Every year, the Committee to Protect Journalists presents its International Press Freedom Awards on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The timing is apt, because the event always reminds me how much freedom of expression we do have in the United States — despite efforts to chip away at it — and how thankful we should be…
Fashion
Fashion Repeats Itself: Polka Dots and Flowers
Katy Perry wore a polka-dot-and-floral strapless gown on the red carpet at the American Music Awards. I got all excited, hoping she was wearing a 1980s Patrick Kelly … perhaps a ballgown version of the vintage dress currently available at Shrimpton Couture. Nope! Katy’s gown is actually from Oscar de la Renta’s Spring 2014 collection….
What Wendy Wore: Holiday Party, ’20s Style
MrB and I were invited to the Fresh Air Fund’s ’20s-themed fundraising dinner last night, so I got out the beaded ’20s-style vintage dress that I bought in 2007 and first wore in 2009. At the party, big fake pearl strands and feather boas were given out as favors, and I added those to my…
Cowlick, Defined
At one of my old corporate jobs, we wimmins got to talking about hair and I mentioned the super-aggressive cowlick lurking in my bangs. One of my employees then asked me what a cowlick was and why it was called that. I said, “It’s when your hair sticks up like a cow licked ya!” She…
On the Town: Macklemore at the Theater at MSG
After years of taking shiteous concert photos followed by some sporadic but significant improvement (see Eminem, Skylar Grey, Beyonce and Rihanna … but not Depeche Mode), I now go into full-on photojournalist mode at concerts. On one hand, I want to just enjoy the concert. On the other hand, I feel compelled to make up…
The Stylish Sixties (and Way Beyond)
Recently, one of my blogger friends — I can’t remember who! Confess in the comments, if you like! — remarked that as inspiring as the wimmins of the Advanced Style blog are, many of them are over-the-top in a way that is intimidating to the less fashion-involved lady. I took another look at the blog…
It’s Like Inception for Cheap Suits
What if you’re all over someone like a cheap suit while wearing this vintage “cheap suit” by Moschino? Available from House of Liza in London.
Customer of the Day: Rosalind and Her Swear Rings
Rosalind Robertson — former radio and television announcer, policy analyst, design enthusiast, fellow squishy face cat owner and one of my online friends from Canada — visited New York City last month. We and our husbands dined at Lincoln Ristorante at Lincoln Center. Over dinner, I presented Rosalind with her new, gold-plated, WENDYB by Wendy…
What Wendy Wore: Devo “Energy Dome” for Halloween
In a 2011 New York Times op-ed article marking Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday, David Hajdu wrote that 14 is a “formative age” when it comes to musical taste: “You’re in the ninth grade, confronting the tyrannies of sex and adulthood, struggling to figure out what kind of adult you’d like to be, and you turn…
Wendy Brandes Emoji Earrings in Cosmo, Plus a New Design
Quick! Run to the newsstand and buy the December issue of Cosmopolitan magazine — the one with Miley Cyrus looking fabulous on the cover. My emoji earrings are mentioned under “Emoji Mania” on the “What We’re Into This Month” page. Here’s a closer look. And here’s something interesting: Of the two earrings shown, only the…