In my paean to Elizabeth Taylor’s relationship with jewelry, written after the star’s death in 2011, I mentioned that celebrities today are sometimes paid to wear jewelry, unlike Dame Elizabeth, who owned her own diamonds. March’s Vanity Fair — the Hollywood issue — has more information on the price of red-carpet representation. Here is a…
In the News
What Wendy Wore: Katie Couric at Columbia Spectator Dinner
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m the chairman of the board of alumni trustees of the Columbia Daily Spectator, Columbia University’s student newspaper. Every February, the Spectator has a big awards dinner. We always have high-profile keynote speakers. Recent ones have included Arianna Huffington (Joan Didion presented an award at that dinner as well); Julius Genachowski,…
10 Years After Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl
The most exciting parts of last night’s Super Bowl for me were Joe Namath’s coin toss and Bruno Mars’s halftime show featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The game interested me less than usual — I wasn’t even sure that was possible — and I was underwhelmed by a lot of the ads. Radio Shack’s…
My Best Dressed at the Super Bowl: Broadway Joe Namath
I don’t normally watch the Super Bowl for the fashion (I watch it for the ads), so I was pleasantly surprised to see 70-year-old football legend Joe Namath defying the relatively warm New Jersey temperatures in a hooded fur coat. During halftime, brand-new Grammy winner Bruno Mars wore gold. Anthony Kiedis and Flea of the…
Wendy Brandes Jewelry’s Emoji Earrings on Elle.com
A huge thank you goes out to Danielle Prescod of Elle.com for including my emoji single stud earrings in her “Style Splurge, Style Steal” feature today! The $35 earrings are the steal; a gorgeous Sergio Rossi sandal selling for $1,150 is the splurge. I’m glad that Danielle singled out my middle finger emoji earring in…
Movie Producer Saul Zaentz: 1921 – 2014
Independent film producer Saul Zaentz died on Friday at the age of 92. His movies were often adapted from literary works and included Best Picture Academy Award winners One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Amadeus and The English Patient. Another one of his movies was the 1988 adaptation of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. While…
Recommended Reading: Newspaper Series
Some days it is challenging to read the newspaper around here … … but I usually prevail after scooping up FitzRoy and depositing him in another room. Those of you with more recalcitrant cats can catch up with the good stuff online. For instance, last week, the Wall Street Journal ran an interesting series called “The…
The Mandela Sign Language Scandal and Better Options
Have you seen the story about the fake sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s funeral? Well, even if you have, you haven’t REALLY experienced the story unless you’ve read Michael K’s version on Dlisted. I will not be satisfied until Michael K takes over all reporting for CNN, Fox News, the New York Times and…
Music for Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013)
Nelson Mandela — anti-apartheid activist, South Africa’s first black president and a worldwide icon — died yesterday at age 95. In July, on his 95th birthday, I reflected a recent trip to South Africa in a post inspired by my rediscovery of a giant anti-apartheid Keith Haring poster from the mid-1980s. The anti-apartheid college campus…
MrB, Photographed by Bill Cunningham. Plus, a Casting Call.
The original street-style photographer, Bill Cunningham of the New York Times, also shoots big social events. He was at the Committee to Protect Journalists International Press Freedom Awards on Tuesday, where he photographed MrB, the other awardees and guests. You can see the pictures in tomorrow’s New York Times Sunday Styles section … and here….