Happy Stories From our customers

This article captivated me and I wanted to share it with our readers. In it, the writer describes with greater detail the importance of defining and developing a style for yourself that’s both workable and wise. The great part? Anyone can incorporate these basic tips to create a more refined look:

Choose one core theme

The theme will serve as the central story for your look.  For the purpose of this post lets use texture as our core theme as it is a very subtle yet sophisticated way to create visual interest and a personal favorite of mine.  In order to do this, you have to pay attention to the materials that your clothing and accessories are made of and what effect the materials have on light, color and feel.  Next, decide whether you want your accessories and outfit to highlight a cohesive textural feel or contrast each other to engage the eyes.  The look from Dior below uses the knobby texture of the bracelet to accentuate the grainy weave of the tweed dresses.

Dior Haute Couture F/W 2012/13

Read more at: DeliverMeDiamonds

 

A friend of mine swears by Halloween jewelry. She doens’t really like to bother much with costumes but has a fun collection of Halloween jewelry which she feels constitutes a “costume.”

Check out some of these fun pieces if you’re “costume lazy” like my friend:

The 1950’s ushered in its own look stylistically. Rhinestones became all the rage, pearls gave that classic touch and glass beads and copper highlighted fun yet conservative fashionwear. If there’s a blast from the past you’d like to re-create, we can custom design a retro jewelry piece to fit today’s look.

1950s Jewelry – After the war was over, Americans returned to making large quantities of costume jewelry. Rhinestone jewelry returned with a vengeance giving rise to many makers of rhinestone studded necklaces, bracelets, rings and brooches.

Pearls were also popular for business and younger women. American efforts to help our former enemies to recover gave rise to much jewelry made in Japan, mostly of pearls and beads. And also jewelry from Western Germany was imported, typically glass beads.

Copper jewelry became popular giving rise to a number of companies based in California, as well as some individual designers such as Gret Barkin on the East Coast. Charm bracelets of silver, expansion rhinestone bracelets, gold-filled lockets were popular, as well as accessories such as rhinestone studded ladies compacts.

Source:  FoxfireVintageJewelry.com

Hand Wrought Sterling Brooch & Earrings by Gret Barkin

 

There’s nothing worse than having a beautiful collection of jewelry but its either tangled or can’t be found easily. If you’ve invested in jewelry, its certainly worth the investment in time to make sure its stored easily. Take note of these easy steps. Remember: a stich in time prevents necklace entanglement!

* Jewelry should be stored the way that it’s worn to keep it from getting tangled or nicked, and so you can easily see what you have. For example, hanging necklaces and earrings. For creative hanging options, read Creative Jewelry Storage.
* Don’t rest pieces on top of one another or jostle together (especially pieces with delicate details or stone settings). If you must stack for space, simply place a square of good quality, wool felt between each piece to prevent them from rubbing against one another.
* Think about storing silver pieces in small plastic zip top bags. Include an anti-tarnish strip (available for a small cost at jewelry stores) and change out the strip every 6 to 9 months to maintain the silver.
* Keep jewelry out of humid spaces like the bathroom, and areas where the temperature fluctuates.
* Avoid storing in cardboard boxes and keep costume jewelry away from oak to prevent damage from fumes that escape from the wood.

Source: HomeMadeSimple.com