Pat Buckley, RIP

Socialite Pat Buckley has died, exiting The Party as always at the most socially appropriate time, thus closing off an era where socialites didn't do porno (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). They did do bra and panties, though. From Bill Blass' appropriately titled "Bare Blass":

"Women like Pat Buckley tended to approach dressing as a business. Strip down to their bras and pantyhose and stand there smoking a cigarette. Pat just loved being in her pantyhose and bra.One day in the middle of a fitting, I , who was Anne Klein's husband, came by and I stuck my head out to say, 'hi, Chip.' Mrs. Buckley, naturally, wanted to know who Chip was, and I said, 'you don't know him.' And dressed like that she went to the door and said, 'hi, Chip.' A provocateur.

"... I've never had as much fun with anyone in my life as I've had with Mrs. Buckley. In the first place, she makes fun of herself, which is the best kind of humor. But also, funny things happen to her that just don't happen to other people. I was in a stretch limo with her once, and as I turned to help her out -- she came out on all fours. She said, 'I can't stand up in here. So I have to come out this way.' I took her to the first Reagan inaugural; Bill Buckley was there too. We went to a party that Nancy Whitehead was giving and as we stood in the coat line, I noticed that Pat had suddenly vanished. I got up to the hat check, and there she was. She had fallen behind the counter.

"I said, 'what in the world ...'

"'He pushed me!'

"I turned around. It was Bill Simon, the secretary of defense."

Bare Blass, by Bill Blass