The Fall 2013 fashion shows have wrapped up and Eric Wilson of The New York Times, who observed a lot of mini-trends on the runways, picked one that stood out to him: “… most intriguing, both in its pervasiveness and its silliness,” he wrote, “is the fur skirt.” But, Wilson wondered, why does the fur…
In the News
Harper’s Bazaar Tells Us to Think Pink!
I just came across this “Think Pink” page in the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Makes me crave the sight of Washington, D.C.,’s cherry blossoms, which are due to bloom at the end of this month. If you’re interested in pink jewelry options in addition to those on Bazaar’s page, take a look at a…
Tiffany Taylor, She’s What You Want Her to Be
It strikes with no warning. Every so often, I wake up with the jingle for the 1970s Tiffany Taylor doll stuck in my head. Tiffany’s gimmick was a rotating scalp with dual hair colors. White Tiffany could be changed from blonde to brunette; African-American Tiffany switched between auburn and black. These dolls were produced by…
Win a Wendy Brandes Necklace From Lucky Today
Today is the day! You only have 24 hours to enter Lucky Magazine’s Lucky Breaks Giveaway to win a diamond necklace from my collection.
What Wendy Wore: Columbia Spectator Annual Awards Dinner
I’ve mentioned before on the blog that I’m the chairman of the board of alumni trustees of the Columbia Daily Spectator, Columbia University’s student newspaper. I was the arts and entertainment editor at Spectator in 1988. As one of the trustees, I now advise the students on a variety of issues and promote the newspaper’s…
Wimmin-Haters and the Grammy Dress Code
I spent some time poking around teh Internets yesterday, looking for someone to confirm the authenticity of a wimmin-hating dress-code email sent out by CBS’s official prudes ahead of Sunday’s Grammy telecast. Did you see this? It was first reported by Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood on Wednesday. A source leaked the memo to her,…
Post-Super-Bowl Post: Jewelry for Beyonce, a Bet on Eminem
Like more than 108 million other people, I was glued to the television on Sunday, watching the Beyonce concert. You know, the big performance that was preceded by football, and followed by quiet naptime and then more football. I agree with Beyonce that the show was “Gone With the Wind fabulous!” I was thrilled by…
Get Lucky, Get Wendy Brandes Jewelry
As some of you have already noticed, I’m taking part in Lucky magazine’s Lucky Breaks Giveaway. The magazine is giving away a prize a day from February 4 through March 15. On February 13, the prize is a white-gold necklace with 40 points of diamonds (there are 100 points in a carat) from yours truly….
The King Is Dead. Long Live the King.
A lot of my jewelry is inspired by royalty, but I focus on females: queens, empresses, queen consorts, princesses. I figure history as it is taught in elementary and high school is basically about men, so I prefer to concentrate on herstory. However, I have a soft spot for one dude: England’s 15th-century Richard III….
A Farewell to Ed Koch, Plus the Week in Review
I felt like an era ended when former New York City mayor Ed Koch died at 88 on Friday. When Koch became New York City’s mayor in 1978, I had just turned 10; his third and final term ended on Dec. 31, 1989, eight days after I turned 22. He was the mayor of my…