the quick change.(Hundredth-Anniversary of the Birth of George Balanchine gala)

Byline: Andre Leon Talley

At its annual awards night in June. Sex and the City may be a thing of the past, running now in syndication, but SJP

remains one of our most powerful and original fashion stars.

Who else would dazzle the paparazzi by wearing three different dresses at one party?

PAS DE TROIS

In May, when SJP took to the stage at Lincoln Center as narrator and cohost, with Beverly Sills, of the New York City Ballet's hundredth-anniversary celebration of the birth of George Balanchine, one dress was not enough. "Balanchine 100" ran under two hours, but as SJP talked the audience through the evening's paces-introducing film vignettes from the life of Balanchine, the great Russian choreographer, ushering in Wynton Marsalis to play his trumpet for the troupe-she wore three spectacular looks from Oscar de la Renta's fall collection, one long and two short.

"Sarah represents the spirit of young New York women, full of vitality, elegance, and charm," said de la Renta (who first dressed SJP for the 2000 Golden Globes, in a pale-pink ankle-length ballerina dress). "I think she wanted to express three different moods, with the slim, young, black, short look; the green dress; and the champagne tulle." This last, an incredible ball-skirted fairy-tale evening dress, shone from the stage with a dazzling light, illuminating the star's well-chosen words.