2022 in Review: What Wendy Wore, Part II

Missed Part I of my personal fashion year in review? Here it is!

Now I’ll pick up where I left off, which was August 2022, for which I have … nothing. Somehow I celebrated MrB’s 80th birthday with family and came away with no outfit photo or blog post. At least we took a weird selfie at the Dodgers game.

Speaking of MrB, in September, the Guardian published his firsthand account of his childhood experience with polio, and his concerns about anti-vaxxers.

READ THE STORY HERE.

Journalist David Shribman also interviewed MrB (aka Paul Steiger) for his own polio-related column on anti-vaxxers. Read it to learn MrB’s shoe size, just in case it comes up in a weird trivia game someday.

READ SHRIBMAN’S COLUMN ABOUT WALKING A MILE IN WIDE SHOES.

We were able to meet up with David and his wife Cindy Skrzycki in September. They happened to be in Montréal at the same time as us, and they were great tour guides. MrB and I also took a regular bus tour that included Olympic Stadium, where I celebrated winning the gold medal for outfit repetition and unnecessary outdoor mask-wearing.

What Wendy Wore in September 2022
T-shirt: We Will Not Be Silent (2022)
Jeans: Those Frame Denim ones again (2022)
Purse: Vintage Hermes from Decades, again
Shoes: Newbella (2022)
Bracelets/watch: A deliberate effort to accessorize again

Back in New York in October, I spent a lot of time with fashionista activist Sonni, as we worked on getting out the vote for the November midterms. Sonni invited me to join a “Witches Vote” float — sponsored by Hekate Cafe and Elixir Lounge — in the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.

I hadn’t walked in — or even attended — the parade in decades so I was excited, but I procrastinated when it came to getting a witch hat. Luckily, I’d picked up a monarch butterfly mask and matching child-size wings at the Jardin Botanique de Montréal. I went as the Butterfly Effect, wearing a ton of homegrown vintage, including yet another thing that spent years in a “to be donated” pile before being rescued. Here I am with Sonni, who is giving me Stevie Nicks with her ensemble.

What Wendy Wore in October 2022
Top: L’Agence (2013)
Vinyl skirt over red petticoat: Religious Sex (2001, saved from donation in 2022)
Faux-garter tights: Unknown
Purse: Prada (As seen in 2018)
Boots: Ruthie Davis (perhaps 2005? Seen here in 2010)
Top hat: JJ Hat Center (2014)
Facial expression: This is what happens when I try not to smile in photos

Sonni has been a great influence on me, style-wise. I don’t have her fabulosity or flair for color, but being around her and the energy she brings to everything — not just visually, of course, but as a person — has inspired me to try to inject a little more fun and fashion into life. When she invited me to go to her friend’s DJ-ing gig after the November elections, I knew exactly what to wear.

What Wendy Wore in November 2022
Faux-ostrich vest: Stacy Lomman (2013)
Top: Amour Vert (2021)
Shorts: JC de Castelbajac (2013)
Purse: Prada (Same as Halloween’s)
Boots: Guiseppe Zanotti (2022)

I ordered the silver boots on a whim in late summer because, with multiple discounts, they cost $100 instead of the original $1,000-plus. When they arrived, I wasn’t sure about them, because I already have a lot of silver shoes, but I hate the wastefulness of returns. MrB voted for keeping them, and I agreed, even though I said to him, “But where will I ever wear these?” Luckily, merely asking that question aloud triggered the “Never Is the Next New Thing” rule, and — while I haven’t worn the over-the-knee silver boots as much as I’ve worn the green jeans — this was already my second outing in the boots, after a B-52s concert in October.

OMG! It just hit me that Sonni has had a butterfly-effect impact on my willingness to dress up and go out. For instance, I had been planning to skip this November’s Committee to Protect Journalists annual fundraiser. MrB and I had gone together for 20 years, but even though the in-person event was resuming in the Covid era, I didn’t have my usual enthusiasm (partly because I’m cautious being unmasked in crowds). I changed my mind a couple of days before the dinner, so November has two outfit photos. Click the photo to see the same dress in 2016, and read about how it too came close to being purged from my closet. How foolish would that have been?

What Wendy Also Wore in November 2022
Dress: Lemington Ridley (2005? 2006?)
Shoes: Prada (2010)
Jewelry: My own designs
Bag: Louis Vuitton (2016)

And thus we hit December, just in the nick of time, on New Year’s Eve. At this point, Sonni is the unofficial co-author of this blog. Here we are at the Brooklyn Museum with her friend Waldo. Who else would have asked me to see the Thierry Mugler exhibit?

What Wendy Wore in December 2022
Jacket: Versace (2004)
Jeans: Frame Denim (2019)
Shoes: Prada Boots (pre-2007)
Top: Vintage Claude Montana (new to me in 2022, via Poshmark)
Purse: Sonia Rykiel (2009)

Check out my Instagram post from that day to see why the exhibit gave me a bad case of non-buyer’s remorse.

To my surprise, I’ve learned a few things while writing this post.

• Sonni is a powerful witch with strong but cheerful magic. At this point, I expect her to show up in all my future outfit posts EVEN IF I AM NOT WITH HER WHEN THE PHOTO IS TAKEN.
• If you can afford to buy a fabulous thing that has caught your eye, buy the fabulous thing.
• If you buy the fabulous thing, it will have its moment! Keep it …