sparkle-tastic

diamonds are forever.  diamonds are a girl's best friend.  diamonds are super fantastic, no argument from me - BUT diamonds also happen to be on the pricey side.   don't get me wrong -  for the right time/reason/occasion you can't beat a (conflict free please!!) diamond.  however - given a lady's desire to have a bit of twinkle on any given occasion - other options need to come into play.   let's say you feel the need to have a nice dose of twinkle for a night out.  choices:  a) a royal relative sadly passes, you come into a massive inheritance and you go drop a fist full of money on the real deal OR b) you come back to reality and you go the equally sparkly route of a crystal wrist-full of Nadri bangles.  need a little extra light dancing around your face?  choices: a) win the lottery OR b) the old "real life" option - a pair of Adriani Orsini earrings or perhaps a tennis necklace...  there are always the lower price point options at any high street store that can fit the bill - but if you want it to last past one or two fiestas - it might be worth your while to spend a bit more.... cost per wear you will get more bling for your buck.  and a twinkle on top.

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i shop therefor i am

well, to be more precise, i shop, therefor i am the-e-stylist.  i do have more sides to me, but that's another story for another day.  back to shopping.  i shop for gifts, i shop for clients, i shop for myself.  but to be honest sometimes the most fun shopping is the shopping for inspiration.  just picking a shop (or two or three) and wandering aimlessly to have a look at what is going on.  i could literally spend hours upon hours doing it.  the best part of all is when you stumble upon something that you were not expecting. 

case in point - Bloomingdales, this afternoon.  no reason - just wanted to get the creative ideas gassed up and ready to go.  found myself in the jewelry section (i mean come on - it's usually there or shoes, right?) and happened upon a few trunk show vendors.  one of which stopped me in my tracks.  quite literally.  Dana Blair Designs makes these beautifully delicate but rough circle pendants that are just so perfectly gorge.  LOVE.  traditional stone jewelry is all well and good - but a precious stone presented in an un-precious manner just kicks it up my kind of  notch.  i'm planning on wearing cobalt blue shoes at my wedding (spoiler alert!) so i've been looking at sapphire jewelry.  i have probably seen in the range of 400 million things.  and they bored me till my eyes shut.  THIS fits the rock and roll elizabethan princess vibe that is my life.  it fits it quite perfectly.   hidden treasures discovered, a good trip indeed.

diamonds are a girl's best friend. but...

sometimes life calls for other things.  in my mind, life ALWAYS calls for jewelry.  i have my pieces that i wear every day of my life (my nieces like to go through piece by piece and ask me the stories.  they all have a story)  and then there is the "who shall i dress up as today?" jewelry.  that's where the real fun comes in.  i have a LOAD of jewelry that i have amassed over my years.  and it is just as much fun now to root through it and dress up as it was when i was 4 playing with granny's jewelry.  some of it is "real" and a lot of it is costume.  the more the merrier!  it's how Coco Chanel rolled - so it makes perfect sense to me.

i read each and every fashion magazine out there in the world.  i love them.  even though it's for my job, flipping through the pages brings me immense satisfaction - and the utmost is when i find a new line i can play with.  for me AND for my clients.  my most recent fun discovery -- Stella & Dot jewelry.  i saw some of their pieces in Lucky and InStyle over the past couple of months and the seed was planted.  then i was invited to a trunk show and bazinga!  my ever so lovely bf bought me 3 pieces, including this super fab mixed metal chain and crystal lariat  (the one i mentioned in the wedding post) and these gorge rings i'm rockin.   in chatting with the great girl who was running the show - i decided to sign up and start selling as well.  i love jewelry - i love styling people.  voila.  the pieces are priced really well. there are some classic Coco-type pieces, a load of boho bits and baubles, and some kind of rocker-y pieces like the lariat and some really chunky bracelets.  LOVE.  also loving the charm section - you can pick one or pile them on in any combo on a chain or silk chord...  the pics are just a few of my current obsessions.  check out the link and look through the whole catalog and find some of your own.  let yourself be the kid in the candy store!  no time like the present to give yourself a present dolls.

forward thinker

there are indeed some days where i find it virtually impossible to figure out what to wear.  on occasion it has caused me to fly into an anxious frenzy, so there are times where i realize it is very wise for me to plan ahead.  this is one such case.

one of my lovely friends, with whom i shared a huge part of my life (including some of my more deep and dark secrets and tattoos), is getting married.  she is a singer, and has an amazing, eclectic sense of style.  as does her fiancee.  (also a singer).  ergo - i must look both fab and far from boring at their wedding... had a moment of panic before immense calm came over me and i whipped up this little get-up. grey Herve Leger dress; leopard Botkier shoes; Tolani wrap (in case it's chilly) and my fun new mixed chain and crystal lariat wrap necklace.  (gift from the ol' bf - i'll have a little update in the next few posts with some further info on this and some other great jewelry....) ok then - ready to rock!

hidden treasure

pardon the awful pun but i love finding a new gem when it comes to designers.  a lovely old friend of mine from way back in the days of yore wrote me recently telling me that she had re-connected with a student she used to teach, who is now a jewelry designer.  i'm not sure what i was expecting when i clicked the link to her site, but what i got was blown away.  these pieces are stunning.  all the stones are beautiful and off-beat, and the pieces are simple but unique.  the little twist ring with the black diamond is my favorite - so beyond adorable - LOVE.   the jewelry is sold at several little boutiques and more information is on her site - www.elizabethstreetjewelry.com.   always fun to find a new little treasure to add to the chest!

ring a ding ding

it has come to my attention that there is a distinct possibility i should never allow myself to enter a jewelry store.  lord knows the shoes and bags are bad enough, but the way my mind gets fixated on jewelry could be studied by scientists. on a cloudy day on the beach holiday, i made the mistake of going in.  the result is that i seem to have these sugarplums dancing through my head on a non-stop loop.  (occasionally interrupted when i distract myself with some other delight in a magazine) there were a load of other things in the shop but these little David Yurman yum-yums seem to be the ones that remain in my mind. i will not beat myself up too much about it, because after all i am a lady.  and it is a proven fact that we like pretty, shiny things.  now, if i can just get money to start growing on trees...

i, too have a hurricane in me!

let's just get facts sorted.  queen lizzie the 1st was the epitome of girl power, about 500 years before it was "cool".  to this day she is the most bad-ass chick EVER (along with Boudica - but that's a far more remote reference - check her out if you need a dose of female empowerment).  plus she got to live in a castle and have all the stuff that goes along with THAT.  just imagine all the shoes for the love of god.

anyhoo - back to business.  Temple St. Clair is an amazing,, GORGE jewelry line (they sell at Barneys).  the word "Renaissance" is often used to describe it, which is all well and good, but to be honest it just makes me feel all Elizabeth inside.  it's a bit on the costy side, not exactly the type of line you can collect... until now.  lo and behold, those purveyors of lower cost goods Target have swooped in a scooped up another designer.  (they actually grabbed this one a while back, it was announced in April but the line is not due out till August - so i kindly waited so that all of us would not forget.  we're very busy in our minds after all...)  yes indeedie - come end of August (i've heard the 29th) - Target's Temple St. Clair  collection will hit the stores and the big ol' interwebs.   the earrings and ring pictured will each retail at $30 and the necklace at $40.  can't wait to see the rest of the collection.  am i already in love with these earrings?  yes.   i will wear them and pile my hair up on my head while returning my kingdom to its former glory. 

it's big baby!

the summer sales are starting to pick up steam.  (as is the sidewalk.  and my glasses)  since it is 100 degrees out there - possibly higher, and there are heat and air quality warnings, why not shop online dolls?  one of my fave online go-to stops shopbop is having a bit of a blow out - up to 70% off.  there is a TON of really cute jewelry (including this adorbs skully bracelet by me&ro), denim galore, and some great dresses to beat the heat...  i swear, sale season gets me all hot and bothered... or is that just heat exhaustion?

happy wrappy

speaking of Bergdorf's... as i am known to do... on a recent "what's new" wander through the super-fantastic 5th floor (5F if you don't mind), my wandering eyes did fall upon these ADORBS little wrap bracelets by Gorjana. i have a few bangles and rings of theirs and now these little babies are calling my name! they are priced reasonably at $55.

there are some basic colors (one of my faves is bronze) and now there is an array of great summer colors just waiting to happy up your wrist. wear one, pair it with bracelets you have, or stack a lot of them - any way you wear them it will look fab. LOVE.

keep an eye out

for this one my dears...

Gaia Repossi is the artistic director for Repossi Joailliers, based in Paris.  she started off the job doing collaboration collections with Eugenie Niarchos, a childhood friend.  the collections are GORGE  - the two rings pictured here are currently the object of MUCH lust by one e-stylist... the earrings, pendants, and rings are all impeccable, beautiful filagree designs, in four types of gold, with the option of rose-cut diamonds. they are the kind of pieces that instantly transform you... and i'm not just saying that because i am currently enjoying a mental-vacation day as an Elizabethan princess who would most certainly be dripping in jewels.  even as just little old me - put one of these rings on - and it just does something to you.  LOVE when that happens.

she worked on fall collections collaborating with Alexander Wang (oh my sweet Alexander!) and Joseph Altuzarra, and (HOPE HOPE) there is talk of her line being sold on net-a-porter come fall.  which gives me a bit of time to both plan and to dream!

monday's jewels... hello Dannijo!

i always enjoy stumbling upon a new designer.  gives me something new to obsess upon.  especially in the jewelry department...  i'm currently loving on Dannijo. it's kind of rocker meets lady - it's kind of perfection in how it hits that mark.  they use a lot of oxidized silver, gunmetal, and pretty it up with crystals and pearls.  there are a few different collections, all of them with some crazy cute pieces.  at this moment in time i am particularly enamored of these ADORBS earrings and this amazing ring... i have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

stuck on you

every once in a while there is a little something that i see somewhere.  i don't buy it, because i am in the midst of an effort to be more fiscally responsible.  most of the time (proving my new thing is good) i forget about it over a matter of time.  but there are some things that just won't quit.

today's version of the above story is this Elizabeth and James feather ring.  it's killin' me!  it's so pretty and so perfect.  i've been a fan of the E&J jewelry since the first collection.  it's just on the right side of bad-ass for my tastes.  i have a little silver dagger pendant that makes me extremely happy.  (picked up during my swashbuckling pirate obsession phase...works nicely with the pirate boots, i must say)  they have some really nice new pieces out this season, gorgeous cuffs of twigs and feathers - but let's focus, shall we?...  it's also comes in the cool 2 finger version, but the north/south ring just rocks my world.... it's really the perfect plumage for spring, don't you think?

on a bling bender

i seem to have jewelry on the brain lately...i guess i always do, but it's popping up quite a bit these past days...

i like the pretty sparkly real jewels.  don't we all?  they are life-long friends in the realm of accessories.  a nice, simple (or not so simple if you are bling-ier) collection of fine jewelry can carry you all the way through.  and then there's the fun stuff.  costume jewelry lets you  play dress-up in a much more bold way.  a fun piece, a cuff, ring, necklace, can take an outfit from zero to hot in no time at all.  you can go mild or you can go wild.  the sky's the limit - and because it's costume you can afford to play around with a lot more looks to spruce up your existing wardrobe.  a tee-shirt and jeans can be transformed into as many different looks as you have costume pieces.  it's a bit genius really.

J Crew has always been a good place to go for the fun and good quality costume jewelry.  i am a big fan.  in the past 5 years they've been a bonanza of good finds.  (including one of my favorite and most complimented necklaces of all time).  right now, they have a super fantastic bunch of pieces in - including this ridiculously adorbs ring.  LOVE.  and then - my little ears did hear that in April they will be launching a jewelry collection in collaboration with Fenton/Fallon.  my heart did a little dance upon hearing this.  Fenton/Fallon is fun, modern, chic rocker AMAZING -- add this to the goodness already going on at J Crew and we've got ourselves a goldmine kids.  thank you Easter bunny!

twinkle, twinkle, little ring

i'm assuming it's a known fact i have an affinity for sparkly things.  i'm assuming this because i clearly cannot stop looking at, lusting after, buying and blogging about jewelry. 

a year or so ago i became fixated upon a ring that my bff had.  it was tiny, delicate, shiny, and pretty.  i could not stop thinking about said ring for over a year.  last week in my sick haze of a trip to LA, accompanied by said bff, i went to the shop where said coveted item was purchased, Des Kohan.  first off, i have to say that it was (even in my sick funk) like walking into heaven.  it smelled AMAZING and there were beautiful things hanging and sitting every which way you turned, without being at all overwhelming.  absolutely perfect boutique.  now onto the ring itself - it's by Bare jewelry - all the pieces they carried were great - very organic and simple - LOVE.  love love love actually.  def on my list of "pieces to collect".  piece one - the little twinkle chain ring.  and thus my year-or-so-long obsession has been taken care of.  and life can carry on in a sparkly manner.

bits and baubles

i am not sure why women love jewelry so much. it honestly is most likely the most simple answer. all things usually are. we never let go of the childhood quality of attraction to shiny objects. i, for one, am quite happy to have maintained my love for shiny things. jewelry can "be" a million things too. it can be a fun little thing you see at a street market in any city anywhere, it can be a wardrobe staple, and it can be an incredibly powerful talisman - a little physical link to a point in time on the map of your life. for me personally, to mark an intense moment in life, it's either a tattoo or a piece of jewelry. i feel a need to physically mark these moments - it makes me feel anchored - and i suppose i wear my decorations like the story of myself...

wow - ok, let's come down from there, shall we? let's move to the very practical idea that jewelry can make or break an outfit. a plain white tee and jeans can be brought up to SHA-BAM level with a strong necklace. little black dress can go from conservative (pearls) to bohemian (bangles piled up the wrist as far as you like), and hit every mark in between. and since it's right up top in plain view for all the world to see (as opposed to the glory of a shoe or a bag) it can shout out your style idea immediately. in short, jewelry is a wildly important part of a wardrobe. it helps seal the deal, if you will.

one of my favorite jewelry designers is Ippolita. my obsession began about 2 years ago - and i went on a little bit of a bender. i had just been "downsized" out of what i had believed was my career. i got a nice substantial severance, and i set aside a small chunk of this "blood money" for marking the occasion. with jewerly. (and 2 tattoos). thus began my fixation on Ippolita. it is everything i adore. the shapes are gorge - organic, wavy, sensual. and they throw in every possible amount of stone, so you can go from subtle sparkle to POW depending on your piece of choice. the silver and gold are both lovely - but i am in LOVE with the rose. it is the most amazing color ever - and sets of diamonds beautifully. i am currently attempting to work out a way to justify this necklace... and then to make things simple, if you are in the mode of hinting, they have kindly created a gift page full of delightful goodies.

and now for the best part. A) it's that time of year, that Valentine's day time of year. so you can either hint to another or be in love with yourself and splurge. and B) for the entire month of February - 50% of sales on Ippolita.com go to a relief effort for Haiti. and you KNOW how much i love that. shopping plus charity equals SUPERFANTASTIC. on a site like a friggin candy store of beautiful shiny things, it's nothing short of heaven.

cuff joy

it's a bit like a cousin to the bangle. the cuff. they walk a strange fine line between looking amazing, and the possibility of looking like a Roman soldier, or some sort of prisoner... so i think they are best worn in the detailed variety. be it intricate or simple - the success is in the details here.

i have a few cuffs in my jewelry repetoire - ranging from the rock and roll-ish leather and stud variety to the highly polished enamel and rhinestone vintage variety. each has its own special and particular use in the life of yours truly. what i had not yet found was a "daily" version - one that would go with pretty much any outfit and mood. until now - lo and behold - the daily cuff! on my way to somewhere else, i popped into Laila Rowe, hoping to find a necklace i could chop up and make into something else. no such luck in that quest - but what i DID find was my new little wristy obsession, this little feather cuff. i would suggest going to a shop rather than the website, as the selection is infinitely larger - but, as the big red letters proclaiming 75% off might lead you to believe - the prices are DIRT CHEAP and there are some fun finds to be had. my new little friend here? $3.99. yep - you read that right. three american dollars and 99 of their cents.

that, my friends, is "responsible" shopping. (leaving plenty of money left over for when the irresponsible strikes!) hazzah!

ps - kind of love the Black Orchid tie dye jeans as a background...

big bangle theory

it is a scientifically proven fact that i am a huge fan of jewelry. i am a fan of layering it on, numerous pieces at once. for some reason it seems most apparent on the wrist. i am a pile-r of bracelets. the more the merrier. the size and style of bracelet varies according to mood, with several pieces that never come off. lately i am feeling drawn back to the bangle... let's call it the big bangle theory... one will not do. two works, three is usually the charm. they clunk around when you move and it is oddly satisfying and comforting. and it looks great too.

i have a happy little collection of bangles (and then sadly some that i gave away throughout the years in fits of cleaning the closet) but it is always fun to add more - and of course always fun to see what is out there...

a few that are top runners in the current obsession category...

this lucite lovely from Alexis Bittar (and as mentioned yesterday - until 1/22 100% of sales go to charity for Haiti!!). i have a couple of the plain lucite bangles and they are light as air, and have a crazy pretty glow to them. LOVE.

last weekend my lovely bf treated me to an amazing steak dinner and a gorgeous necklace from Tiffany. that's just a happy prelude... in the same collection by Paloma Picasso , there are these amazing bangles that do this crazy trick where the etched design changes in the light. cool AND gorgeous. also at Tiffany, these gorgeous Elsa Peretti hardwood bangles lacquered in a variety of colors. simple but beautiful - and beyond satisfying in the clickety clack factor on the wrist!

if you're feeling a little more like a rocker this little number by CC Skye could make its way into the mix...

and on the down low - of the price scale, that is - there is quite the amazing collection at Forever21. some really cute on-point bangles at ridiculously low prices. definitely worth checking out to flesh out any collection of clink-y delights!

nudge nudge, wink wink

i used to work in SoHo. extremely dangerous for a lady like myself. factor in 12 years of lunch break/ coffee break/after work walks - and what you have is strong support for the fiscal maintenance of NYC. you're welcome, city of mine. there were, a long time ago, little boutiques in that hood. now it's more of a mall store type sitcho, with boutiques sprinkled in here and there, holding fast to their tiny spaces. those are the places i love. one of said teenies was Wink. i wanted so much to love it - but it was never quite right, it wasn't set up properly and it drove me nuts.

cut to today.... i am a self-employed uptown girl. it is a bright sunny day, so i decided to take a walk to get the blood moving. turned out to be both good and bad. it's frickin freezing out, which i hate. but i did get some fresh air, and did do some re-conn on boutiques along Columbus Ave., including Wink. after driving by it a while ago in a taxi i thought "everyone deserves a second chance". i am glad i went. walked in - LOVE! it's small, but perfectly laid out. not at all crowded, but a good solid amount of stuff. they happen to carry the Plush leggings i mentioned the other day - yum. (they come in denim too- tres cute). i began a mental shopping list which includes an adorable chiffon ruffled skirt. (as soon as it's warm out!) and this supercalafragalistic JJWinters bag. they also have some new House of Harlow jewelry - first time i've seen it in person rather than interwebs - and it (of course) is VERY cute. add to the list? check. i would have added a couple of pairs of shoes to my list, but i have placed myself on shoe probation. so i did not. on top of all the goods, the 2 girls working were great - friendly and helpful but not pushy. my kind of ladies.

it's a little bit of an accessory haven i must say. every time you turn your eyeballs around - there is a bag, a shoe, a scarf or a piece of jewelry to make you say "OOH!! hello!" and thus on this day, new addition to the mental neighborhood of "happy place". a new addition to my sunny day walking route. a fab addition to my stylist's arsenal... who knew addition could be so fun?

sales and pondering

ah well. the bird that i heard that mentioned the word of an additional 30% off at Bergdorf's was mistaken... sad, but probs for the best in terms of shoes i should not be purchasing. there were, however - some great markdowns - and some amazing new stuff, including some fun new jewelry on the 5th floor, "5F" as they like to call it - including Jennifer Zeuner. i always like finding someone new whose stuff i may not have seen - and i have to admit i spent some time looking at her pieces. so much so that it distracted me from the shoes on sale. WHAT?! (as a little aside - there is also a great selection of her jewelry online at singer22)

i'm in the resto at B'dorfs, waiting for my friend Laura in our meeting place of choice for hightea service. i am staring at a table of 3 women. i wonder (as i often do in B'dorf's) where in the world they get their money... married into it? family? can't quite figure it? these ladies fall squarely into the category which proves one of my commandments. "money does not equal style". now -- this works both ways. there are skads of girls on the streets of NY, London, Paris who ooze style - it wafts around them like a heady perfume. they are not decked out in designers or the latest trend. they're in things they've most likely altered themselves. (a fave passtime of yours truly) and they are wearing what will most likely be the NEXT trend. on the flip side of the coin - there are the tragically rich. they ooze money. they have expensive hair, makeup, clothes, the works. and not one ounce of style. i wish there a word for it. what it is, is a sloppy rich mess.

until Laura arrives to block my view - i can't take my eyes of the 3 such creatures. one may or may not be that Fantasia person from American Idol. there's a blinding amount of enormous chunky jewelry. the other 2 are blonde. fully (overly) made up - artfully (overly) coiffed. attempting to be casual with Uggs - but missing the mark with the contrived "outfits" and dizzying amounts of diamonds and fur. (of note, the hideous atrocity that is a poncho made out of a multitude of furry tails. it's literally an ass poncho and looks thus) they believe it all works. it makes me feel a little bad for them.

all the money in the world clearly could not buy them an idea of style. i sit and sip my water, and mentally rifle through what i am wearing. an old thermal undershirt that i shredded the neck off; an old Missoni tunic thrown on top of it; an ancient beloved cashmere hat stretched almost beyond regognition; a scarf from H&M; my Levis jeans, and rubber snow boots. Laura arrives and squeals that she could spot me from the entrance by how much style i was projecting
across the room. i smile and i feel like a million bucks.

santa baby

a little sparkler under the tree - for me....

i have been hearing and seeing little bits and bobs about this jewelry line for a while - but as an easily distracted creature, i was... well, distracted. i blame the holidays. until now. now, i am HOOKED. made her think is so right up the alley i find myself in at the moment. it is edgy, but gorgeously designed. there are options to go all out or to be more subtle with your edge. it's a friggin gold mine of fun quite frankly! lord knows i wouldn't kick any of the jewerly out of my apartment... however, i'm particularly liking the talon and stud pieces... and by particularly liking, i mean obsessing upon and actively working out a plan to save up my pennies and buy several pieces of each...

so um... santa, if you're out there...