Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

The Blair Pig Project and the BBD

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Instead of flying back to New York from Paris on Monday, we stopped in Washington, DC, for the annual dinner of the Atlantic Council. Fernando was hoping to see a monument or two, but sightseeing was canceled after the surrender monkeys at Air France temporarily misplaced the luggage, leading to all sorts of logistical problems.

Luckily, we still made it to the dinner, where Tony Blair was among the honorees. Fernando sulked because he couldn’t get his picture taken with Blair, Henry Kissinger or even anyone from the MegaDik empire, but I did take his picture with the program.

The Blair Pig Project

I wore a BBD — boring black dress. I am very against wearing a black gown to a black-tie affair, though I do have a few from my more conservative days. I figured I’d wear one of them to this dinner, since it was in DC and there’s no fashion there anyway. I kid, DC people! Well, actually, I’m not kidding, but since I don’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings, let’s pretend I didn’t mean it and that you’re not insulted.

Ah, the myth of the BBD. Every woman thinks a black dress will make her look like Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn created the illusion that black dresses were glam, but it was really her emaciated and wide-eyed beautiful self that was glam. She made the dress; the dress didn’t make her. A BBD doesn’t make you look like a movie star, my lady peeps. It just makes you look like everyone else who is hoping to look like a movie star.

Another thing about the BBD: it photographs terribly. This is actually a lovely pleated vintage dress, but the details disappear in the picture.

Yawn.

I tried to liven things up with my new pink opal Helen earrings.

Think pink!

The only photo of Fernando in DC is this random shot out the window of the cab we took to the airport on Tuesday.

You call this sightseeing?!?

I hope a gorgeous and non-BBD-wearing DC blogger will be willing to show Fernando around town in the near future.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. lol Fernando is too cute! and couldn’t agree more about the BBD and audrey statement!

  2. Your earrings were a beautiful choice and the style of dress you chose show your shoulders off-very nice!

  3. Good points about the BBD. However your dress certainly doesn’t look boring with that hair and that smile…

  4. That’s a great point about the BBD, but unfortunatley we all need a BBD sometimes. You look fabulous in yours!

  5. lmao!! “these marc jacobs shoes are fugly but they do complement my complexion.”!!! CUTE!!! xD

  7. you’re kidding. you know that you look amazing in the black dress! it looks gorgeous on u!

  8. Le sigh. There is no fashion here in DC. Sad, but true. Although, you could wear something crazy next time you’re in this area and confuzzle all the lobbyists/congressional aides.

  10. You make excellent points about Black Dresses. I’ve always liked the BD as a fallback, but I never felt special in one. Probably because everyone else had one one at every event where I ever wore one. Too bad this one didn’t photograph well, because I love pleats. You look fantastic in it, though, and somehow, it’s very glamorous, yet conservative enough to be apropos at that DC dinner.

  11. ENC, I accidentally edited a line out, but you are right — one needs to have BDs around, especially short ones, because there are occasions where you’re just supposed to look neat and respectable and not showy. They’re very useful for that! I just get annoyed when people think they’re going to be the belle of the ball in a black dress. Unless you’re going to a debutante ball or P. Diddy’s white party, it ain’t special! That night in DC I saw only two or three woman who weren’t in black. For the rest, it was like black had become the equivalent of a man’s tuxedo: dressed up but completely lookalike.

  13. We’re not hurt by the “no fashion in DC” comment. It’s totally true. I’d volunteer to take Fernando on a tour, but it would take me 6 months to download the pictures.

  19. BBD is me and my friends’ code for Big Black Dildo. haha
    Why do we need a code for such a thing?
    We just do.

  21. Wait! Am I too late? Did you already leave our fair city? Well, crap.

    I hope D.C. was hog-spitable to all of you, my dear. I’ll catch you up your way soon, but first I have to accomplish a move back to Cleveland.

    Yippie! (For reals!)

  23. Thanks for directing me to this post! I totally agree about the black dress photographing terribly in photos. And it’s definitely a myth that it will instantly make you look like a movie star!