Happy Birthday to Paul McCartney; Outfits for Ringo

Happy birthday to my almost-husband, Paul McCartney! He turns the big SEVEN-TWO today.

When I was 13, I desperately wanted to marry Paul, who was inconveniently married to Linda at the time. I subdued my jealousy by telling myself that it would never work out between us, even if he got divorced (and divorce was totally escandaloso to me back then). He was 25 years older than me and had four kids at the time. That would be overwhelming. Well, you know what I always say: “Never Is the Next New Thing™”! I grew up and married a left-handed guy named Paul who is 25 years older than I am, has four kids, and has been divorced twice. WTF! I could have held out for the Beatle version of that guy! I kid, I kid — I’m actually very satisfied with non-Beatle Paul. He buys me plenty of Cadbury Dairy Milk and doesn’t do annoying things with his thumbs. However, I like to remind him that Sir Paul is forever my almost-husband just to keep him on his toes.

While Macca’s tour dates have been delayed due to a virus, I’ve been hanging out with his former colleague, Ringo. That shouldn’t be a surprise because, as I’ve pointed out before, it’s Ringo’s world and we just live in it. I got a reminder of that two weeks ago, when I went with my designing friend Stacy Lomman to a Scottish textiles event. She was displaying her Harris Tweed designs there.

Stacy and two of her designs.

The moment I walked in, I encountered a larger-than-life Ringo, thanks to a blow-up of a vintage ad.

 What Wendy Wore
Dress: Alexander McQueen (2010, also seen here)
Shoes: Prada (2010)

How gorgeous is that suit and how great does Ringo look in it? Very gorgeous and very great! He sure had a slender figure … and he still does. I checked it out in person yesterday when I caught Ringo and his supergroup, the All-Starr Band, at the Beacon Theater. The last time I saw them was in 2008.  Ringo invites different people on every tour and I admit I was a little sad that one of my faves, Billy Squier, wasn’t here for this one. I guess he’s spending all that Eminem money. This year’s lineup was Steve Lukather from Toto; Gregg Rolie from Santana; Todd Rundgren, who is not the father of actress Liv Tyler; Richard Page of Mr. Mister; saxophonist Warren Ham; and drummer Gregg Bissonette. As always, the band members played their classic songs, which included “Black Magic Woman” by Santana, “Africa” by Toto and this 1983 classic by Todd Rundgren.

Todd was in amazing form — voice, instruments and clothing-wise. His clashing-pattern outfit nearly put me in a trance.

Todd Rundgren.

All of the performances were tremendous. It truly is an all-star band. But the star of the all-stars is always Ringo.

Photo by Wendy Brandes.

Look how svelte he is!

Photo by Wendy Brandes.

I’d love to see him in that plaid suit with the fierce shoulders again.

Photo by Wendy Brandes.

Here is a bit of Ringo’s stage talk and part of his song “Photograph.” The ushers at the Beacon were shutting people down who they thought recorded too long … even though other people would be recording right next to them. Whatever!

I felt inspired by Ringo to attempt a kind of late ’60s/early ’70s look, combining a blousy top, hot pants and go-go boots.

What Wendy Wore
Shirt: Custom-made shirt (2013)
Shorts: Castelbajac (2013)
Boots: Prada (2008, previously seen here)
Fringed bag: Prada (purchased from eBay in 2008, recently seen here)

I think I look more like a pirate on a beach vacation than someone who visited Granny Takes a Trip, but I’ll give myself an A for the effort of wearing knee-high boots to an un-air-conditioned venue on an 80-degree evening. Compared to the time I wore tights in 100-degree heat to see Lady Gaga, I felt as cool as the other side of the pillow.