Mother Of Mercy!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is This The End Of Glamour In Manhatan?????????????????????????

                                  Darlings, when I heard, yesterday afternoon, that Gloria Vanderbilt had passed away, at the age of 95, I was so overcome, I could not do anything.  I just sat on my couch, pondering the cultural and stylistic future of this place once called Manhattan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  Then I got even sadder!  Because just four months ago--only four months!!!!!!!!!!!--we lost Lee Radziwill!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Lee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And now, Gloria?????????????
Glamour is going down the tubes.

                                     While we still have ANNA, MERYL, BLYTHE, MYSELF, and a few others, the real definitions of glamour have left us.

                                       Of them all, Gloria, who seemed to have it all, had a pretty difficult life.  She was no great looks as a child, when she was at the center of that 1934 custody hearing.

She morphed into something of a beauty, from seventeen on, looking something like the young Geraldine Chaplin, here, and, of course, her sense of style made her definable and distinctly part of the Manhattan social scene.

And, yes, she was, indeed one of Truman Capote's Swans!!!!!!!!!!

Then, in the late 70's, and into the 80's, she became a style icon, doing for the denim jean what Diane Von Furstenberg (who, thankfully, is still with us!!!!!!!!!!!) did for the wrap around dress.  Alas, as Gloria reached middle age, she began to fade in looks, compensating, as most women do, by vividly glamorous modes of dress.  But, hons, I remember these ads, and when the camera honed in our Gloria's face, God forgive me, I always thought she looked like Dracula!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But her mark on society and fashion cannot be denied.  At 92, she and son Anderson Cooper, did a documentary, where she was less vampiric looking and very hale and hearty.

And who could forget the suicide, of Carter Cooper, then 23, in 1988?  The poor distraught thing jumped  off their Manhattan terrace, in front of her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Can you imagine living with such a thing?

Well, Gloria did.  Even more horrible is the realization that if she had grabbed on, she might have gone over, too.

So, Gloria had a remarkable life of ups and downs, which she faced with courage and tenacity.

But the question still begs to be asked--

Is "Little Gloria (Finally!) Happy At Last??????????"  I hope so!

And while this may seem an odd way to end a tribute, I think Gloria herself would have loved it!

So, here is the late Laura Branigan's classic performance of her 1982 hit, "Gloria!'

Rest In Peace, Miss Vanderbilt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!