Initiatives in Art and Culture is an organization devoted to educating diverse audiences in the fine, decorative, and visual arts. Its 19th annual Fashion, Jewelry and Design Conference takes place in New York next Friday and Saturday, November 10th and 11th. I’ll be on a panel called “‘With This Ring…’ The Changing Landscape of Commitment”…
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Wednesday’s Video: Skulls, Sharks, and Lipstick
On the surface, this week’s YouTube video is about the casual outfit of a t-shirt and jeans that I wore to a meeting with Brecken Branstrator, a gorgeous senior editor at National Jeweler. It sounds so basic, right? Never fear! As always, I have a story for everything, so the t-shirt and jeans lead to…
Wednesday’s Video: Digging Deep in the Shoe Archive
In this week’s video, I’m celebrating more of my “homegrown vintage.” Some people think shoes can’t last long enough to count as “slow fashion,” but footwear that isn’t subject to everyday wear-and-tear can hold up for 20 years or longer. So go ahead and get a pair of striped wedges or neon-yellow patent winklepickers ……
Wednesday’s Video: Drinks With Author Syl Tang
To mix things up a bit on my YouTube channel, I decided to interview some of the cool people I know. To make sure the interviews are lively, my guest and I are going to do our interviews over drinks! Here’s the first video of the “Tipsy Talk” interview series, featuring futurist and author Syl…
Wednesday’s Video: Designer Todd Oldham
This week’s YouTube video is about one of my favorite New York-based designers of the 1990s: Todd Oldham. It gives you some history about Todd as well as a tour of my little collection of Todd Oldham pieces. In the video, I’m wearing a Spring 1996 Todd Oldham dress that I got on eBay. Here’s…
Wednesday’s Video: The Drop of a Hat
This week’s YouTube video is about my small collection of (non-knit) hats, and it includes a tip of the hat to gorgeous blogger/Instagrammer/millinery connoisseur Style Crone. After I shot this video, I realized I dropped the ball on my best hat … … just because my top hat’s box is too big to fit onto…
Wednesday’s Video: The Story’s in the Metal
This week’s YouTube video provides one answer to the frequently asked question of “Where do you get your inspiration?” For me, jewelry design is all about the metal (18K yellow gold, usually) rather than the gems. As a bonus, you get a lecture on 12th-century English history. Seriously! The jacket I’m wearing in the video…
Wednesday’s Video: Engagement-Ring Advice
I’ve written about the problems of using nontraditional gems in engagement rings: People are just too tough on everyday rings to mess around with pearls! That’s why I prefer to use only the hardest gems in engagement rings. Diamonds, for instance, rate a perfect 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, while rubies and sapphires (aka…
Wednesday’s Video: Jewelry Cleaning & Repairs
I was inspired to do this week’s YouTube video about jewelry cleaning and repairs because customers frequently bring other designers’ fine jewelry to me, desperate for help. Accordingly, I’ve got advice for jewelry customers and other designers/retailers. Remember: If you are my customer, please bring (or mail) your Wendy Brandes jewelry back to me if…
Woman Crush Wednesday Video: Debbie Harry
Like one of Stefon’s club recommendations, my YouTube video for this week has everything. I talked about my longtime crush on Blondie lead singer, Debbie Harry; one of her and my favorite designers, Stephen Sprouse; and the history of rap. If you stay for the demonstration of my own straight-fire rapping skills, you get two…