When I like a style, I like it … Joan Jett released “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” in 1981, and I’m wearing a version of her haircut FORTY YEARS LATER. Designer Stephen Sprouse put DayGlo colors on the runway in 1984, and I’m still obsessed. And I’ve wanted Freddie Mercury’s cool star sunglasses since Queen’s…
Fashion
Jewels of the Month: Tolula in a Tiara and More
In 1985, I listened to British singer Belouis Some‘s song “Imagination” on repeat. Kids these days don’t appreciate the dedication it took to play a song obsessively back then! It was a delicate operation, what with lifting the turntable needle up from the vinyl record and moving it to that flat, grooveless space in between…
Throwback Thursday: 2005 Hair, Dog, and Dress
While searching for some old jewelry photos, I came across this May 25, 2005, photo of me and the late, great Gigi the dog. My first reaction was, “OMG! She looks so young and beautiful!” I mean, I look okay, but Gigi was ravishing. Clearly, she had just been groomed, because she hadn’t gotten one…
Same Time, Last Year: Braving the Outdoors
One year ago today, I ventured out of my neighborhood for the first time in six weeks. New York City had locked down for COVID-19, but I decided activism couldn’t wait any longer; I didn’t want the former guy to become a lifetime dictator with the help of a pandemic. I met up with activist…
My Best Dressed at the 2021 Oscars Is …
I’ve written before my lifelong love for DayGlo colors. Photos prove that I favor neon-pink for special occasions, like the first day of my last year of high school. Seriously! Check out my 1984 first-day-of-school top by Guess, peeking out from under my popped-collar denim jacket. Twenty-nine years later, I wore a fancy version of…
Throwback Thursday: Tiger Morse, Vikki Dougan
I’m always fascinated by the life stories of a wide variety of women. 12th-century empress? 20th-century fashionista? They’re equally compelling to me. Today was my lucky day in the 20th-century fashionista category. I’ve been interested in 1960s fashion designer/amphetamine-queen Tiger Morse since reading the Edie Sedgwick biography Edie by Jean Stein in 1986. In December…
What Wendy Wore: Megan Renee Hoodie
I haven’t taken a proper outfit photo with this yet, but people have been stopping me on the street to ask about my new python-print hoodie, so I want to show some love to designer Megan Renee. I wondered if this pattern was too distracting to wear when I went out postering last weekend for…
My Best Dressed at the 2021 SAG Awards Is …
I didn’t tune in to the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night because this year’s virtual ceremony — a pre-recorded, hour-long Zoom — wasn’t particularly appealing, but I’m glad I checked out the fashion after the fact. Leslie Odom Jr.’s suit and matching turtleneck by Berluti deserve my prestigious Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo…
Trans Visibility and The Stonewall Protests
Yesterday was International Transgender Day of Visibility. In New York City, the celebration in Washington Square Park defied the persistent rain. There were impassioned speeches, songs and poems … … voguing (to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion — yay!) … … line dancing … … and fashion. Organizers also set up a shrine to…
Throwback Thursday: Cold-Shoulder Top Has Its Moment
Ten years ago, I wore an outfit that made me look like Blanche Devereaux if she were trying to dress like a New Yorker. On casual day. That cold-shoulder turtleneck was already “old” to me at the time. I had gotten it on eBay years earlier, thinking it was going to look more punk, only…