RIP Yves Sait Laurent

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent, aka Yves Saint Laurent was a French fashion designer who I personally consider to be one of the greatest visionaries in high fashion. I use past tense because he just recently passed away on June 1, 2008 from brain cancer. Yves Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria, where he acquired a fashion sense from his mother and friends. He first studied at the Chambre Syndicale, and then he went to work for French designer Christian Dior at the age of 17.

When Saint Laurent was only 21 years old however, Christian Dior passed away and left Saint Laurent in charge of saving the House of Dior from going bankrupt. It wasn't until 1962 when he was finally released from Christian Dior, and he and his lover (Pierre Bergé) began their very own fashion house. During the 60s and 70s, the couple brought many fashion trends into the mainstream, including safari jackets, the beatnik look, thigh-high boots, tight pants, and women's tuxedos. Saint Laurent was the first to popularize the idea of wearing silhouettes from the 20s, 30s, and 40s (which we still do today). He also introduced ready-to-wear clothing lines, with Rive Gauche. But above all, Yves Saint Laurent was the very first to employ black models in his runway shows.

In 1999, Gucci bought the Saint-Laurent brand, and designer Tom Ford was asked to design the ready-to-wear collection, while Yves Saint Laurent designed the haute couture line himself. After Ford left in 2004, Stefano Pilati was left to design the prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) line.

As I've already mentioned, YSL is one of my absolute favorite designers, and I get inspired everytime I look at one of his pieces. Let's start with the YSL Tribute shoe and handbag. Here are Halle Berry and Drew Barrymore, sporting black patent leather Tribute bags. I'm not gonna lie, I paid more attention to the bag than who was carrying it. That's how spectacular it is.

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...And then there's the YSL Tribute shoe. I almost shed a tear when I first saw these because they're that gorgeous. Jessica Alba, Paula Abdul, UK singer Jamelia, and Victoria Beckham seem to agree with me.

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Here is an image from the Yves Saint Laurent Fall 2008 New York City runway show by designer Stefano Pilati.

And this is an image from the YSL Spring/Summer 2004 Rive Gauche collection. This would be Tom Ford's final spring/summer show for Yves Saint Laurent.

Although the House of Yves Saint Laurent is no more, the label still lives on thanks to celebrities and red carpet events where the designer's brilliant work will eternally be showcased. Check out two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank in a stunning white YSL dress at the P.S. I Love You premiere. And who could forget Nicole Kidman in the flapper-style YSL dress at the 2004 Golden Globes?

The Fabulous Style of Blake Lively

Blake Lively was born in Tarzana, California on August 25, 1987, with a destiny to grow up and become an actress. In fact, both of her parents and all four siblings are in the enternainment industry. She was homeschooled as a young child, and as luck would have it, her future Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley was one of her classmates. She then attended Burbank High School where she was in National Show Choir, a cheerleader, and senior class president.

Although Blake was initially interested in attending Stanford University, she was bitten by the acting bug right before her senior year of high school. It was then, after attending only two auditions, that she landed the role of Bridget for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for this role. Her film career then began to flourish after that when she starred in Accepted, Simon Says, Elvis and Anabelle, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

After all of this movie success, Blake Lively landed the role of her life when she was cast as Serena van der Woodsen on the CW's Gossip Girl. Blake does a very good job of standing out among her co-stars on Gossip Girl with her unique fashion sense paired with classic American girl good looks. Here is a photo of Serena van der Woodsen bundled up in a black coat while carrying a Burberry Prorsum Warrior bag.

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And here is the fabulous Blake Lively in a photo shoot for The New York Times, decked out in a Kooba jacket, James Perse sweater, Stella McCartney pants, Chanel shoes, and a Gucci bag.

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Even on the red carpet, Blake Lively manages to look trendy whether she's dressed up, or casual.