Another Monday, another What's New segment.  (And for you who are wondering whatever happened to the Monday This Makes Me Crazy segments - we just haven't experienced anything in awhile that made us crazy!    )  So, on to the "new."

Do you love leather?  Leather is everywhere this season - in all the shops, in all the catalogs.  And wouldn't you know it: at the Yves Saint Laurent Fall 2009 RTW Show, there was lots of leather on the runway.

Now, I'll admit right off, I've been a St. Laurent fan since my college days (a LONG time ago.)  I became a fan because of one of my roommates.  She was a lovely girl, and just happened to be a fashion merchandising major.  And she was the one that introduced me to YSL.

The introduction was pretty hilarious, though; and had nothing to do with fashion.  She came into the apartment one day, obviously vexed, and threw her books down with disgust.  And what had happened to cause her troubled state?  Well, it seems that they had been studying the venerable St. Laurent, and a number of girls in the class kept referring to the French designer as "Yives."

That's right, lovely readers: not "Eve" but "Yives!"  Well, she was in a tizzy, and I was doubled over laughing.  Yes, Yves St. Laurent, spoken with a thick east Texas accent is something to behold.  "And furthermore," she sputtered, "if you can't pronounce it, you shouldn't be anywhere near the fashion business."  Well, after I managed to stop laughing at her indignation (it was hilarious, just imagine the beautiful French vowels reduced to: Yives Saint Lorent) I asked her to show me some of the clothes.

Oh my...  the silk smoking jackets, the velvet bustiers... the stuff of dreams.  And that did it for me - I was a fan.

Of course, Monsieur St. Laurent passed away last year, and Stefano Pilati is the designer for the House that Yves built.  Here is the video of the 2009 RTW Show.  Enjoy: