Things

Things I like.

Dolce Vita Jezabel - Piperlime.com

earrings from street vendor's kiosk in Hilton Head, SC

Style & Co - Macy's

'People' Pants - Va. Beach, VA

Fur Vest - Second Chance Consigment 

'Monaco Square' Scarf - Louis Vuitton

'Mindy' shootie - Cynthia Rowley 

Nine West sandle

Impo boot

Open toe oxford

Under the Sea

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that today I was intrigued by an Oscar de la Renta shell  necklace I found in 'Palm Beach Illustrated'. Ok, really it was the Cavalli dress that got me going but the necklace certainly didn't hurt.

So I started thinking, could shell necklaces be the next trend?

I'm not too big on trends actually.  I like what I like.  For example, I've been hearing all this chatter about wide leg denim being a trend now.  Well, good thing I suppose because I've been wearing it for years but I liked the fact that it wasn't a trend when I was wearing it.  (Trend or not, I hadn't planned to stop wearing mine.  Recently invested in a pair of flares actually).  I digress......


Back to topic.....

I was in a thrift store a few weeks ago and saw some shell necklaces that I really liked but couldn't think of what I'd wear them with so I didn't buy then because I'm trying to stop buying with the thought of "I'll figure it out later."  They've been on my mind.

In the interim, I've found these:

I'll start with the designer that fueled my accessories fire today - Oscar de la Renta

Made of purple agate and natural shells with 22k gold plate- on sale for $445 at Neimans.

Now if you don't care about names then this may be your winner.  Its definitely one of mine.

The Bib Circles necklace.  This is currently on Etsy for $355.  "Sterling silver casts of limpet shells, oxidized for a vintage look."  Nice!  The average passer-by may not know that these are shells but you will. Its the little things......

Jumping price ranges but this one deserves it:

Lord High Council necklace - $1,125.  Etsy.  The face is made from carved bone, its hair from a shell the designer found at Venice Beach, sterling silver, 14k gold and an emerald.  The necklace itself made of "jade roundel, green glass beads and sterling findings".  So unique!

Taking it down a few (price notches), going all natural - called simply "One of a kind Shell Necklace."  - $130

I like this because it would remind me of the ocean and my last beach vacation each time I wore it.

I'll end with three very different pieces but beautiful all the same.

Organic Royalle necklace - $790 - Etsy

 "Shell, coral, bone, wood, handmade glass vessel, czech glass beads, handmade organic glass rings and beads, brass from Ghana, silver from Thailand."

Delight 1 necklace - $300 - Etsy

 "Felt, metal, chain, Swarovsky, shell, cabochons, ribbon"

Oh Sweet Buddha necklace - $200 - Etsy

Vermillion cinnabar, shell, turquoise, brass

None of these your forte?  Head to your local thrift.  The ones I saw were $1.99.  Can't beat that!

Pedro Boregaard

Its funny how costume jewelry has so many designs in comparison to fine jewelry but fine jewelry as we all know, is many times the price.  Then again, part of the fine jewelry price markup is due to its design exclusivity and of course, the materials used in the pieces.

However, there are reasonably priced options in the area of fine jewelry.  Take for example Pedro Boregaard.  His work ranges from a few hundred to a several thousand dollars.  Price notwithstanding, this piece had me at "Hello."

He calls it the Galactica Moth Pin.  It was featured in the book '500 Gemstone Jewels.'  Made of 18k pink gold, sterling silver, 14k white gold, peach tourmaline, blue sapphires, rubies and amethysts, its a stunner! There's no price listed but once can assume this is on the higher end of things.  (I have sent a message asking what the price is.  I'll report back once I get a response). **See Update Below**

Another piece that caught my eye- 

The Viking Necklace -

Sterling and 14k

Minimalist, Simple, Classic.  A winning combination.

Again, no price listed but I should think its less pricey then the Galactica Pin.  

On the lower end of things - 

The Egg Necklaces

Sterling and Gold Stripped Mini Egg Necklace- $500

Three Mini Egg Necklace - $2,470

Twenty One Mini Egg Necklace - $25,063

(Ok, not necessarily on the low end)

Each egg can be be purchased separately with prices ranging from $365 (18k gold with silver), to $3730 (18k gold with 27 diamonds).  Chains from $135 - $190.  

Happy necklace making!

*UPDATE* 2/15/11 - 

Mr. Boregaard emailed me back saying that the Galactica Moth Pin sells for $9,800 and that he is also working on a Galactica Moth Pin with an 8.5ct Rubelite that will retail around $12,000.  He went on to say, "I make my more special pieces and all my models myself" (Outstanding!)  and that his store in Narrowsburg, NY will be opening in approx 4 weeks.

....so if your in the area....

Baubles and Bags

Two of my favorite things.

The 'baubles' are everything from a vintage monocle to thrifting finds to a gift from Africa to Forever 21.

The bag?  I always get compliments and questions as to where I got it.  While it does slightly resemble that other bag, it is not.  Nor is it intended on my part to be a stand in for it.  It is called the 'Clarissa' from Maxwell Scott.  Made in London of Italian leather, I loved the look of the bag, the ease of two handles and the amount of room inside.  Kate Middleton is reportedly a fan of the brand also.

(Adorable pup not included)

This bag is a workhorse.  I have to admit, I've bumped, knocked and dropped and its still in beautiful condition and has developed a gorgeous patina.

This one won't be leaving heavy rotation anytime soon.

Speaking of Closets

Kimora Lee Simmons

I wish there were a video available of Kimora's 'real' closet.....  

....but the granddaddy of them all, Mariah Carey's closet.  

.....We can all dream.

My personal fave (ok, excluding the aforementioned ones) - is something like this.  I've seen this on another blog somewhere and I fell in love with it.  Not GARGANTUAN and certainly not small (or even modest for that matter).  

Large enough and open enough to where I can 'see' my things.  I keep trying to convince the husband that if he builds me this then I won't keep buying things that I already have.  I do that because I can't SEE what I have.....

.....which reminds me.  I need to follow up with him to see how my build is going.  (As of this morning, this is NOT what my closet looked like).  I'll keep you posted.......

Janice Dickinson

Like her or not, she was THE supermodel of her time.  Gracing the covers of Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar and Cosmo to name a few, she was the model IT GIRL.


Say what you will, but nobody did it like Janice.

American Vogue 1980

One of my all time faves.

Photo?  Yep.  And everybody wanted to take yours.

Voyeur

voy·eur  (voi-yûr)

n.

1. A person who derives sexual gratification from observing the naked bodies or sexual acts of others, especially from a secret vantage point.

Um, no.

2. An obsessive observer of sordid or sensational subjects.

Well, if your talking about peering into other people's closets containing "sensational" clothing and accessories "subjects" then YES!

Barely 6hrs old, the newly launched The Coveteur lets you do just that.  *(edited 2-2-11 to reflect name change)*

Profiling the very covet-able closets of the fashion elite like Joanna Hillman from Harper's Bazaar and Mona Sharf, now the Director of Communications for Theory, previously with Louis Vuitton.

From Joanna's closet - 

From Mona's closet - 

Earlier today the site had so much traffic it took at least a few attempts to get the pages to fully load.  

Clearly I'm not the only one who suffers from Closet Voyeurism.  

And then there was Burberry.....

.....still flipping through Harper's Bazaar, I ran into my old friend Burberry.  

And what a great reunion it was!

Leave it to the fabled house to add some spunk to a classic trench.  Studded sleeves?  LOVES!

....."Trust a Trench" (?)  In Trench I Trust! 

Did someone say "Studded?"

Uh huh.  And since I have 'Cuff Love',  I couldn't help notice this little treat on the site.  

Studded Bangle - $450

(They call it a 'bangle', I call it a cuff.....They're right)

I would do this with the most demure little floral frock.  It'd be a bit unexpected.  (For this, I would wear floral.  I should never say never....). 

Something like this                                                    with these

Milly Hayley                                             L.A.M.B Platform Pump 

cotton-crepe dress - $395                        $214 (regular $275)

Net-a-porter                                                 Endless.com

....Now I'm really wanting the whole look.  Thanks for starting something Burberry!