I always thought of Patrick McDonald as a foreboding, mysterious fashion figure (it's the arch, I tell you). That is, until I met him.

This is the man I once referred to as having "an arch that Joan Crawford could only dream about," and in person the brows are even more impressive. What I didn't expect was for Patrick to be so nice. What a great guy! A consummate professional, impeccably dressed and coiffed every single day of Fashion Week (which was especially hard when those early autumn rains started falling), and so polite and engaging. When Lesley Scott introduced me as the Beauty Addict, Patrick even remembered having been featured here a few months ago. (And whew, I thanked my lucky stars that I didn't say anything too snarky in that post.)

Most people know Patrick for his signature look - the brows and the beauty mark are an homage to Elizabeth Taylor, and he often sports designs by John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood - but what many don't know is that the man has had an incredibly impressive career in fashion. He's worked for Fiorucci, Fabrice, Barneys (as a buyer), and couturier John Anthony, and he writes for MAO and Paper magazines (his column in Paper is appropriately titled "The High Brow").

The best part is that Patrick embodies an attention to detail in fashion and grooming that is so often absent in this hurried and harried age. When so many people are content to leave their house every day in yoga pants, stringy hair and dots of pink Mario Badescu zit cream - and we're all guilty of it from time to time - it's refreshing to see someone put effort and passion into creating a real style, an image, a look.

We need people like Patrick to keep fashion - and beauty - fun and fabulous. As the Sartorialist put it last year, "I'm just glad we still have truly, literally colorful characters like Mr. McDonald still Dandifying our streets." Work it!

photo: papermag.com