Tagged: baublebar

September 27, 2012

Lookbook: How To Accessorize A Peplum Dress

Done right, a peplum dress nips in your waist creates an hourglass figure that is sweetness personified. I’ve seen this look executed by women with boyish figures as well as those with hourglass figures and it looks equally enchanting. In general, I would say peplums look best on women with a well-defined waist. By “well-defined” I don’t mean you have to be a skinny minnie–If you’re a curvy girl, having a defined waist means in relation to your curves and for the more gamine girls out there a peplum creates curves and the illusion of an hourglass figure.

Sandro, Resonance Crepe Peplum Dress, available here.

Accessorizing this looks requires a bit of self-awareness. If sweetness is a comfortable aesthetic for you, then emphasize it with some dainty jewelry. On the other hand, if you’re the type (like me) that gets a toothache from too much saccharine, throw in a bit of defiance and go all-out edgy. As for which pieces to wear, I would either go with statement earrings and a cuff OR a statement necklace and subdued earrings. Keep in mind that you have a lot going on around your hips so the best necklace for this look is one that is short and close to the face–it should look like part of the neckline. Here are a few options:

Earrings + Necklace

Eddie Borgo, Rose gold-plated cone stud earrings, available here or similar studs by Baublebar here.

Rosantica, Mimosa 24-karat gold-dipped multi-stone necklace, available here.

Sara Designs, Tribal Spike Necklace, available here.

Earrings + Cuff

Bijoux Heart, Daisy 24-karat gold-plated Swarovski crystal earrings, available here.

Lulu Frost, Crystal and resin spike earrings, available here.

Baublebar, Yellow fluoro victoria drops, available here.

Aurelie Bidermann, 18-karat rose gold-dipped lace cuff, available here.

Baublebar, Glam cone cuff, available here.

Baublebar, Y-link cuff, available here.

I love a nude/rose cold color paired with a smoky gray or mint green but don’t be afraid to experiment with different color combinations. Give nudes a pop with some fluoro yellow, sometimes the most unexpected color-combos will catch your eye.

Big Kiss and Bigger Diamonds,

JZP

August 16, 2012

Wrist-Wear for the Wispy

Oh, how I envy women with big hands and long limbs that extend ad infinitum! Bangles look so divine on them! Me, I’ve got little hands connected to tiny wrists that get swallowed up by larger bangles that fit other women so well. Put large round bangles on me and you might as well call me T-Rex. Since persistence is a virtue (don’t tell your stalker), I continue to plug away experimenting with various acoutrements for my less than sturdy limbs. The solutions:

1. Wear dainty bracelets that can be adjusted for size.

Eddie Borgo, Gold-Plated Northern Star Bracelet. Photo courtesy of Net-a-Porter.

Lulu Frost for J.Crew, Resin and Marcasite Bracelet. Photo courtesy of J.Crew.

BaubleBar, Brown ID Bar Triple Wrap. Photo courtesy of BaubleBar.

2. If dainty is not your cup of vodka, then you can get the look of cuffs by stacking a selection of smaller, thinner bracelets together.

Arm Party a la Manrepeller. Photo courtesy of Dannijo.

3. Or, wear size-adjustable cuffs OVER your sleeves, as I do. The sleeves elongate the arm while giving your wrist some bulk. It’s a revelation.

Shourouk, Pheonix crystal cuff. Photo courtesy of Net-a-Porter.

4. When in doubt, diamond tennis bracelet. No one ever said, “oh those diamonds look terrible on her!” unless they were positively green with envy. Tennis bracelets are versatile. You can wear them alone or stack them. Have your jeweler size the bracelet for your wrist upon purchase. Don’t worry about the diamonds that will be left over, you can turn them into earrings.

JZP diamond tennis bracelet, Fallon necklace worn as a bracelet, Miansai hook in rose gold.

Big Kiss and Bigger Diamonds,

JZP

June 6, 2012

2012 Jewelry Trend Round-Up

Here is the big picture my DMD darlings: industry-insiders and consumers alike are waiting to see how the Greco-Euro currency debacle shakes out (and to suffer the aftermath if the shoe drops), the Chinese real-estate market has gone limp and we have yet to see whether the situation will be managed or if China will mimic the US in an economic landslide. You thought this was a jewelry blog? Honey, what do you think? I’m trading peanuts for my diamonds?!?!?! Jewelry costs money and since we DMD girls are responsible for our own extravagances (For the most part. We don’t maneuver for gifts but if one is offered by hubby or sig. other you smile and say thank you!) we need to know how the jewelry trends are affected by the global market. Duh. So, here is what I see.

COSTUME JEWELRY

Huge rush to get into costume jewelry as it is the sector with the largest margins. Huh? Yes, contrary to popular belief (that high-end jewelry is the biggest money-maker. No, YOUR “moneymaker” is something different and I don’t know if its bigger. Shake it and lets find out.), it is actually the costume jewelry that is cheapest to produce and sells at up to hundreds of times of the cost. Costume jewelry is then split into two–fashion costume jewelry and designer costume jewelry. Fashion costume jewelry is the cute trendy stuff that you see at BaubleBar or JewelMint. On the higher end you’ve got the DCG, designer costume jewelry, with names like Eddie Borgo, Dannijo, Fenton Fallon, and the design houses Oscar de la Renta, Etro, etc.

2012 Jewelry Trend Round Up — Roberto Coin, enamel, gold and diamond dragon bracelet and ring.

FINE JEWELRY

US consumers do not have the fatty wallets of yesteryear or rather yesterdecade. As a result you see a push in the fine jewelry sector to use lesser quality stones and materials incorporated with innovative designs and big statement pieces. The US is not currently buying to collect per se. You’ve got the celebrity pressure to bling it out for red carpet events but no cash-flow to really throw at high-end pieces (here I’m referring to the upper-middle class and celebrities–the uber elite are in another stratosphere and this does not apply). Hence you will see a lot of diamond and sapphire “slices” and colored gems like aquamarine, tanzanite and rutilated quartz being used to make larger statement pieces for what I call “fashion fine jewelry”–statement pieces made from precious metals and gems but the diamonds or gems used generally are of lower quality (i.e. not collector or investment pieces). Make no mistake, colored gems are nothing to balk at, with the mines being depleted the world over, prices for colored gems are sky-rocketing and larger pieces are exceedingly difficult to come by and are beginning to command quite a hefty price tag as well.

INVESTMENTS

Here we are dealing with those international or domestic uber-elite who are still spending and investing in collectible pieces. Investors don’t buy off the rack. They either buy at auction or commission private pieces and invest in high quality diamonds with high color and clarity grades. You will see some fancy colors floating around, the fancy vivid yellow, pink, blue and orange diamonds are so rare they are commanding upwards of $800,000 PER CARAT. The true connoisseurs are also targeting LARGE, high quality colored gemstones from specific regions that are being tapped out. For example, Burmese rubellites, Brazilian blue tourmalines (known in the trade as Paraíba after their origin), non-heated sapphires and rubies, the list goes on.

When it comes to jewelry I am an equal opportunity lover. I mean, sometimes I get snooty over shoddy craftsmanship or poor service but on a whole I believe in collecting to build out a well-rounded collection so I will tap into all the categories. I buy costume jewelry for the sheer size and colors of the pieces, I hoard vintage costume jewelry because they are collectible in their own right. Fashion fine jewelry is hard to resist because these pieces are the most innovative and design-forward since the designers have to continuously find ways of reinventing their looks and incorporating new materials. Finally, the bespoke and collectors pieces are just plan smart investing in a time when the property and stock markets are fickle, one can always hoard diamonds!

Big Kiss and BIgger Diamonds,

JZP

May 8, 2012

Erickson Beamon BaubleBar

A very daring DMD darling asked me, “If you had to choose one type of jewelry, what would you limit yourself to?” Of course there is no world in which I would ever limit myself my love BUT if in an alternate galaxy far far away I was held at missile-point by a very evil villain alien, I would probably choose. . .earrings.

Why? Because they are the closest to your face and they work wonders for a girl’s complexion obviously! If you missed my post about the ability of earrings to airbrush your face, here it is again.

In the meantime, I just received this totally SWOON-worthy Erickson Beamon piece from BaubleBar and cannot wait to rock them tonight with my Valentino Rockstud clutch!

Erickson Beamon BaubleBar — Erickson Beamon for BaubleBar earrings and Valentino Rockstud clutch.

Big Kiss and Bigger Diamonds,

JZP

April 24, 2012

Raising the BaubleBar in Fashion Jewelry!!!

OK, if you haven’t already heard of BaubleBar, let me enlighten you about my newest crush. We’ve all heard about mixing high-low ad nauseam, Galliano with J.Crew, Lanvin with Massimo Dutti, etc. etc. But for the most part I have been unable to find really great designs at the lower end of the price range that are well-made AND well-designed. So when I stumbled upon BaubleBar, I went a little overboard. Seriously!

BaubleBar does fashion jewelry better than anyone else I’ve seen out there (OK, there are a few and yes you know who you are and you have or will be mentioned so don’t get grumpy!). In particular, I LOVE LOVE LOVE BaubleBar’s collaborations! They just finished a project with Erickson Beamon (one of my top 5 designer costume jewelry houses) and they still have a few pieces left here and are currently collaborating with DKNY. Bet part of all? At price ranges starting around $20 its guilt free like Fro-Yo! Here are some things I have my eye on:

Raising the BaubleBar in Fashion Jewelry!!! — Erickson Beamon earrings for BaubleBar, here. I may have bought the last pair my DMD darlings, but rest assured, they are being re-stocked soon!

BaubleBar beauties are perfect for stacking, you can drape a boat-load around your neck and still have change left over for cocktails! YAY! Oh, and hint, they have Twitter feed necklaces. I was debating on whether or not I should disclose this considering that I haven’t yet received mine but alas, altruism reigns. They are like name necklaces except with twitter handles (@DelivMeDiamonds, @Jeanzpoh). CRUSH!. Apparently BaubleBar is revamping its Vault and will reveal a new loyalty program come April 30th so stay tuned.

Until then. . .

Big Kiss and Bigger Diamonds,

JZP