UNIVERSAL WOMAN“Fashions fade, but style is eternal”

- Yves Saint Laurent

Every woman has her own distinct personality and style. A woman’s motion orchestrates her every desire. Within one woman is a universe of many fantasies we have inside ourselves. The conservative, the scholar, the bombshell…the free spirit - the essence of a woman is a cohesion that brings her style to life. The timeline of many lives lived is a transition I reflect on in the transformations of woman in the eyes of society. To be a woman tells a more intimate story. I learned, early, fine wines don’t christen from bad fruit, and wisdom helped pioneer me into a diamond of the universe that prism all the colors of the rainbow.

I have many distinct memorable moments in Yves Saint Laurent (YSL). I loved his suits and tuxedos. There was no cut that perfected the curves of a woman and still managed to keep the silhouette of feminine power amongst the ‘big boys of business’. There simply was just no other pant with a cut superior to YSL. Women always looked elegant in a well-cut Saint Laurent pantsuit and his under stated accessories.

In Casablanca, a friend had the license for YSL Haute Couture. Watching the pattern maker count each stitch when she duplicated the couture garment is a rare treat for a fashion connoisseur. YSL was a genius at designing the essence of women. His garments shined and there wasn’t a woman in YSL who didn’t luster in her own beauty. When you saw her you were seeing her spirit in the aura of her radiance. There wasn’t a soul who wasn’t captivated by it. Much of my outside success as a pattern making designer contributed to my ability to create innovative patterns and shapes all women could flaunt and feel timeless in.

Styles have changed and fashion appears to be what everyone has a taste for. Times have changed in the world of fashion. There has always been this level of distinct sophistication in the poise of womanhood. The lifestyle of liberation was more an etiquette of class; class to be exuded and not just personified. Fashion, dressed what women already were and transcending toward. Woman had high standards for ourselves in society, and everything had to align; beauty, manners, intelligence, careers, families, etc. In those times woman were marveled by the authenticity of their style and grace in real time, and not the trends of fashion in the industry. We valued the ‘fantasies’ being real dialoguing in artistic conversations to the real lives we lived. The definition of the ‘glamour life’ at that time was something technology couldn’t just upload and spin. Fashion wasn’t airbrushed. It was hard to hide flaws, so fashion embraced them and celebrated those ‘peaces’ of diversity. The quality of fashion was higher and wasn’t convoluted in marketing strategies and presentations for major sponsorships, which increased the loyalty of buyers and brought an ambiance of realism to the creative atomosphere of the lifestyles we were reflecting upon.

The passion of style to everyday life is the foundation that makes YSL so legendary to this day. He is an icon for having the ability to speak to every version of a woman. You couldn’t half-step style, which is how Yves Saint Laurent proved that style is eternal. I saved a lot of jackets and now wear them with simple pants or jeans, and a great scarf.

An ode to you Yves Saint Laurent, for helping me become a timeless woman in my own style.

No affiliation with YVES ST. LAURENT fashion house

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