What Wendy Wore: Zang Toi and a Big Day for Ears

My designing friend Zang Toi showed his fall 2016 collection on February 13 and I’m just now getting around to writing about it!

It was bitterly cold that night and I was thinking, “What could I possibly wear that will keep me warm?” Luckily I was able to squeeze myself into a sweater/dress combination from Zang’s fall 2008 collection. I couldn’t breathe once the corset was hooked up, but breathing is kind of overrated.

What Wendy Wore
Sweater: Zang Toi (2008 collection; acquired in 2009)
Dress: Zang Toi (2008 collection; acquired in 2009)
Barely visible earrings: My own gold skull design with ruby eyes.
Over-the-knee boots: Manolo Blahnik (best guess: 2003)

I’ve gotten good use out of this outfit over the years, especially because I can wear the sweater and skirt separately.

For Zang’s show, Julie Matos of Warren-Tricomi gave me the multi-ponytail look that I like so much lately. (Bonus: You can see my skull earring more clearly in this photo of my hair.)

Click to purchase the 18K gold skull earrings with ruby eyes.

Zang’s new apres-ski-inspired collection was beautiful, as usual.

I was very attracted to this shade of purple. It would look great with amethyst jewelry.

But what I became obsessed with were the embellished cat-ear beanies that many of the models wore with the sportier looks.

MrB was obsessed with them too. We agreed that this was the beanie I’ve been waiting for all my life. I had to wait another month until I found the time to get to Zang’s showroom. Finally, this Monday, I was united with the hat of my dreams.

I love it so much, but MrB might love it even more.

Monday was a big day for ears, because right after I picked up my hat with ears, I went downtown to meet my former right-hand woman Eryn at New York Adorned for some more ear piercings. We’d originally gone together last September. That month, I got my left tragus pierced, as well as a third piercing in my left lobe. The tragus was easy. For some reason, that third lobe piercing was a bitch! It took a long time for that to stop hurting enough for me to move onto the right ear. (I’m a side sleeper.)

Cassi Lopez did a conch ring for Eryn.

I got a conch ring and a second tragus piercing. The cat-ear beanie got no piercings at all. Poor beanie.

I was a little pink two seconds after it was done! Click the photo to buy my 18K yellow gold middle finger emoji stud.

I hate having to do piercings with basic stainless steel rings and studs. But, like many other people, I get an allergic reaction to gold when it comes in contact with fresh piercings. It’s actually not the gold itself that causes the allergy, but the other metals used in gold alloys. You all know that 24K gold is pure gold, right? Twenty-four karat gold is a gorgeous color but much too soft to be practical for most types of jewelry. You can easily bend and scratch 24K. That’s why other metals get mixed with gold; 18K gold, for instance, is 75% gold and 25% other metals. It’s usually copper (for yellow gold) or nickel (for white gold) that cause allergic reactions.

Stainless steel is considered hypoallergenic (which means it’s less likely to cause allergies, but it’s not guaranteed allergy proof). Titanium is another hypoallergenic metal for jewelry. Another good choice — and my favorite, of course — is platinum alloyed with iridium. So if you are sensitive to earrings, the good news is that I’ll be introducing tiny platinum-set diamond studs suitable for fresh lobe piercings later this month, right in time for April birthstone purchases. You can see one of the studs on me between the conch ring and the middle finger emoji stud in the photo above. The studs are only three millimeters in diameter and very lightweight, so they’re perfect for wearing right after you take out the stainless steel piercing jewelry. (I suggest leaving the steel in for six weeks and then going back to your piercer to have him/her switch you to the platinum.)I sleep, shower and swim with my studs in, and I’m not normally about that life! But that was my goal in this case; to make something for 24-hour wear. The studs will be $600 for a pair and $300 for a single and remember … they’re PLATINUM! Holla at me at info at wendybrandes dot com if you want to pre-order, or just hold tight for a week or so when they will be on my website.

After the lobe earrings, I’ll do the same studs with the internal threading (meaning they screw together) and the flat back that’s appropriate for tragus and nose piercings. It’s all very subdued compared to my elaborate couture work, but every so often, simple is exactly what we need.

Here’s one more photo that Eryn took of Cassi doing my piercing.

Look closely and you can see that I’m wearing my new gold and platinum thread earrings in my left ear. After you’re close to fully healed with the help of your platinum stud earring, I recommend graduating to the platinum thread earring for a big look that’s still lightweight and easy on new piercings. These things take longer to heal than you think!