Mr. Blackwell...blogger calls me the new High Priest of fashion?

A blogger greatly flattered me today - when he posted a comment on one of my features - and proceeded to speculate that I was the new Mr. Blackwell!

The post - Fashion Faux Pas - provided tips on "Dressing Right".

The piece was lifted from one of my fashion columns from the daily newspaper - The Province (Southam News) - which I penned before I moved to California.

When the celebrated High Priest of good taste passed away to spirit recently - I intended to write up a career profile, but a flurry of activities and a hectic time schedule prevented me from carrying out the task - 'til now.

Actually, I met Mr. Blackwell at a printing outlet a few years ago, and found the man to be pleasant and outgoing.

Fortunately, he didn't level his pen at me that day!

Of course, Blackwell was infamous for his caustic wit - and one or two-line quips about celebs and their fashion choices - as they schlepped about to-and-fro in the scintillating backdrop known as Tinsel Town.

The Dixie Chicks inspired him to quip with a smirk:

"They look like a trio of truck stop fashion tragedies trapped in a typhoon."


His subjects ran the gamut - from Martha Stewart to Cher - and the "Queen" herself.

To his keen eye, Stewart was "dull, dowdy and devastatingly dreary".


Cher?
"A million beads and and one overexposed derriere".








But, he was undoubtedly at his wicked best when he posed a question on the Queen's lack of apparent fashion taste.

"Was she the palace Christmas tree, or just a royal clown?”

His beginnings were humble.

For starters, Blackwell was born into the world under the unassuming name, Richard Sylvan Selzer.

The playground for his fantasies were grounded in the Besonhurst section of Brooklyn - and a far cry from the hallowed halls of high fashion - he would comfortably inhabit years later.

The fashion maven was of Jewish decent and grew up in a shabby tenement house.

In spite of the fact he only had a third grade education, he managed to rise up - and likewise - eventually float with ease through socially-elite circles where the idle rich played.

When the man known for his fashion flair began to form a fashion house featuring his original designs - like many in the field before him - he chose a suitable name for the occasion.

Mr. Blackwell was born.

To some, he was an important designer; to others - mediocre at best.

Blackwell was a great promoter, though - and maneuvered a handful of fashion coups early in his career - in spite of the creative handicap.

For instance, Blackwell was the first designer in history to present a line on a television broadcast - and also at the head of the line - when it came time to promote an affordable line of sensible clothing for plumpish women.

Undoubtedly, he was one of the first major fashion whirlwinds to command staggering prices for his creations which - on occasion - sold in the $800 to $1,000 range successfully.

Blackwell counted Yvonne DeCarlo, Jayne Mansfield, Dorothy Lamour, Jane Russell - and even red-dressed first lady Nancy Reagan - as loyal clients who touted his designs on the world stage.

Although he made fashion sense for the most part, there were occasions when he literally goofed!

A barb about Women's Wear Daily Publisher, John Fairchild, was probably one of the few jibes he'd like to recall after its impact was felt.

No doubt, it was a costly mistake to attack a major player in the industry on the publishing-promotion end.

Changing trends, and forward-thinking in fashion, squelched his high-fashion lines. After all, Americans were now heading into casual wear environs with a vengeance.

In what was a sort-of fluke, an industry-insider called him up one day and asked him to write an article on the 10 Best and Worst Dressed in the Nation.

The gimmick stuck.

However, it was the "Worst dressed list" which catapulted him into fame, though.

Witty, clever - and inclined towards a naughty turn-of-the-phrase - Blackwell's one-line quips about star "style" - or the lack thereof - ended up elevated him into untouchable status in the fashion stratosphere.

Oftentimes, his sly pokes not only put the spotlight on a flailing career, but helped jump-start it.

Maybe, that's why there weren't any vicious attacks back.

A case of - "wink wink" - eh?


Beyond the pale, there were also fashion pieces written in serious relevant tones.

Blackwell was syndicated in The Globe tabloid, for instance, and often wrote features which appeared in mainstream newspapers and lifestyle magazines that enjoyed widespread far-reaching appeal.

Blackwell lived in Hancock Park with his partner of 60 years.

In addition to his fashion empire, the man with the keen wit, was also an artist known for avant-garde renderings; in fact, several editions of his work were distributed, including a ever-popular "Mother America" series.

Mr. Blackwell suffered from Bell's palsy which causes limited to severe paralysis of facial muscles which often affects the eyesight as well.

In spite of the affliction, Blackwell often remained optimistic about life, until his death in Los Angeles on October 19 (2008) from an intestinal infection.