Fashionably Friday: Jewelry Holders

Awhile back I asked readers to submit pictures or descriptions of how they store their jewelry (I mean, who can forget this amazing Barbie example?). The most basic answer, I found, was that some of you just kind of "throw" some of your jewelry in boxes or bowls. And while jewelry boxes are common, looks like they are more of a wish-list item than a reality, which has left some of your necklaces in a tangle :) Here is what you all had to say: 


Linny said: "I keep my jewelry in a plain jane jewlery box. The hubs has been wanting to buy me one of those cool little double door closet like long jewerly boxes but I dont even think I have enough to put in there. Not gonna lie, I have been known to have to untangle a neclace or two for about an hour." 


While Nilsa said: "Someday I'll be all grown up and get a real jewelry box. For now, I hang my necklaces on the back "bar" of a low bookshelf, throw earrings in a fancy bowl and throw my wedding rings in a different bowl (they get my very own version of special treatment)."


Karen admitted: "Well, my jewelry organization and storage would bore you to tears.....its all in little boxes, in a drawer. I haven't been wearing a ton of jewelry since having kidlets, but with my daughter big enough to not accidentally rip a piece off of me, I should start digging through there again!"


As a jewelry designer, Jewel Divas goes to great lengths to keep her collection neat and organized: "Currently I have each set in ziplock bags all lined up in two draws of my tallboy. It keeps them away from hairspray etc and stops them discolouring faster than they need to. I also have them colour coded and single bits like all spare bracelets in a bag, or earrings or necklaces." 


My sorority sister Lindsay recently blogged about how her jewelry drawer had turned into a bit of a war zone. Here is the before:

And after utilizing ice cube trays (brilliant!), here is the after!

Though Linsday confesses she is OCD when it comes to her jewelry collection and drawer, I would like to introduce you to her contender: Rachel Zoe. InStyle magazine recently did a magazine feature on the Bravo star and how she organizes her own jewelry creations (which she features on QVC). In one word: excessive. At least she admits to being loud in her style: "I'm definitely not a minimalist and definitely over-the-top. In my mind, being overdressed is not a bad thing at all. What's the worst case scenario? That you are the best-dressed person in the room? Who cares!" Um, sure, if that's what you want to call it! Here are a few pictures:

Ok, so I think it's darling that you use vintage LV suitcases and a part of your closet to store your jewels. But really? Why do you have enough necklaces, bracelets, and earrings to take up that much space? She reports that she wears "probably - at least - 12 pieces" of jewelry per day. Man, at that rate, Bead Up would be rollin' in the dough if everyone lived like that!

Looks like her collection, and sketching, take over her living room table. I can relate! Zoe says she has been collection jewelry since she was 11. Haven't we all? ;)

Quote: "You know that rule, 'When in doubt, take something off'? For me, I just put on more!"

::smacks hand in forehead::

Moving back to reality... As for me, I am partially embarrassed by my means of storing my jewelry. Don't get me wrong, when it comes to my Etsy inventory, I carefully put each item in a small plastic bag and organize them by genre. But when it comes to how I store my own jewelry, well, sometimes it's hit or miss:

Ok, this example is not that bad. I bought this cool wire bodice thing from Ross before my first jewelry show and have been putting it to good use :) I hang my dainty necklaces and dangly earrings from here, though they end up on the dresser or in a dish more often than not ;) 

For example: 

Other earrings (and dust) ends up here, along with lose hair ties and random bracelets. Or they end up here:

along with bobby pins and stray buttons!

But my chunky necklaces end up here:

(all but three of those are Bead Up made). 

And though I know technically you shouldn't hang things made from thin wire or string, I figure I use them all often enough to justify displaying them on the tree (except my pearls - I do lay those down flat, though unprotected, on the dresser itself). 

So there you have it! Thanks to everyone who participated! Those of you whose answers and pictures I featured (except you, Rachel Zoe) get FREE shipping from Bead Up's Etsy site, in addition to a free gift with any purchase made between now and May 1st! Thanks for your contributions!

Fashionably Friday: Man Jewelry

So most times I think of "Man Jewelry" I think of really crap-tastic piercings or over-sized tacky gold watches. Or ugly leader-corded pendants and silver rings. ::shiver:: Runways don't usually help the cause. Often accessories take place of clothing all together. Men walk around wearing next to nothing yet carrying around over-sized man-bags. Or wearing heels and a scarf. Only wearing heels and a scarf. I can't imagine it adds to the concept of masculinity. (see image on right for reference). The guys over a ProjectRungay come from a very specific viewpoint and I usually agree with their judgments of said runway trends (which usually end in "E-Gad!"). They recently featured an editorial from Vogue Hommes Japan that not only featured some interesting looking men, but some RAD jewelry. I LOVE the jewelry featured in this spread. And, though I am not usually prone to men in skin-tight beach outfit concoctions, somehow the jewelry takes all else away and all I can focus on is the use of beads and colors! So, if the fact that it's "Man Jewelry" bothers you, take T&L's advice: "Darlings, it's fashion, color and genetically gifted men. What could we possibly add to that? If a picture's worth a thousand words, this should keep you busy for a while." In other words, focus on the jewelry, and, well, ya know. The models ;) But especially the jewelry - LOVE IT! (all images from Project Rungay). My take? I could of course do without the bindi-jewel things on their foreheads. I could do without the stupidly colored hair (though I do enjoy the color composition of all the shots - very spring!). And, since of course most men wouldn't really wear jewelry with a wet suit or a see-through sweater thing (or whatever these "outfits" are), I could do without the weird clothing (though that's what makes it "high fashion," no?). I love the texture contrasts and the vibrant colors. And the beads are GORG. E. OUS. I tired to find the jewelry's source (Rungay only attributes the jewelry to "Passage to India," which of course lead to a thousand unrelated travel sites and what not) and wish I could figure out the story behind the collection. Though I usually find myself in the Less-Is-More camp, I love the layering and stacking of these pieces. If you look closely, several pieces are combined and added with other shots, showing the versatility of the collection (of course any collection that consists of over a few dozen pieces can lead to many options of use!). In other words, I wish that I could not only own these pieces, but that I could make them. Well, I am sure I could if I wanted to invest several thousand dollars in genuine gemstones and hours hunched over my crafty card table. Any takers? Now it's your turn! Time to duke it out! Spill your thoughts (and have a joyous weekend)!

Fashionably Friday: Tiffany's for the Holidays

It's that time of year where countless commercials do their darnedest to convince you that your life wasn't complete until you had (fill in the blank with meaningless item here), or that your stocking isn't stuffed without (fill here again), or that your man doesn't love you unless he has a mint-colored box in his hand. That's right, you read me correctly - it's that time of the year where Tiffany's commercials of women in 30's vintage dresses playing their piano in slow motion remind all of us that we aren't really loved until we have a Calvin Klein model slowly and ever-so-softly handing us a Tiffany's box of jewelry. See what I am talking about: 'Cause we have all had that happen to us, right? Yeah, me neither. In fact, these commercials make me a little sick. No offense to anyone who has ever be given a Tiffany's piece of jewelry (I myself have several faux Tiffany's necklaces from China, what?), but doesn't it seem odd that the company really does have some woman believing that the true mark of a man's love is that little blue box in his hand? Because I thought the true mark of my man's love is when he holds my hair back when I am hanging out in the bathroom with the flu. Or when he changes a tire in the rain and lets me sit inside the car chatting with my friend on the phone.

Ok, stepping off my soap box...! That said, Tiffany's is one of the new main-line luxury jewelry companies that I found to carry LOTS of holiday items. I really wish I could buy some of these charms at Michael's so I could make them myself and give them to myself in a little LIME GREEN box (yeah Bead Up!). I love me some value, but of course Tiffany's falls under the category of high-class that they can price their items astronomically high and people still buy it. Sigh... Here's a small selection of the many items on Tiffanys.com:

$135 ... for just the charm!

Candy cane in traditional red or Tiffany blue - so cute. Well, except for the $115 price tag!

I am pretty sure that Tiffany's has the monopoly on snowflake-shaped diamond jewelry pieces. Here they've incorporated it to their traditional link-chain bracelet... for only $500 ;)

And if you can't get enough diamonds... ($2,350 for this subtle thing...)

Why not wear a broach-sized snowflake diamond mess - for only 25 THOUSAND dollars!

And it only gets uglier and pricier, my friend. Take this gold semi-tree of a charm, yours for only $1,625!

Or this ... thing... for only $2050! That's more than my rent!

And if a Tiffany blue $150 ice-skating charm doesn't wet your whistle...

Surely a $2250 diamond and emerald plated ice-skating charm will make your life complete, no?

Yeah, me neither.