I’ve followed London-based Deborah James, aka Bowelbabe, on Instagram for years now. I don’t know her personally, but if I recall correctly, I found her through the account of my late friend Chiara D’Agostino. You know how it is on social media: Cat people find each other, cosplay people find each other, and people with…
Abortion Rights: What You Can Do Now
I have a lot to say about the Supreme Court draft, so I will probably update this post later. For now, here’s the link to my list of nationwide and New York City abortion-rights actions. I will be updating this frequently, so bookmark it and check back often. If there was ever a time to…
A Met Gala In Memoriam: André Leon Talley
The Gilded-Age-themed 2022 Met Gala is tonight, not quite eight months after the 2021 Met Gala, which COVID-19 delayed to September from May. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour — the gala’s chair since 1999 — worked with the pandemic-skewed calendar by creating a two-part exhibition. Tonight’s gala celebrates…
Jewel of the Month: Empress Wu for Earth Day
Today is Earth Day, marking the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. I do love a theme, so let’s contemplate my Empress Wu dragon ring with its spinning lapis lazuli globe. I created the Empress Wu ring as a symbol of a powerful woman, as I explained in this old…
Throwback Thursday: Looking Like Liza
Liza Minnelli’s appearance at the Oscars last month reminded me that I have a personal “Never Is the Next New Thing™” situation to report. I usually apply “Never Is the Next New Thing™” to fashion trends, having long observed that the most provocative/grating/startling looks — the ones that make you say, “I would NEVER wear…
My Worst Dressed at the 2022 Grammys Is …
I started my blog in 2007 with the motto “Wear What You Want” and, accordingly, I’ve avoided naming “worst-dressed” people. I’ve decided to draw the line on someone’s look just a few times, and this is one of those moments: My worst-dressed at the 2022 Grammy Awards is the Recording Academy itself, which covered itself…
My Best Dressed at the 2022 Grammys Is …
It seemed like the producers of the Grammys show learned something from the debacle at the Oscars a week earlier. In contrast to that train wreck, the show was generally upbeat and smooth, and the In Memoriam section struck the right tone. Ukrainian president Zelenskyy addressed the viewers in a pre-recorded segment, after being rejected…
Jewels of the Month: Designs for Ukraine
In February, after my Valentine’s Day post, I promised myself I was going to turn over a new leaf in March — right in time for spring — and go back to blogging regularly. I was quite the prolific blogger for almost 13 years. I even blogged through the first couple of months of the…
My Best Dressed at the 2022 Oscars Is …
Well, this year’s Oscars were kind of … a lot. Early on, I was checking out the red-carpet fashion and wondering if I even had the energy to bestow my prestigious Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo award this year. On one hand, we had Megan Thee Stallion looking like a goddess. On the other hand, I…
Valentine’s Jewelry: Toi et Moi Rings
I’ve been obsessed with “toi et moi” rings since 2013, when the diamond and sapphire engagement ring that Napoleon Bonaparte gave to Josephine de Beauharnais went up for auction. Embed from Getty Images But even before then, I liked the double takes that two-stone rings get, no pun intended. In fact, one of my earliest…