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…
Fashion
Fashion Repeats Itself: Money Stays in Style
Dollar prints on clothes and accessories are trendy again. Balenciaga is doing them. So is Margiela. Whenever currency is au courant in fashion, I can shop my closet for my vintage Christian Francis Roth dollar dress. The dress was created in 1991 … … but I bought it on eBay in 2009. I’ve worn this…
Throwback Thursday: Madonna’s Slow Fashion
I’ve always wondered if Madonna held onto at least some of her iconic clothes and accessories. My question was answered on Monday, when she wore a Versace slip dress from 1995 to Donatella Versace’s afterparty for the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. versace versace versace versace… #madonna #versace #metgala A post shared by…
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 —…
My Best Dressed at the 2018 Met Gala Is …
Damn it! Catholicism is going to force me to write up a storm this week. via GIPHY I confess that I half-hoped the attendees of tonight’s Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum would be flummoxed by the theme of “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Then I could get away with writing a…
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…
Byron Lars and My Met Gala Dream Look
My designing friend Stacy Lomman teaches at the famous Fashion Institute of Technology, her own alma mater. Every year, during the final semester for graduating students, the school brings in designers to mentor the students as they work on their final projects in the categories of intimate apparel, special occasion, knitwear, children’s wear, and sportswear….
Fashion Repeats Itself: It’s Snake Time Again
I was pleased to see Fashionista.com report that snakeskin looks are hot for spring. In 2011, I wrote a piece for the Huffington Post that included snakeskin as a hot trend for fall. Basically, snakeskin is good all year round! And for more than one season or year, as I noted at the time. “It’s…
Throwback Thursday: Jil Sander Boots From 2002
Since I started this blog in 2007, it’s been easy to keep track of when I’ve purchased clothes or accessories, but anything pre-2007 can require a bit of guesswork because I wasn’t taking deliberate “outfit photos” back then. For instance, I knew I got these Jil Sander boots before I left the corporate world in…
Coachella 2018, Day 1: A “Short” Wait for Beyoncé
Good news! As you could tell from yesterday’s post, I survived my third Coachella … and, once again, I did it without using alcohol, drugs, or face paint. It’s possible, so don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise. My Day 1 was actually Day 2 of the festival’s first weekend. I missed Friday, when The…








