Enamel Jewelry

I have a new love for enameled jewelry. The sleekness of the material appeals to me.  I also like that the design made with enamel is traditionally trimmed out with metal.  The affect has a finished, polished feel to me.  I find that aesthetic appealing.  I also like when a ring's stone is set with a complete band of metal, rather than being held up by prongs.  However, that is a biased opinion.  My husband picked an engagement ring for me which is set that way.  (I am already writing a blog post in my head about my engagement ring, so more on that later.)

I really love anything cloisonne.  My father has some amazing Chinese cloisonne horses he bought on igavel.com that I covet.  He has great taste in antiques, paintings, and those sort of things.  They look something like this picture I found online:

So, enameled jewelry makes me feel like I'm wearing cloisonne.  Actually, the technique to apply enamel to jewelry is the same as it would be for that horse or a vase.  Modern cloisonne is made with porcelain enamel.  And since ancient times, cloisonne has been used to adorn metal jewelry.  But, cloisonne designs are usually more intricate than modern enameled jewelry; well the jewelry I'm featuring below anyway.



I love these bangles from Stella & Dot. They are shaped like coral, which is in fashion again this season. I also love the color scheme. I feel like these would go perfectly with a simple white sundress or a pair of loose linen trousers and a fitted tank.



I think this cuff by Stella McCartney is so adorable. In my last post, I mentioned that I had reservations about a dress that I really love, but feel that it may be a bit to youthful for someone my age. I think this cuff captures the essence of youth without being childish. It's fun and cute, but doesn't cross the line over to kitchy or immature. Also, due to the colors, I could wear it with a lot of the dresses in my wardrobe, since black is my go-to color.

I love watches that look more like jewelry than a watch. This one by Kate Spade definitely fits the bill. Lately, Kate Spade has had some really great enamel jewelry. I posted some of my favorites on my Pintrest page, but when I went back to their site for this blog post, most of it wasn't available anymore. From my Pintrest posts, I really like the gold and white leopard print bangle and the long chain necklace with enamel shapes scattered around. Currently they have this necklace for sale that's similar, but the shapes are little spades. I'm not a fan of overtly advertising that I'm wearing or carrying a luxury brand like that. Anyway, I like this watch even more than those necklaces or bangles. I don't think that my husband reads my blog, but if he is, (hint- hint) I really need a new watch! 

I found this necklace on Etsy. I love the blue color and the irregular shapes. I may have mentioned this already, but the colors in my wardrobe are typically more muted, so I would wear this as a statement piece to add a pop of color for fun. The artist's name is Alison Swindles and she makes a variety of silver and vitreous enamel jewelry in England. Her contact information is on this page. Every piece of jewelry I saw in her shop is unique and delightful.

 

 

The intricacy of some of the enamel rings I found on Etsy and elsewhere definitely resemble cloisonne, as well as ancient enamel jewelry I found researching the subject prior to writing this post, more than the other jewelry I featured above.  Here are a few that I particularly like.

This Coach ring makes me feel like I need one more trip to the beach before summer is over.

Etsy designer Ozznick1 created this beautiful ring. He makes a lot of amazing enameled jewelry, most of which has a more masculine aesthetic. This ring is a simple band, but the flower design is very pretty, plus bands are very kid friendly. I hate it when, for example, I poke my baby with a ring while changing a diaper or she rubs her head against my necklace. Not a problem with this ring; you can have bling and safety all in one! More information about his jewelry can be found at www.handengraver.com.


There isn't much that Betsy Johnson makes that I don't love. I've followed her designs since I was a teenager. She is so cool, and so is this ring.


I cannot understand what draws me to this odd Marc Jacobs creation, but I like it. Or maybe I'm just intrigued by it. Anyway, I would wear it... I think. I'm not sure where I would wear it though. Maybe I would wear it on a day when I'm feeling like that face seems to be feeling. Post-partem will do that to a woman sometimes ;)




Lastly, I just had to include this ring. I doubt I would wear it, but now that I have two little girls, there is a lot of Hello Kitty in my house; we love it. My sister is also a big Hello Kitty fan and has a lot of the Hello Kitty kitchen stuff. I know that her daughter, my 1 year old niece, is too young for this ring but I feel like I should go ahead and buy it and save it for her 10th birthday. That is a long time for me not to loose something though.

About My Current Fashion Situation

I am by no means a fashionista (BTW, thank you TJ Maxx for making that a term I detest now).  So, let me rephrase, I am by no means a person with the natural ability to pair clothing and accessories as well as maintain a fashionable wardrobe.  However, due to my interest in sewing, I have always tried my best to follow fashion trends and runways collections each season, and thus I am a long time subscriber to Bazaar and Lucky magazines; I was getting Bazaar when I was 11 years old. 

Unfortunately, there was only about one year during my adult life thus far when I had a good paying job, was renting (so no mortgage), had no children, a paid off car; therefore I had enough disposable income to make some clothing purchases that were higher quality.  And by high quality, I don't mean Dolce and Gabbana... please, get real.  My job isn't THAT good.  My preferences were White House|Black Market, Banana Republic, the designer dresses from Anthropologie, and most anything from the SouthPark Belk.  I live in Charlotte where Belk is headquartered, and their flagship store is very near to my house.  It is totally different from other Belk's and has some really fabulous higher end clothes that you will not find in most of their other stores.  I also must mention that I love Joe's Jeans and will still splurge on them if I need a new pair of jeans.  They make a style called Honey that is cut for girls with a bootie and it fits mine perfectly!

These days, I am mostly shopping at Marshalls and the Gap brands (Old Navy primarily) online.  Why you ask?  Because the times, oh they have 'a changed for me.  I still have my pretty good job that I like, but I am now fortunate enough to be able to work from home, so I don't need much of a professional wardrobe anymore.  Also, I have a Banana card which gets me free shipping from Gap Inc., which in turn coerces me to browse their website first.  I have found some clothes on Piperlime that I really like, so even though some (not all) of their clothes can be a bit expensive for my budget, I feel a little more trendy when I buy clothes from that site.  As for Marshalls, there is one in my neighborhood, which has a good selection of name brands and a "Shoe Mega Shop".  I manage to sneak in there every now and then before I go to the grocery store that is in the same shopping center.  Aside from my stealth Marshall's shopping trips, online shopping is the only way for me now.  Although I have done it a few times, I have no desire to drag the girls and their giant double stroller to the mall ever again.  Maybe I'll try taking them shopping again in a few years.

As I just referenced, I have two small children, one who is a terrible/terrific two and another who is 9 months old; so I am crawling around on the floor, picking them up and carrying them around... I need comfort.  Plus I can't fit into a portion of my wardrobe, since I still have an extra 10 pounds of baby weight hanging on.  Despite all my wardrobe debilitations, I do have a few things that I am currently liking a lot and I will share with you via photos.  I am bit self conscious about my post-baby body, so I decided to use my dress form for display instead of modeling them myself.

This is a dress I got from Zulilly recently.  The brand is Rosalita Senoritas.  I LOVE this brand and love this dress also.  I will go ahead and admit that I have a slight obsession with Zulilly.  I didn't mention it above because it would have made the post unbearably long.  Anyway, how do you like the dress.  Is it too immature for a 33 year old?  I think that maybe it is, but I still really like it.

I am also loving chambray this season.  I wear the chambray skirt on the left at least once a week.  I bought it on a whim at Old Navy, but wish I purchased the one on the right instead.  However, it would be difficult to play with the kids in the one I find more stylish.  Tighter skirts don't work very well for playtime.  You need a flowing, longer skirt if you don't want to show your panties to the other parents on the playground.

French Connection is one of my all time favorite brands.  I found this rarity at Marshalls.  I think the fit could be better, but I still like it a lot.  I would wear this to the office if I ever needed to go in, but I did wear it to church recently and I felt good in it.

I'd love some feedback, so please leave me some  comments!  For example, I'd love to know how you think I should accessorize these outfits.




I'm working on another post already.  Next week I am planning on writing about some jewelry I have found that I really like.  It took me a while to get around to taking the pictures for this one, but my plan is to post once a week, so please add me to your blog list and visit regularly!