.

The story has given grist to a favourite topic of the New York gossip mill: the growing abuse of highly qualified, poorly paid executive assistants.

Bosses who "outsource" their lives increasingly don't seem to understand the meaning of the word "boundary" in terms of either time or ethics.

A friend who worked for a major agency in California tells of a friend who was forced to become a drugs runner for her boss, in addition to removing his one-night stands from his house at 6am "because he could not deal" with them.

Another was frequently called on Saturday mornings because her boss had lost one of the family dogs.

In New York, a friend once walked into a fashion editor's office to find her assistant painting her boss's toenails. Another was required to carry freshly pumped breast milk from photo shoots to the boss's home and waiting child. Some assistants take on the role of divorce mediator and shrink. One friend found she got treated best when she arrived late and hungover. The reason? Her boss was a drug addict who understood addiction but could not handle sobriety.

One editorial assistant discreetly followed her boss to the loo, as her employer had the regrettable habit of forgetting to flush. In the magazine world it is common for editorial assistants to lift all documents on their boss's desk after Botox sessions so the boss does not have to bend and risk drooping eyelids. I know one assistant (male) who was summoned to visit his boss (female) at home to zip her into clothes that were marginally too tight.

Why, you may ask, do these assistants take it? Well, initially out of naivete;: smart, motivated, fresh out of university, they believe that they will impress their boss to the point of being promoted up the professional ladder. Eventually, they wise up and leave, unless they are genuine masochists.

Meanwhile, for those who want to quell murderous impulses, I have a tip. One friend taped her boss calling her name, and transposed it to her mobile's ringtone. Instead of fuming when it went off at 10pm at night, we all howled with laughter.