Sirvart Kaloustian, the famous Paris-trained fashion designer and custom dressmaker to the local elite, died of pneumonia at Bryn Mawr Hospital. He was 89, writes Wendy Ruderman for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Kaloustian died on her own terms, refusing a ventilator that would help her breath and listening to a harpist perform in her hospital room.

“It was heavenly,” said her daughter Maral. “With the harp music playing so beautifully, it felt like the angels came and took her away.”

Kaloustian lived her life to the fullest until her final days. She would get up every day at 5 a.m. then walk for miles before heading to her gym to lift weights. Afterward, she would drive herself to her clothing design shop, Couture Silva.

Born in Aleppo, Syria, Kaloustian traveled to Paris as a young teen to study fashion design. She moved to the United States with her three children after her husband died of cancer and began working for an Ardmore tailor.

She opened her shop in 1972 and soon became the go-to designer for Main Line businesswomen, socialites, and entertainers.

Read more about Sirvart Kaloustian at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.

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