I speak, of course, of Mr. Blackwell, creator of the legendary worst-dressed list. He passed away Sunday at age 86.

A few choice efforts, as taken from the AP story on globeandmail.com:

Madonna: “The Bare-Bottomed Bore of Babylon.”

Barbra Streisand: “She looks like a masculine Bride of Frankenstein.”

Christina Aguilera: “A dazzling singer who puts good taste through the wardrobe wringer.”

Meryl Streep: “She looks like a gypsy abandoned by a caravan.”

Sharon Stone: “An over-the-hill Cruella DeVille.”

Lindsay Lohan: “From adorable to deplorable.”

Here's how Blackwell put his efforts into perspective:

The critic acknowledged having mixed feelings about appearing so publicly mean. Most of the women he put through the wringer, he said, were people he genuinely admired for their talent if not their fashion sense.

“The list is, and was, a satirical look at the fashion flops of the year,” he said in 1998. “I merely said out loud what others were whispering. ... It's not my intention to hurt the feelings of these people. It's to put down the clothing they're wearing.”

He told the Los Angeles Times in 1968 that designers were forgetting that their job “is to dress and enhance women. ... Maybe I should have named the 10 worst designers instead of blaming the women who wear their clothes.”

I found this amusing:

In 1992, he sued Johnny Carson for claiming that he had added Mother Teresa to his list, saying the comment exposed him to hatred and ridicule. NBC's response was that the Tonight Show host was obviously joking.

“Did you see what he said about Mother Teresa? 'Miss Nerdy Nun is a fashion no-no,”Mr. ' Carson had said. “Come on now, that's just too much.”