Twenty-five years ago this month, I went to Paris for the first time. It was chilly and breezy during my stay. Here I am huddled in my denim jacket, wearing the leggings I wore all over Europe that summer. You can see the front view of the outfit here. I also went to London, Spain,…
My Music Peeps Wearing WendyB Jewelry
I love seeing my musician clients wearing the custom jewelry designs I made for them. I already previewed the issue of Inked Magazine with gorgeous singer/songwriter Skylar Grey on the cover. Now the magazine is out and I’ve gotten to see more fabulous photos featuring the double-ax necklace I made for Skylar. How hot is…
Rihanna Owns the CFDA Awards … and Instagram!
I suspect that Rihanna has won my prestigious Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo award for the year. Who can possibly top the sheer Adam Selman dress she wore to pick up her Fashion Icon Award at the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards tonight? When it comes to red carpets, some people opt…
Lean
I’m not sipping lean like rapper Lil Wayne or the late Pimp C. I’m not leaning in like Sheryl Sandberg. According to two recent photos, I’m living life on an angle, like the drag queens in La Cage Aux Folles. I’m the one in the leopard dress leaning back in this photo from the Patrick…
Throwback Thursday: Who Is the Real Ostrich?
I LOL’d this morning when I noticed that my designing friend Stacy Lomman Instagrammed a photo of me in which I’m wearing her faux ostrich jacket while hanging out with a friend in South Africa last year. I thought her captions were really helpful. This jacket always gets so much attention, and, sometimes, uninvited stroking….
Maya Angelou and Massimo Vignelli
The author, poet and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou died today, aged 86. I suspect some people know her work primarily from the Angelou epigrams that circulate on Instagram and Pinterest. This one is often posted by someone who is feeling burned. This one is also popular. But Angelou was much more than a dispenser of…
FitzRoy Brandes: Quality Control Inspector
Today, Eryn and I showed FitzRoy my sterling-silver SRSLY? necklace. “Bat it with your paw if you think this necklace is awesome,” we said. We passed the inspection and can now brag that this necklace has been certified awesome by a cat. You know a cat like this wouldn’t steer you wrong. Follow FitzRoy —…
John Duka, Plus the Week in Review
The New York Times has a good story today about John Duka, the late Times fashion reporter and a founding partner of the public-relations firm now known as KCD. Duka is thought to be the inspiration for the character of Felix Turner in The Normal Heart, which will air tonight on HBO. The movie is…
What Wendy Wore: Hanging Out at Zang Toi’s Showroom
My designing friend Zang Toi had a sample sale earlier this week, and I joined him at his showroom to sell my WENDYB by Wendy Brandes jewelry. In between customers, I admired Zang’s offerings, including this dress from his Spring 2014 “Ballet Babe” collection. I couldn’t resist trying on a couple of dresses. I decided…
Throwback Thursday: Columbia University Graduation
Columbia University’s 2014 commencement ceremony took place yesterday. (To celebrate, the Empire State Building was lit in the school colors of blue and white.) This year is a big anniversary for my own graduation from Columbia University, which took place on May 17, 1989. I can’t stand to say the actual number of years because…









