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What Wendy Wore: Sick Woman Walking

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I dragged myself out of my sickbed on Saturday to go to a Food & Wine Magazine photo shoot at my designing friend Zang Toi‘s beautiful apartment. The shoot was a big production involving hordes of people and I didn’t want to let them down by being a no-show. After all, someone had to be there to make models Deborah Fenker and Ling Tan look even more gorgeous than they already do! My divine friend Cecilia (the other “civilian” woman at the shoot)  and I got the giggles after the group was seated at Zang’s dinner table and only she and I were posed with our backs to the camera. “We’re just placeholders!” Cecilia said.  When the magazine comes out in December, I expect to see something like this:

Photo by Andrew H. Walker. Click for photo source.

That photo of Zang accompanied by my hair, shoulder, and amazing bosom was taken in February at the premiere of the Robert Verdi Show. That night, against my better judgment, I was persuaded to put on a runway sample that (a) totally didn’t fit me and (b) matched a dress worn by my taller, thinner, sample-size, model-icious artist friend Natasha. Zang thought it would be fabulous to pose for photographers with Natasha and me as bookends, but as you can see, the photographers didn’t agree and cropped us ladies out. Judging from this thumbnail on another photo site, I can’t say I blame them.

This dress soooo didn’t fit me.

Here’s a peek at what Cecilia and I were up against on Saturday.

From left: Model Deborah Fenker, Cecilia, me, Zang, model Ling Tan

We’re all wearing Zang Toi, of course. I’m in the gown I wore to an event last November. Ling is wearing the dress she wore for Zang’s recent runway show. It was Ling’s birthday, so Zang got her a cake from Two Little Red Hens.

Ling cuts her cake. Happy birthday, Ling!

My health was greatly improved after a couple of glasses of rosé Champagne. Champagne cures everything! But before the shoot, I was feeling quite poorly, so I just put on whatever clothes were at hand/on the floor to get my hair and makeup done.

What Wendy Wore
Hair: Faux-ny tail by Julie Matos
Makeup: Tenille at Kimara Ahnert
T-shirt: American Apparel, chosen for wide neckline, allowing me to step out of it rather than pull it over my head and disturb the faux-ny tail.
Shirt: From 1986?
Jeans: Acne Generic Girl, filthy from non-stop wear during illness.
Shoes: Michael Kors clogs

That flowered shirt was my favorite in college. My mother, BarbaraB, got it for me in Paris and I could never bear to throw it out. (Hoarder!) The shirt used to be down to my knees but I got it chopped by Jean at Ghost Tailor a year ago, hoping to make it wearable again.  In college, when I wanted to be fancy, I’d switch from my usual outfit of Danskin leggings and Hanes men’s t-shirts into an outfit of Danskin leggings with a very long button-down shirt worn over a tank top. I can’t find a picture of myself in this particular shirt from those days, but you can get an idea of the look from this 1986 photo.

Check out those eyebrows! No wonder I am obsessed with Sam Waterston. My eyebrows rivaled his back in the day and, clearly, I am jealous that I am no longer in his league. Also notable in this photo: big, chunky socks worn over the leggings. That was the look. I’m leaning on the denim jacket last seen here — I wish I still had that one. Draped over the furniture in the background is the keffiyeh I got from a street vendor in Greenwich Village. My hair is blue-black. I used to dye it myself.  I only did that color for a year. And look! No red lipstick. I think I started the red lips in 1987.

The photo was taken by my friend Mary in a hotel room in London. We were there because my father entered both his name and my name in a contest to win a free flight to London from British Airlines. I won! The “Go For It, America!” contest was held because travel was down due to terrorism fears. All these years, I thought that the fears were caused by the Lockerbie Pan Am bombing but, thanks to Poodle, I am reminded that Lockerbie didn’t happen until 1988.   I’m not sure which incident in 1985 or 1986 had people so worried, but I know I was scared to go and had to be persuaded by my parents to take the free trip. Thanks, parents!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. sorry to hear you’re still not feeling well.

    honestly, you and your friend look just as good as the models!

    ps. always gotta love the flashback Wendy photos.

  6. Hi my dear-you look totally stunning in your Zang Toi gown and just adore the 80s photo too, how amazing to have won that free flight to London, I bet it was an amazing adventure for you! x

  7. God, I wish I could look that fabulous when recovering from serious sick! Last week, with the flu, I had to dodge angry villagers with pitchforks.

  8. Alcohol is the wonder drug!You look awesome, the black dress with the New York motif is terrific. Yay you!

  10. Glad you feel better and oh champagne does make almost all things better doesn’t it?
    What a glamourous group! You still look great. You can’t help it if some humans are actually gazelle like and look fabulous in anything.

  13. Ahh check you out from back in the day. I love the little anecdote! So strange not seeing you with red lippy. You look lovely in the Zang Toi pics!

  18. You certainly clean up well for someone who’s sick! I love that pic from 86 and really miss gigantic socks over leggings. Were you wearing LA Gear sneakers?

  20. You are an A+ trooper for showing up, especially when there are models in the vicinity. And you don’t look even a little bit sick, but gorgeous as always!

  22. You are definitely a trooper. I can barely drag myself off the couch when I’m sick. HA! How do you look so pretty when being under the weather? Maybe I should start trying your bubbly remedy?

  23. Love the flashback – and if this is how you look when you’re feeling sick, then I have a serious case of The Envy. Speaking of The Envy, Ling’s hair is amazing: I would walk around with my hair like that all the time if I possibly could…

  26. I love the 1986 photo…I wore black leggings and tshirts all the time in the 80s, and I also had a street vendor keffiyeh. Nothing was better than that keffiyeh for getting a rise out of my grandmother.

  30. You look marvellous,despite being ill. And, I must add, Zang looks very handsome in the picture!

    Love the 80s shot of you…I think I had a very similiar outfit but sadly, was not in London at that time.

  31. The picture of Ling with the cake is so Antoinette…just beautiful. His apartment is lovely. I love it when you post photos of it. And YOU, woman, look fabulous as always!!

  32. Wow, how our styles change over the decades! And . . . how they don’t. That leggings look hangs on and on and on.

    Your hair, however, has morphed quite a bit. I love this wild look you had in the ’80s.

    But I also love your faux-ny tail too.

    Zang’s do looked fun—all those cool people and beautiful dresses!