The Columbia Daily Spectator — the undergraduate news organization of Columbia University in New York — had its annual fundraiser last Friday. This was a pleasant change, because the dinner has been held in January or February for ages. Last year, the students told the board of alumni trustees, of which I’m a member, that…
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A Jacket Both Fashion Forward and Nostalgic
My enthusiasm for floofy, puffy, and ruffled clothes has been on the upswing for years now, so I don’t know why I forgot to share this gorgeous puffer jacket I saw in November! This piece is by Mona Ye, and I saw it at an exhibit of student work at the Fashion Institute of Technology….
Olivia Colman’s Dress; Week in Review
Before I get to the blog week in review, I need to share Elizabeth Paton’s New York Times story about how Best Actress winner Olivia Colman got her custom-made Prada gown for the ceremony — even though she is 45 and not a size zero. This story answers nearly all of the questions I asked…
Throwback Thursday: 2014 Oscars, 2019 GEM Awards
In 2014, I wore a Zang Toi trench gown to the Vanity Fair Oscar party. Last week, I wore the same dress to the GEM Awards — aka “the Academy Awards of the fine jewelry industry” — where I posed for a photo with Monica Stephenson, the founder of ANZA Gems. What Wendy WoreDress: Zang…
What Wendy Wore: Slow-Fashion Versace for WJA
Before I went to the Women’s Jewelry Association Awards for Excellence last night, I did a video reminiscing about the excitement of winning WJA’s design award in 2017. It’s a short video and you should watch it in order to appreciate the funny thing I’m going to tell you next. Did you watch it? Are…
Spacenook and Versace
At the end of last week, I finally felt I’d had enough of Spacenook, the social-media giant that seems intent on ending democracy here and around the world. I was all set to delete my personal account until I realized I needed it for my business and political pages. As if it had felt my…
What Wendy Wore: Abigail & Max Got Married
It’s fun when I get to make the engagement ring and wedding bands for a couple and then attend the wedding. That’s happened a few times. (Whenever you hear someone stage-whisper, “THANK GOD!” when a wedding band smoothly goes on a finger, you know there’s a jewelry designer among the guests.) Last weekend, I had…
2018 Met Gala: The Best of the Rest
I feel like I should do one of those “Previously on …” intros that new television episodes start with. Read this to yourself in an announcer-type voice: Previously, on this blog, Wendy Brandes bestowed her Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo award for the 2018 Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art —…
The Week in Review
In case you missed it, here’s what was on the blog this week. Tuesday, May 1: Snakeskin is back, and I have to dig up a photo of my shiny snake-pattern pants from the late 1990s. Wednesday, May 2: In this week’s YouTube video, I talked about how I changed my career and what you…
My Oscar Gown Archives, Part I
The Academy Awards are tonight … and I’m not in Los Angeles! It feels strange. Since 2003, MrB and I have gone to the awards ceremony and/or the Vanity Fair Oscar party almost every year. We had a good long run, that’s for sure, and I loved every minute of it. You know how sometimes…