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Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died at his Paris home on Sunday night at 71. A staple name in the fashion world, it's hard to distinguish the Saint Laurent the individual from Saint Laurent the brand. But the quiet, bespectaled designer, who got his start at the House of Dior at 21, introduced a new kind of silhouette to women in the 1960s that translated to freedom. His signature styles included the trapeze dress (one of my favorites.) the tuxedo for women (known as Le Smoking) and the Safari style (Where would Banana Republic be without it?) French President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday that Saint Laurent "was the first to elevate haute couture to the rank of art.'' And Tomy Hilfiger told the Associated Press that Saint Laurent was a creative genius who changed the world of fashion forever." Upon Saint Laurent's retirement from his House in 2002, he said, "Fashion isn't just to decorate women, but to reassure them, give them confidence.'' Thank you for thinking of us, Mr. Saint Laurent.

After I watched Barack Obama's amazing speech accepting the Democratic nomination for Preisdent of the United States, I fell asleep last night to the chatter of news pundits emphatically talking about history being made. The Fashion Writer in me twisted and turned as I kept dreaming about writing a story about Barack's suit. Was there any significance to Barack's black suit and silky, light blue tie? Not really. Awake, I know Barack always wears a black suit. What about Michelle's just below the knee-length purple belted shift? I liked it. It was classy and the pearls were a nice touch. The whole ensemble said First Lady, but that's about it.
The significance of Barack's Primary win goes beyond clothing, because if the handsome Senator makes in to the White House, America will have a new look. Our country will finally have a shot at operating from a different set of values. And the greater public will be forced to see black men as more than criminals, rappers and athletes. That's definitely a trend worth watching and chronicling. What do you all think?

Congrats to local designer Melani von Alexandria who previewed her Spring 2008 collection Wednesday night at the Sansom Street Sofitel Hotel. The 30-something designer presented 16 pieces of her collection: an ultrafeminine flowing grouping of crepe like dresses in neutral shades featuring ruching and feathers. See this picture by local photographer, Stephen Hudgins.

Von Alexandria is known for melting down guns confiscated from the Philadelphia Police Department, for accessories. In fact, she's in talks with Macy's to sell her 12- piece jewlery collection there. What do you think about von Alexandria's passion of melting down guns and using them in fashion?

In other fashion news, Jennifer Ramsey, owner of EchoChic celebrated her Center City's store's 13th anniversary Thursday night at G Lounge with a fashion show featuring a variety of architecturally structred Mod dresses. (More Yves Saint Laurent influences...) Multicolored bangs weaved into shoulder-length bobs were a cute touch.

And finally, fashion industry veteran, Venice Newton, introduced Fashion Frenzey T.V. in May. She says it's sort of a locally-based Style.com that features collections from European, African and Asian designers. And yes, there will also be an American section featuring designers from Philadelphia, of course. Check it out.

Local comedian Karen Gross will perform her smash comedic cabaret show Sex And The Single Singer at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, June 7, 2008 at the Tin Angel in Old City, Philadelphia. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling 215-928-0770 or go the the Web Site. I hear Gross' rendition is absolutely fabulous, and amusing and just plain sexy. Not sure if there will be Manolos there, but if you are Jonesin' for the Sex and the City girls, get this book aptly entitled, Sex and the City (Harper Collins) It's a fabulous recap of the movie....

And, drumroll please, you can see each and every outfit Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda wore in the movie with the name of the designer. So you too can have the outfit - or a reasonable copy thereof. I love it. That blue maternity dress Charlotte wore, It's Oscar de la Renta, yall! That green dress with the belt Carrie wore. It' vintage! Oh, fashion is so fabulous. Have a great weekend!

So many during my hiatus on the blog, many fashion events happened.
First big event was Michelle Obama's fabulous Donna Ricoo dress she bought from White House/Black Market. The dress has sold out at every store here in Pennsylvania. But word has it that there are two left - one size 6 and one size 8 - at Sorella Boutique in Media, PA. Go get em girls!

In July Italian Vogue will present a magazine featuring all black supermodels. The list beautiful divas includes includes Iman, Tyra Banks, and Liya Kedebe. Will this make a difference in images? Not sure. Am planning to write a column about it, but in the meantime, tell me what you think.

Over the last few weeks, I've been checking out all of the on-line shoe web sites. It's as if I'm gearing up for fall or something. My favorite, so far is Piperlime. I also found this new site, BarefootTess for women with big feet. The shoes look cute. But ladies, tell me what you think.

Not to mention the BET Awards. Hot, but not so much. What was your favorite outfit of the night? I didn't have one.

Y'all got any new fashion haps out there?

Old Navy flip flops will be $1 this Saturday. I'm not kidding, y'all. You know those colorful, rubbery thong sandals that you wish you had in EVERY color? Well, now you can get them in every color this weekend. I'm so there!

Over the weekend Ruslana Korshunova, a 20-year-old super model died when she allegedly jumped out of her Manhattan apartment building.

No one knows for sure why the model, dubbed as the Russian Rapunzel, may have killed herself, but the general consensus is that she was just sad. Her ex-boyfriend said she was overwhelmed with life. Korshunova's modelling credits included French Elle and Russian Vogue. The Sunday Times called her fashon's muse of the moment in 2005 and she walked the catwalk for desginers Jill Stuart and Betsey Johnson. She starred in advertising campaigns for Vera Wang and Christian Dior as well.

It's understandable that 20-year-olds get overwhelmed. But I can't imagine being overwhelmed while the whole world watches a beautiful, unblemished facade. And fashion, while it allows us to indulge in our fantasies, has the power to really hurt our psyches if those perfect images in our mind's eye don't match reality. And how often does that happen? What do you think about this story? Was fashion the root of her demise? Or, do you think it was something else? Or, a combination of both?