2014 – Page 10 – Jewelry Fashion Tips

Valentine’s Day Gifts (For Yourself)

I think I may approach Valentine’s Day differently than many women. True, I don’t currently have a love in my life to share it with in the way that Hallmark intended us to, but that really doesn’t make me sad. I feel complete with myself, and I think this holiday is another perfect opportunity to gift myself with a heart-felt token…no, not chocolate (though that’s not off the table), but with jewelry of course! With the overabundance of catalogues and e-mails flooding my mailboxes, I came across many items that would definitely bring a not-so-obviously-valentine-sy smile to my heart.

The first is this heart pendant by Mizuki. The word “love” is subtly spelled out with pave diamonds. (Thanks to my friend Jen for modeling it while we were shopping at Red Bird.)

Again, liking the subtle reference to the heart theme, I thought this bracelet by Zoe Chicco would be so cool in a big bracelet stack. Though you would know you were wearing a self-love gift, most people would just admire your bracelet collection as a whole.

I know there are some of you that would rather have a more obvious sentiment. Meeting in the middle, these 14K gold hearts with white diamonds featured in the Arhaus catalogue would achieve this.

I adore this ring by Workhorse, and if you’re a Francophile, you undoubtedly will as well. Perfect on its own or in a creative stack, I “heart” it.

If you want to be more incognito, then how about this cuff by Coordinates. You can have the coordinates of a special occasion engraved. This doesn’t meant it has to be where you were married or where you first fell in love, but how about where you were born or where you had some other significant event happen in your life, just for you?!

And last, but certainly not least, perhaps you are inspired by the colors associated with Valentine’s Day — from pink to red. If so, then these amazing sea glass rings by Aloha Sea Glass are just perfect.

I wish all of you a wonderful Valentine’s Day. May you fill it with whatever it is that makes you happiest, be it a special dinner with your love, a luxurious massage, or your favorite cocktail and a little trash TV. Cheers! xo

Pade Vavra’s Guitar String Rings

I introduced you to Pade Vavra back in November. (Click here if you missed the article.) She’s an edgy jewelry designer, who I just learned is also a passionate musician. (This SO does not surprise me!) In her words, “I wanted to be a musician, but for the last 19 years, jewelry is my music. Like the bass of a drum or strum of a guitar, it strikes an emotional chord in me.”

She has melded her two loves perfectly with her guitar string rings.

They are not made of actual guitar strings, which are much too stiff, but rather of solid sterling silver diamond cut chain. She makes them with rose or yellow gold plate finishes, as well as gunmetal black rhodium or polished silver.

I tried on the yellow gold in the regular and midi-sized rings.

I was so impressed with how light, malleable and comfortable they are! Pade says, “…measuring 2 millimeters in width, they are sleek, smooth and most importantly, do not get in the way of playing your instrument.”

At only $49 dollars each, everyone from Rhianna to Steven Tyler to Hayden Panettiere have been wearing them. And I can just picture Pade rocking them as she drums on her 1972 Ludwig Vistalite drum kit. Rock on!

Repurposing Jewelry: 10 Creative Ideas

No matter what the size of your home, there’s bound to be things in it that you no longer use. This even trickles down to your jewelry box. It could be a bracelet (that’s not quite your style) you received for your birthday from a dear friend (so you can’t throw it out, right?!) or an heirloom piece that you don’t wear, but just lies unloved at the bottom of your jewelry box. Or perhaps it’s some sparkly brooches that you wore at your neck during the 80’s or a singular earring, with it’s mate lost on some trip long ago. Whatever the case may be, I’ve got a bunch of ideas for you that might give new life to those items.

Take parts of different pieces to create a new one

If you’ve got a bunch of costume brooches laying around then you might just love Martha Stewart’s idea for creating a brooch ribbon necklace. It’s a simple process, and the result is so unique.

Turn unused pearl strands into a multi-strand bracelet

A client of mine did this, and it worked beautifully. She had two matching long strands of pearls that she wasn’t wearing. She used a local jeweler to re-fashion them into a multi-strand bracelet, something along the lines of this:

The same could also be done with fresh-water strands, to create some great stacking bracelets.

Use a pearl necklace to make earrings for a group

This idea came from a reader. (Thanks, Monique!) She suggested that you can take apart a pearl necklace and make earrings for each woman in the family — perfect for a significant event like a wedding. She said it, “connects everyone with a thread of beauty.” Love that! Depending on the length of the original necklace, you could likely get many pair of earrings made!

You could even make pearl enhancers for everyone to wear on small hoop earrings.

Turn jewelry into decor

If you’ve got a piece of jewelry that you really won’t be wearing (perhaps a family heirloom?), how about framing it in a shadow box and hanging it on your wall? You could even frame various pieces in different sizes and create a montage on your dressing room wall. How girly would that be?

There’s such a wide range of frames available now, that you can get any look from sleek and modern to scrolly and vintage. I had my local frame shop frame this antique Central American crown that I found in a Santa Barbara shop. A crown is almost jewelry, right?!

Use a brooch on an evening bag

My friend Jen is a master of this. She has quite the collections of both pins and evening bags, so she always comes up with something beautiful. Here’s one she just used during the holiday season.

I love how she pinned the brooch right into the center of the bow — great focal point.

Create unique napkin rings

My table is normally set in neutrals, so I decided to spice things up a bit for a recent dinner party. Using scraps of ribbon and some brooches from the far recesses of my jewelry box, I fashioned some creative napkin rings with a pop of color. It worked perfectly with my beige linens and white dishes.

Create a bridal bouquet

I’ve got to credit Pinterest with this idea. I came across so many lovely brooch bouquets while scrolling through the images!

Country star Miranda Lambert even used one at her wedding to Blake Shelton.

Decorate a package

I don’t know about you, but sometimes the special wrapping on a package is just as memorable as the gift inside. Why not glam it up even more by affixing some jewelry to the present?

Bedazzle a bottle

Decorative bottles with embellished tops have been quite popular the past few years. Why not add another dimension by adding a “necklace” of sorts? Here’s part of an old rosary around a vintage bottle with a stained glass cross.

Make a Christmas Wreath

If you’re looking for a way to make your holiday sparkle even more, then you might just love this bejeweled wreath. Better Homes and Gardens has instructions here on how to make it yourself.

So what have you done to creatively repurpose jewelry? I’d love to hear all about your ideas — please send me photos too!

Layering Delicate Necklaces

I recently wrote an article about the spring 2014 trend of layering delicate necklaces. (If you missed it, click here to read it.) I told you that I was going to go through my jewelry box and see what combinations I could come up with. Well never wanting to let you down, here are a few of the mixes I came up with.

This first trial includes a labradorite bead necklace (worn doubled) by Flying Lizard, a bezel-set diamond chain I got years ago from Ross-Simons, and a sort of boho creation that I got at a boutique somewhere in Santa Cruz.

The next incarnation combines a painted crystal purchased at Crimson Mim quite a few years ago, and a newer raw diamond necklace by Ali Grace, acquired at Carrots.

Next, I paired the same Ali Grace necklace with a petite pendant by Adel Chefridi, from Gallery of Jewels.

I wanted to make a mix with a longer necklace in it, so I pulled out a long sterling silver bead chain, also by Flying Lizard, and paired it with my Armenta horseshoe from Head over Heels and a tiny diamond disc on a black cord which I purchased through Gilt.com a couple years ago.

Finally, I wanted to see if I could bring my Nordstrom diamond circle pendant necklace (circa 2005?) back into rotation, so I coupled it with a Chan Luu silver and gold leaf long necklace, worn doubled, from Leaf & Petal.

I’ve definitely been having some fun with this, and I plan on creating more mixes in the weeks to come. What about you — have you tried it yet? I’d love to see what you’ve come up with!

Fern Freeman: Designer

Coming from the world of fashion, Fern Freeman is a prolific jewelry designer! When I stopped at their booth at the JCK show, I learned that a whopping 70% of the items in their cases were brand new.

The line is full of statement pieces, many with a creative, bohemian edge. This is definitely at the opposite end of the spectrum from delicate chains and skinny stacking rings. Take a gander at this long labradorite pendant.

And what about this geode and diamond necklace with a double chain? Yes, please!

I was also loving this rhodium cuff with a diamond bar. It’s large, yet still a bit delicate at the same time.

And is it cocktail time? I mean cocktail ring, that is. I’ll take mine in the form of this crystal and 22K gold ring.

And because I’m obsessed with all shades of aqua, these agate and moonstone earrings are a gypset girls dream!

Would some of these pieces work for your personal style? How would you style them?

Adjustable Magnetic Jewelry Stand

Am I the only one whose mailbox gets swamped with catalogues? (I feel so bad for my mail carrier!) While many of them go straight into the recycle bin, I do take the time to peruse some of them, including Sundance. Last night while flipping through the pages of the latest issue, I came across this jewelry stand. At first, I couldn’t understand why the bars were slanted every which way.

Then as I read the description, I realized that the bars are magnetic, and you can place them anywhere on the stand you’d like. This is such a cool idea, since you can really design the layout to fit your particular jewelry collection. It’s made of hand-rubbed steel and made in the USA. (snap!) It’s also quite narrow, only 8″ wide and 15″ tall. This makes it easy to fit onto a shelf or on the top of a dresser.

If you’re looking for a clever way to store and display your jewelry, this might just be what you’re looking for. Let me know if you get it and try it out.

Amazing Designs by Coomi

I must admit that I never did very well in my history classes, but if Coomi Bhasin had been my teacher I would have rocked it, no doubt! During the course of our interview at the Couture show, everything from the Mesopotamian Era to Alexander the Great was thrown into the mix. This beautiful, highly intelligent and evervescent woman really wowed me, as did her jewelry line.

Coomi, a Mumbai native who has spent her whole life designing, studied construction management (I can SO not picture her in a hard hat!) as well as being a textile designer and landscape architect. She made the official switch to full-time jewelry designer in 2002, at the age of 52. The fact that she followed her dream is a true inspiration to me.

Now let’s take a closer look at some of her work, which she describes as “important, yet wearable.” Here’s her Lucy necklace. Lucy was one of the oldest skeletons every found, and Coomi designed her skeleton in gold, just as it was found, backed by an arrowhead, over 10,000 years old. (See what I’m saying about the history lesson?!) Have you ever seen anything quite like it? I sure haven’t!

I adore how she used another arrowhead in this fantastic cuff.

I was quite taken with this 15th century bronze buddah ring. I tried it on was amazed to see that it had a backside covered in diamonds. She told me with a glint in her eye, “They’re just for you!! No one else knows they are there!” Coomi told me that diamonds have the purest energy of any stone, and they must touch your skin to release the energy. She has one on every single piece she makes.

This diamond cuff is honestly a work of art. Each diamond takes two hours to set by hand, if you can believe it. That’s one labor-intensive bracelet!

One project she has worked long and hard on is how to create a diamond piece without any metal showing. Two years in development, she finally worked it out (I guess this is where her architectural training really comes in handy!). Here’s a diamond and ruby necklace in which the gems just seem to be floating. This was her first attempt with white gold, and I say she nailed it!

Another necklace she showed me was this one from her Serenity collection. It depicts the desert rose from the Kalahara desert in Africa, which blooms only once every 100 years. The diamonds represent the water droplets that get trapped in the bottom, center of the flower, and the texture of the gold represents the dryness of the desert sand.

Coomi has also recently launched a silver line, which is currently available at Neiman Marcus and Wilke’s Bashford. You can find her line at numerous states across the country, so if this collection intrigues you, then I urge you to go see it in person!

Bloomingdale’s Bedazzled Football Helmets

I can tell you that football fever is hitting new heights here in the San Francisco Bay Area! With the latest win over the Panthers, we’re one step closer to the Super Bowl. New York is also psyched for the game, as this is the first time the Super Bowl will be played in the New York area. In honor of this momentous occasion, Bloomingadale’s has teamed up (no pun intended) with the NFL Foundation and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) for a very fashionable fundraiser. Who knew that sports and bling could go hand in hand?!

48 top fashion and jewelry designers have created over-the-top football helmets to be auctioned off starting Wednesday, January 15. Starting bid will be $248 for each helmet, and I can only imagine how high the bids will go during its run through February 5th.

Most of the world will have to view these helmets online, but if you’re in NYC then you can see them on display in the windows of Bloomingdale’s 59th street store starting today.

For a full list of participating designers, from Donna Karan to Alexis Bittar to Yigal Azroel, click here.

Happy bidding, and go Niners!!

The Bachelor 2014: Jewelry Dish

I know I wasn’t the only one tuned in to The Bachelor during its season premiere on Monday. While this certainly isn’t a brain-enriching show, I consider it “mind candy” after a long day. Plus, I’m pretty content just watching Juan Pablo for the two hours!

This season the lucky bachelor has 27 single hotties to choose from!

As each woman steps from the limo, you know that you just can’t help giving her the once-over, from her head to her toes. They say it only takes 7 seconds to make a first impression, so clearly they all were trying their hardest to make the best impression possible. Unfortunately, although they are all just gorgeous in their own way, I felt some of the lovely ladies missed the mark with their accessory choices.

First, take a look at Christy. Wearing a floor-length white halter gown, a beaded headband and extra-sparkly long earrings, I couldn’t decide if she knew she wasn’t a bride, at least at this point in the game. Not such a subtle statement, if you ask me!

Then there’s Lucy, the free spirit from Santa Barbara. While I understand her love of hippie chic, I really don’t think the flower-child hairpiece and the lack of shoes (seriously!!) and make-up did her any favors, especially on TV.

At the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got Elise, who apparently thought she was competing in a beauty pageant. The floor-length jewel encrusted gown (which must have weighed a ton!!) was one thing, but then when she added the oversized, cheap-looking earrings and the big hair, it was just all wrong. (but great for Miss America!)

Of course, there’s always got to be someone who turns on the waterworks during each episode, and this week is was Lauren H. While she’s just a darling girl, I think it would have been better if she skipped the necklace (and the tears) with her asymmetrical one-shouldered gown. The chandelier earrings would have been plenty, and the “matchy matchy” set is a bit dated.

I will say that Sharleen, the opera singer from Canada by way of Germany, did stand out from the crowd with her ensemble. While most of the women really went all-out glitz, Sharleen opted for a simple, yet sophisticated unembellished gown with statement earrings. (I think they may be by Alexis Bittar, but don’t quote me on that.) I don’t think it was necessarily her best color, but it still made for a great impression. So much so, that Juan Pablo gave her the first impression rose!

I’m sure next week the girls will spend half of the episode in bikinis or some other skimpy outfit (after all, this is the Bachelor), and I’ll be curious to see how the girls bejewel themselves for that. Are you watching the show? Would love to hear your opinions!

Spring 2014 Trends: Layering Delicate Necklaces

“Spring trends?? Aren’t we still in winter?” Well, yes, but in the world of fashion things definitely move ahead of the actual calendar, so spring clothes and jewelry are beginning to grace the pages of the magazines and are slowly appearing in the stores. This is a very fun time of year for me, as I anticipate the trends for the coming season by analyzing what I’m seeing.

I stopped by one of my favorite boutiques in Palo Alto the other day and struck up a conversation with the manager. She had just been shopping on Hayes Street in San Francisco (definitely a street with some cool, edgy stores), and she wanted to talk jewelry. She had noticed that delicate necklaces were definitely being spotted again, and I had to agree. BUT, instead of just wearing one at a time, as we did back in the early 90’s, this time they’re being layered in all sorts of interesting ways. (Sidebar: if you have a minimalist personal style, then wearing just one at a time is just right for you!) Now this isn’t to say that bold, statement necklaces are “out.” (Though I would store away jeweled collars for now, a trend that had a rather short shelf life.) My larger scale necklaces are definitely still in rotation. Rather, this is just another option in the world of necklaces, and I think it pairs nicely with my new obsession, stacking skinny rings.

Take a look at this combination by Jacquie Aiche, where gold and some bling are a unifying theme.

Here’s another lovely example of gold layers. I like how the three chains are different textures, yet they blend beautifully.

If silver is more your thing, then you might like this combo with quartz pendants.

It’s easy to incorporate color into your layers as well, as shown in these necklaces by Kei jewelry.

Celebs are also in on the trend (shocker!). Here’s Kourtney Kardashian in a casual chic look with two necklaces. The sideways rose gold cross is by Sugar Bean Jewelry.

Kristin Cavallari has left The Hills and gone jewelry designer (who knew?!) — here’s her Pyramidia layered necklace, which looks like three different chains, but it’s actually all one necklace! That makes is pretty darn easy to get the look without having to think too much.

And just for one more look, I love the romantic feel of these necklaces by Rust Jewellery from England.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to take a tour through my jewelry box and see what combinations I can create. I’m going to mix metals, use different lengths, and I’ll be sure to let you know what I come up with. I hope you share your stylish mixes with me as well!