The King of Couture, designer Arnold Scaasi, has seen his share of "famous and rich and often spoiled women." He has spent the last five decades dressing the reigning ladies of the White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood, and NYC society. Many of his loyal subjects turned out en masse at Le Cirque 2000 to celebrate his new book, Women I Have Dressed (And Undressed!) (Scribner, 2004). The pages reveal intimate peeks at the styles, tastes, quirks, and peccadilloes of royalty, past and present, including: Natalie Wood, Barbra Streisand, Eleanor Roosevelt, Joan Crawford, Jackie O., Laura Bush, and Senator Hillary Clinton. Sales royalties will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, God's Love We Deliver, and Literacy Partners (which Scaasi founded with Gossip Queen Liz Smith and Parker Ladd, Scaasi's life partner of more than 40 years, to whom the book is dedicated).

Scaasi (a Montreal native whose surname is actually his birth name, Isaacs, spelled backwards) was toasted by La Liz as a man "full of infinite variety… the only man who still looks good in a bikini!" Paying tribute to the famed courtier (many parading in Scaasi designs) were: Joan Rivers (swearing off the fashion-trashing biz till her new stint on TV Guide Channel begins in January); Barbara Walters (fatigued from her recent farewell celebration of 25 years at 20/20); Clive Davis; NBC's Felicia Taylor (who dashed out to do the news!); Barbara Goldsmith; Mort and Linda Janklow; Arlene Dahl and Marc Rosen; Audrey and Martin Gruss; Beth Rudin DeWoody; Pepe and Emilia Fanjul; writers/journalists Barbara Taylor Bradford, Mary Higgins Clark, Joan Didion, and Judith Miller; Morton Janklow; designers Tommy Hilfiger, Mary McFadden, Adrienne Vittadini, and William Ivey Long; and Vogue's Andre Leon Talley.

As the fete drew to a close, Scaasi scooped up a few pals, including: Mica and Ahmet Ertegun, Don Hewitt and Marilyn Berger, Mona Riklis Ackerman, Richard Cohen, and Gillian Fuller, all for a dinner in the main dining room. Ah, the body of knowledge this designing man has….