What Wendy Wore: Head-to-Toe Zang Toi

I was in Chicago over the weekend to visit family and attend the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Ill. The festival’s website says Ravinia (named for the Ravinia Park grounds where it is held) is the oldest outdoor music festival in North America. Who knew?!

Ravinia isn’t a stand-all-day-to-see-Eminem, Lollapalooza-like event. It’s very civilized. You can sit in the 3,200-person Pavilion open-air theater or picnic on the lawn. If you do the latter, you can’t see the stage, but the music still sounds superb. We tried for Pavilion seats but ended up on the lawn, because we were there to see Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett and the Pavilion tickets sold out instantly. The duo caused quite the frenzy over at old Ravinia.

My sister, Terri Berry, organized a party of 15 and was first in line to get our lawn spot on Friday. With the help of her friend Mitch, a Ravinia veteran, we staked out a spot under a tree with two tarps.

My sister is supervising our tarp for the #raviniafestival — we’re out here for @ladygaga and Tony Bennett! #music #anythinggoes #concert #camping #music #gaga

A photo posted by Wendy Brandes (@wendybrandes) on Jun 26, 2015 at 2:06pm PDT

With rain in the forecast, Mitch knew we’d appreciate a leafy canopy. Too bad he wasn’t able to provide a a roaring campfire as well, because the low temperature that day was 59°F. I wound up wearing jeans, a t-shirt, arm warmers, a Ravinia hoodie, a rain poncho, a shearling vest and a free hat (from Discover) with little lights on it. And I was still chilly, especially during the sudden downpours.

A photo posted by Wendy Brandes (@wendybrandes) on Jun 26, 2015 at 3:15pm PDT

Terri and I — the earliest birds — had a four-hour wait for the performance, which gave us plenty of time to admire Ravinia picnic style. People had big tables with tablecloths, floral centerpieces and candelabras. No one was phased by the rain. They just put up their umbrellas, put on their Discover hats, and poured their wine. The lawn was absolutely packed, and we really did have a choice spot right near the Pavilion. Good job, Terri and Mitch!

The rain finally stopped in time for the show, and Gaga and Tony sounded great.

You can’t see ’em but you can hear ’em! @ladygaga and #tonybennett at #raviniafestival last night. #video #music #concert #gaga #ladygaga

A video posted by Wendy Brandes (@wendybrandes) on Jun 27, 2015 at 11:41am PDT

I highly recommend the experience, though you might want to bribe the weather gods to smile upon you if you take the picnic route.

The next night, we had dinner at Cibo, a new restaurant in Glencoe, Ill., in which Terri and her husband have invested.

A photo posted by Wendy Brandes (@wendybrandes) on Jun 27, 2015 at 3:49pm PDT

Everything we tried was good, but I was especially addicted to the pesto quinoa. And I was trying to be healthy with my kale Caesar salad but I kept sneaking my nephew’s Parmesan fries. Hey, he shouldn’t have looked away and left them unguarded!

I revisited the striped Zang Toi shorts that I posted last week, but this time I wore the complete outfit, right down to the socks.

What Wendy Wore
Top: Zang Toi (2015)
Shorts: Zang Toi (2015)
Socks: Zang Toi (2015)
Shoes: Karl Lagerfeld (1994)

That’s not a typo above: those suede shoes are truly 21 years old. I can take them to a bar and buy them a drink. They’re really not in good condition but it’s hard for me to part with them. We’ve had such a long and fulfilling relationship!