For this post, the fourth and final one on my favorite history book, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitious 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman, I wish I had a deep-voiced television announcer to say, “Previously on Wendy Brandes Jewelry …” and give a summary of the three preceding posts. Since I don’t have that guy, I’ll…
About Wendy
Outfit Post: All Clogged Up
I used to say, “Never say never” when it comes to fashion, but I’m taking it to the next level and declaring, “Never is the next new thing.” I’m convinced that the styles that are most hated at first — the ones that make people say, “Never!” — are the ones that are most loved…
What Wendy Wore: Hogan’s Heroes
There are bloggers who are passionate about wardrobe remixing — in other words, styling the same clothes different ways to get many looks. Then there’s me. I wore this ensemble twice last weekend, just changing the black t-shirt. Now that I think of it, I wore the same jacket-shoe-bag-necklace combo with the black version of…
Bolo Ties and More Double Denim
When I wrote my first post about double denim last month, I was going to jokingly suggest a bolo tie as the perfect accessory for the look. But by the time I got to that part of the post, I was seriously into the idea. Then gorgeous blogger The Shoe Girl emailed me a link…
Book Club: A Distant Mirror, Part III
Welcome to Part III of my report on A Distant Mirror, The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman. Read Part I and Part II to get yourselves oriented. On Saturday, in my second of a series of posts on the book A Distant Mirror, I listed the disasters of the 1300s. Those included what Tuchman…
Single White Female X 2
The title of the 1992 thriller Single White Female always bothered me due to its lack of realism. In the movie, an attractive New York chick played by Bridget Fonda needs a roommate, so she places this ad. A less attractive chick played by Jennifer Jason Leigh moves in and starts copying Bridget’s entire life,…
Wangsta Shoe, Purchased in Phoenix
My old K. Jacques wedges were so stretched out that they were falling off my feet, so I got these to replace them. I discovered that my summer shoes were in a bad way when I sneaked off to Phoenix for a few days this week. While I was there, I saw gorgeous blogger Practical…
Sunglasses and Seafood
Check out my new shades. This is my third pair of round sunglasses. I still have these and these. Gorgeous blogger Jennine gave the latest ones to me. She bought them in Germany, so “Danke schön,” Jennine! Jennine’s husband is German so she’s picked up some of the language from him. That’s what led to…
Meet Byron Lars
Last month, I told you how my treasured Byron Lars baseball vest inspired me to track down Byron himself. As I said in that post, Byron was one of the precocious New York-based male designers who won great acclaim in the late ’80s and early ’90s, only to go out of business before the ’90s…
Get Smart (About Custom Work)
In yesterday’s post on my Freud cufflinks, I mentioned that a client who orders custom jewelry from me will get a lower price if I wind up adding the design to my line. I promised a long explanation of that and here it is. Remember my January post about manufacturing costs and how larger quantities…