Bauble-ing Along

Last weekend I wore my new Kenneth Jay Lane Garden Flower pendant to a party.

(IT'S ON SALE!! Click for link!!)

Not only did it make me smile, it made lots of other people smile, as well. I lost track of how many people mentioned & complimented it. The only thing better than wearing something that makes you happy is wearing something that makes other people happy, as well. I just felt like Little Mary Sunshine walking around with my fab little sparkly thang. Everyone should have a few pieces in her jewelry wardrobe that produce this feeling. So I hunted down a few suggestions for you.

Fabulously over the top, as we expect from Cavalli.

So cheerful, feminine without being girly, sweet without being cutesy. Love this.

That is one cheery little amphibian.

Be prepared for everyone you meet to comment on your neckwear if you're out & about in this. Bet you lose count of how many people say, "That is SO COOL!'' I am crazy about this, crazymadbonkersinlove.

How often do you get to wear a tassel when you're not graduating from something. (Or performing burlesque?) Festive!

Same idea, lower price point. Equally groovy.

What a fun, colorful collection of beads & baubles & trinkets.

I am NUTS about this. They want $600 for it. I smell a DIY coming on.

Multi-colored, multi-sized, fun faux gems. I'm also mad for this -- all the colors & sparkle & asymmetry are right in my wheelhouse. Great piece.

This looks like candy. Yum.


Lots of yum -- loads of pieces around that are humorous & interesting and can completely change up an outfit with the click of a clasp. Is it just me, or has costume jewelry gotten really good in the last couple of years? I've never really been much of one for so-called "fine jewelry." Sure, there are a lot of beautiful things out there, and I won't say I've never clicked through the Cartier website and sighed repeatedly, but with a few exceptions I honestly prefer big, fun, fake stuff. If you made the sorts of things I like out of actual gems, they'd be gaudy & vulgar; but if they're obviously costume they're a fashion statement, not just bad taste or a desire to advertise your personal wealth. I don't like bitsy jewelry, so little dangly diamonds (or cubic zirconias) just don't do it for me. Gimme a big honkin' piece of lucite any day.

How about you guys? What's your poison, jewelry-wise?

Longer But Still Sweet

Many thanks to alert reader Alexis W for her advice to hit Etsy in search of a version of the KJL necklace that wouldn't set me back 300 samoleons.

I have to admit not yet having really explored the Etsy thing. I have maintained a foolish prejudice against "handmade jewelry," associating it with those itsy, sparkly, cheap beaded whatsits you see by the truckload at every crafts show you've ever been to. I am happy to admit I'm wrong about that -- not that there isn't plenty of what is basically meaningless jewelry made from cheap bits of plastic on there, but there is also a LOT of really amazing stuff. Ferinstance:

How much fun is that? (Click on photos of all this great stuff to be taken to their internet homes, where you can buy them out from under me.)

This? Is amaaaaaazing. It's not exactly what I'm looking for, I really want something with a lot of color, not so much sparkle, but still. Amaaaazing.

Most of this artist's really fab stuff seems to be "reserved," which I think is a cruel tease! From what I gather, she's making them for specific clients, but it seeing them makes me want all of them!

LOVE the colors here. This is fabulous and getting close to what I'm after.

This has more of a "Victorian romantic" feel than I'm looking for, but it's just so pretty!

This one has the more modern feeling that appeals to me, but I want more than one color. Plus, silver. Not so much with the silver.

Again, a much more vintage-y than what I'm hunting, but the ribbon roses are so sweet!

This is coming very close to hitting the mark perfectly, although I'm still holding out for something that's just a full spectrum of colors, rather than arranged in a color theme. Pretty fantastic, though.

Very pretty, although, again, a more Victorian than I want.

This really isn't at all what I'm looking for, but it made my jaw drop open & I felt compelled to show it to you.

Cloisonné & crystal. Really, really spectacular. Seriously, someone should buy this.

::thud::

It just occurred to me that this might be what my black McQueen needs. (That way I wouldn't have to borrow Daphne's. Because I never can get hold of her, doncha know.) Oh, dear...

A lot of this work isn't cheap (although not as expensive as the KJL), but I don't mind that. It takes a lot of time & effort to source & create stuff like this, and let's face it, the KJL pieces are probably made in some factory somewhere by people who aren't paid nearly enough. (I don't know this for a fact, and my googling has not given me the answer, but anyone who produces in that kind of volume is probably doing it overseas.) And truthfully, now that I've seen these, I'm perfectly content NOT to have the KJL -- I don't like it nearly so well as some of the others on this page. So while I haven't snapped up one of these fantastic pieces yet, it's likely I will at some point in the future. And I haven't even looked at the rings & cuffs these folks are making -- oh, that's going to cause me to spend a bunch of time hunched over my little square screen. I have a sneaking suspicion that the world of Etsy has just claimed another victim.

So, thanks, Alexis!

I think...

Short & Very Sweet

I really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY want this necklace.

That is all.

Do Ask, Do Tell

Years ago, when I lived in New York City, I taught English as a Second Language at a refugee resettlement agency. As anyone who's ever done something like this knows, you wind up trying to teach your students far more than just language, and one of the things that I was constantly harping at my students was to ask people for things. Do you need help with something? Well, ask for it! Maybe, they'll say yes, at worst they'll say no, and until you ask you'll never know one way or another. You might think something is impossible, but it might not seem so to another person, and if you don't ask, you don't get. So ask.

This was a lesson I remembered not long ago and acted on to wonderful result.

This cuff is one of my favorite things:




It's Kenneth Jay Lane, and not only is it wonderful because -- well, look at it! It's just wonderful! It's also wonderful because it was a gift from my dear English Rose and traveled all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and half another continent to come & live with me, and so that makes it even more special. It's very, very me -- big, dramatic, un-miss-able, a little flashy. It's also heavy as heck, because it's enameled metal with all those crystals embedded in it and it's a good two inches wide. This is not a flexible piece of metal -- there is a hinge on one side of the opening at the back to allow some give to slide it on & off, but there's no adjusting this cuff to fit the wrist. The problem has always been that I have very narrow wrists, and while that's good because it makes the thing easy to slide on, it's bad because it's also easy to slide off. I've just lived with that, because I didn't see what I could do to make a difference. I couldn't re-size the cuff, the metal is enameled. I couldn't stiffen the hinge, because I don't think that's possible and even if it were, then it would be too hard to get on. I've lost it more than once, although it has always just landed on the table next to my plate, or the couch where I was sitting, or something like that, to no ill-effect. But a while back I wore it to a wedding and the dingdong thing slid off my arm onto the marble floor in the bathroom of the restaurant and I nearly had a heart attack. It miraculously suffered no harm from its loud & horrifying crash to the floor, but that was it for me. I knew I had to do something, because I want to keep wearing this cuff for the rest of my life and I didn't want to risk it anymore.

I asked a client who has a lot of nice jewelry where she takes her things for repairs & whatnot and she directed me to Franzetti Trends and Traditions Jewelry here in Austin. I took the cuff in and, after a consultation with Bobby, their designer/gemologist (who looks like he hasn't even graduated high school yet but good googly-moogly, does he make purty jools!) I left the cuff there for him to work some magic. Which he did.




Ta-DAAAAAAAH!!!! Boy Wonder drilled two tiny holes in either end of the cuff and attached a catch chain with a hook. An incredibly simple solution to the problem. I. Am. Thrilled! I can wear my bracelet and wave my arms around like the madwoman I am! Now, it's tricky to get the thing fastened & unfastened because there's almost no slack in the chain (Note to self: Must find husband. Or ladies' maid.), but I've been practicing with some tweezers and I think I've got the technique down.

And the cost for this little miracle? Shamefully low. Honestly, the only places I could get lunch for that little money have drive-through windows and cartoon mascots. I would have paid much more than that for this kind of result.

The moral of this story? You don't ask, you don't get! Another moral is that it pays to have people to go to for good recommendations. (For which you have me, thank goodness!) Still another is that if you have something you regard as precious, it's worth a little time & trouble to make sure you can keep it with you for years to come.

How about you guys? Do you have any treasures that you've had to take steps to safeguard or make more wearable? Any clever solutions to fashion problems you'd like to share? Let's hear 'em!

Also, if you live in Austin and are a fan of jewelry, I heartily recommend a visit to Franzetti's. They have beautiful, beautiful things and the people who work there are lovely and really know their stuff. There was a couple shopping for a non-diamond engagement ring when I went to pick up my cuff, and while I was cruising the display cases I overheard the gemologist discussing various kinds of precious & semi-precious stones. At one point he explained why the crystal structure of an emerald makes it more fragile than say, a garnet. Wow. These folks have forgotten more about rubies & emeralds & pearls (oh my!) than I will ever even know. Also -- did I mention all the pretty, preeeeeeetty sparklies??? Preeeeeeeetty! Stop in & have a look around.


Photos: Style Spy

Midsummer White Scene

This Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a really special event, a fundraiser for an amazing Austin organization called Lifeworks. (Please take a moment and follow that link to read more about this amazing service organization and the work they do for young people. They are truly inspiring.)

The event was a White Party -- meaning everyone attending was supposed to wear white, like a Great Gatsby fantasy come to life. It was a really beautiful party, with gorgeous decor and yummy food. In all honesty, there were wildly varying degrees of success as far as fashion choices were concerned. I saw some people who looked really great, and I saw some who were... well... challenged.

There are a few important rules to follow when you're wearing white, and the most important ones have to do with fit and underpinnings. Depending on the fabric, white can be especially unforgiving if the garment doesn't fit properly. Put bluntly, if you're going to squeeze yourself into a too-tight dress, you may -- MAY -- be able to almost pull it off in a dark color like black or navy, provided the lighting at your event is pretty dim and and you don't have to move around too much. But my dears, skin-tight white jersey is no woman's friend. I don't care if you're a Victoria's Secret model, some things are just better left unsaid, if you know what I mean.

Also especially important are your support mechanisms. You need to find some that disappear under your clothes, which means doing the legwork involved in searching out just the right nude. As I've noted here before, humans come in many, many different shades of nude, and so does lingerie. Next time you go shopping for a nude bra, wear a thin white blouse to try on over it to avoid any later heartbreak under the harsh office lights. And one more undergarment note: as many a thoughtless starlet has discovered, backlighting is a tricky, tricky thing. If you are wearing a white dress at night, think about that. One of the features of Saturday's party's fantastic decor was a dance floor with some rather bright pinspots aimed at it. I now know a little more about some of my fellow guests than I really needed to, if you know what I mean. I refer you, once again, to your friend the half-slip.

However! Overall it was a tremendous success -- really, what's more refreshing in the July Texas heat than a good white dress? Oh, it cools a person off just thinking about it.

And one person who definitely got it right Saturday was jewelry designer Kendra Scott, who was one of the event's sponsors. Ms. Scott, who went out of her way to introduce herself to me and my friend, was lovely, and wearing a white goddess-inspired dress with a full, floaty skirt and gold beading & embroidery at the waist that was very, very beautiful. She looked great. She was also wearing these:

If memory serves, they were a different color combination, but they were gaw-juss. See, these are the sort of thing that make me, every now and again, re-think my no-piercing position. Because I could really rock those earrings. I'm completely smitten with them.

I saw something else of Kendra's that I really loved, and it was this:

An assortment of her jewelry was a lot in the white-themed silent auction, and in it was this cuff. Very much right up Style Spy's alley, non? Except for the color. When I saw it I said out loud, oh, if only that were in yellow gold. Sure enough, though, in the fashion show that went on later (featuring a selection of white garments from local boutique Estilo), one of the models was sporting the cuff in yellow gold. Yummy. I do love the white stone, but I may like it best of all just like this:

(click on photos for links to these fab items)

Oh, how fantastic is that? We all know how Style Spy feels about a good cuff.

Yours truly was also on the block, in a manner of speaking -- four hours of my Wardrobe Therapy services were up for silent auction. As was this adorable little accessory:


This sweet little Labrador retriever puppy no doubt brought in a pretty penny for Lifeworks, and provided some great entertainment as well. The fabulous Plumcake took this photo of the two of us making friends.

So how was everyone else's weekend? Any fabulous fashion finds? Don't keep them a secret!



Photos: KendraScott.com

Les Fleurs

Every now and again I run across this jewelry in a magazine and I always want to show it to you to say, "Oooh, ahhh." Today I finally remembered.

Oooh, ahhhhh.

I find this utterly delightful, and so astronomically far out of my budget for "fun" jewelry that it poses no threat whatsoever to my No Buy. I just enjoy looking at it. It's by Christian Dior and available at eLuxury.com, if you're feeling like a splurge.

More Pretty Things from Museums

This morning I was rummaging around in the Longchamp shopping bag where are living some of the souvenirs from London & Paris that I brought home for my friends and I found something that I'd bought for myself and forgotten about.


This is from the British Museum. They currently have a tiny exhibit called The Divine Cat, which is an exploration of one particular bronze Egyptian cat statue from their collection. It's really quite a lovely little exhibit -- very small, and focusing on this one object, really explicating its provenance and how it was made. It was the first thing I saw upon landing in London. Sian the English Rose works in an office near there, so I took the Gatwick Express from the airport to Victoria Station (highly recommended -- cheap, fast, very nice train with coffee cart bearing actually good coffee and believe me, there is nothing you want so much after a transcontinental flight as a cup of caffeine), then caught the tube, dropped the Beast in her office, and then headed out to wander around the Bloomsbury area until she was released from corporate bondage.

The British Museum is a lovely old edifice, everything you want in a distinguished European art insitution. And then you go inside and see the amazing (a-MAZ-ing) central court designed by Sir Norman Foster and opened in 2000.

(click on this photo to go to Sir Norman's website for absolutely mind-blowing photos & more information)

I enjoyed my quick visit to the Egyptian cat, then I struck off to do some more exploring of the rest of museum. Trouble was, it was exceedingly warm in said museum. And Style Spy was in her biggest winter coat. And had just arrived after a 24-hour travel event during which she had slept fitfully at best (the plane to England was too crowded for me to stretch out, and I can't get good sleep unless I can straighten my legs). And so, a little while later, while standing in front of an enormous glass case chock-full o' the most beautiful collection of 19th-Century jewelry, I realized that I was swaying back & forth like sapling in a strong wind. It seemed to me that my first day of vacation would not be well spent trying to explain why I had pitched myself through a large window and destroyed several million dollars worth of priceless objects, so I went the hell outside where it was chilly and let the brisk breeze smack me around until I woke up a bit. Then I found a pub and had a pint. But before I left, I got to see some pretty things. Here are some of them. Click on any of these photos to go the the British Museum site to get fascinating details about the objects.

Gold and enamel pendant brooch. I like snakes almost as much as I like cats.


Made from the heads of actual hummingbirds. Fascinating, in an extremely icky kind of way.






Wouldn't THAT make a statement on the sleeve of a black cashmere sweater?





A parure (matched set) of carved pink coral. Swoon.

Here's one for Plumcake: gold and diamond hair ornament. So elegant, so gorgeous.




Gold filigree and enamel necklace. Go to the site to look at the detail photo of this, it's astonishing. Look at the butterflies around the back!!




This is my favorite. It's a gold and diamond tiara that comes apart into three pieces that can be worn as a brooch or as hair combs. Much more practical, don't you think? I guess if you're going to throw down that kind of dosh for a thing, you want to get some wear out of it, huh? So gorgeous.

Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day walking around with a book balanced on my head, practicing for when I get my tiara...

Photos: Style Spy, Britainisfree.com, British Museum