ENTER, André Leon Talley — the man near Anna Wintour in the top Vogue echelon, America's Next Top Model catchphrase-smith, giant icon of fashion.

(NEW YORK POST WRITER holds two pairs of the designer shoes: lime-green sandals and black evening shoes.)

ANDRÉ: Darling, darling... no, no, no... get those! You can never have too many black pumps. Never! And those are di-vine!

The Post's sizable profile of Talley begins thusly, and there is no exeunt in sight. Describing him as a newly refashioned "man of the people," the article charts the master of all things haute's recent forays into more mainstream pursuits, such as the judging on Tyra Bank's America's Next Top Model and MC'ing events such as the shoe sale.

The change in direction became possible for Talley after he switched his position at Vogue from editor-at-large to contributing editor, freeing up time for new projects. 

Missed King André holding court at the Manolo Blahnik sale? He calls the event "one of [his] favorite things to do," so perhaps you'll get another chance to field shopping advice from the man himself -- in six months. 

nfreeman at observer.com |@nfreeman1234