“I love luxury. And luxury lies not in richness and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity. Vulgarity is the ugliest word in our language. I stay in the game to fight it.” - Coco Chanel

I will never forget the scene in Sex and the City where Aleksandr Petrovsky gifts Carrie Bradshaw with an Oscar de la Renta cocktail dress in hot pink. I suspect the gesture and the objet d' affection drew a collective gasp and turned fashionistas an unflattering shade of green the world over.

Carrie Bradshaw in Oscar de la Renta

I also recall the scene where Carrie and Aleksandr take turns reading to each other :

Carrie : How about I read you a little bit of my favorite poetry?
Aleksandr : Please.
Carrie [Reads from Vogue] : "Cocktails at Tiffany's calls for classic charm. Oscar de la Renta sleeveless silk full skirted dress with black patent leather bow belt." Now that is pure poetry.

In the world of couture, few express understated luxury in all its multi jewel hued glory like Oscar de la Renta, and his Fall 2009 RTW collection is a rich fine example :






And the piece de resistance :

A lamé leopard dress

Stunning.

Absolutely stunning.