Manolo Jewelry

Men’s Sterling Silver Earrings have been in fashion since before the recording of history and have become more stylish with the passage of time. These days, such accessories have become more or less a fashion statement and a way to distinguish one’s self from the crowds. Women are not the only ones who have gotten highly conscious about how they accessorize; the opposing gender is just as aware of the changing trends around the globe.

Sterling silver earrings are perhaps the easiest way to accessorize. They can be put on and forgotten as they don’t weigh too much and don’t get in the way as some chains or bracelets do. Also, while the other two may get hidden behind layers of clothing, earrings are a guaranteed way of showcasing your sense of style without worrying about how visible they are.

Sterling silver is the preferred metal of use over pure silver because it is hardy, and has a better resistance to tarnish and wear and tear. It is an alloy which consists of 92.5% of silver, while the rest of the percentage is made up of other elements like copper or zinc. Pure silver is considered to be a soft metal and is not a suitable choice for making such items of regular use.

Various designs are available at jewelry outlets and can be chosen depending on personal preference and the frequency of use. The most common ones these days have diamonds fitted into them to make them more appealing and fit for special occasions. The diamond karat and quality will depend on the budget of each individual. The shape and color of the earrings or studs can be customized. The most popular ones are square and circular, and other unique shapes include cubes, prongs and even pirate skulls. Colors vary from the traditional gold and silver to a more distinguishing black. Individuals looking to brighten things up can go for the two or three toned ones.

TraxNYC is a business dealing in all kinds of customized jewelry for both men and women. It operates in New York and has made its place among the buyers of this bustling city. Big personalities like Justin Beiber, P Diddy, B.o.B, Ludacris, Akon, Jay-Z and Ke$ha have been happy customers of the company. The secret behind its phenomenal success is the high-tech processes it employs in designing jewelry to ensure precision and perfection. Some of the company’s jewelers have been fortunate enough to work alongside Rolex designers in Switzerland. Different designs of men’s sterling silver earrings can be seen at the dedicated website of TraxNYC.

Hey, many of us want to look like a princess on our wedding day, right?

So if you’re actually becoming a real, honest-to-goodness princess, there’s that oh-so-tiny (read: ginormous) extra bit of pressure on you to look regal and stunning and all that good stuff.

I’m sure you folks have all read about the dress and hair and whatnot already, so let’s get down to the baubles.

There aren’t too many times in life that a girl can get away with wearing a tiara. But when you’re marrying a prince? I’d say that you can probably go for it.

And if your tiara is one borrowed from an actual queen, then you just flat-out win.

Here are the details:

Her Cartier tiara was made in 1936 and was purchased by The Duke of York (King George VI) for his Duchess (The Queen Mother — rest her feisty soul) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. Queen Elizabeth received the tiara from her mother on her 18th birthday (I got a new sweater for mine).

Middleton’s diamond earrings (by Robinson Pelham) were inspired by her family’s new coat of arms: a pear-shaped diamond set drop and a pave-set diamond acorn in the center. Middleton’s parents, Carole and Michael, gave them to her as a personal gift for her wedding day.

So it was a lovely blend of both old and new, traditional and modern, much like the couple themselves.

And of course, she already had “something blue” sewn up rather nicely:

And now we wait until that adorable rapscallion of a Harry gets hitched, so that we can be all a-flutter again.

Bisous!

La Petite Acadienne

Aquamarine…

The name itself is so evocative, isn’t it? It makes me think of beautiful, crystalline, blue-green waters and white sand and palm trees.

There’s something about aquamarine that just feels like a soothing escape, isn’t there?

When I think of aquamarines, I always tend to think of the very clear, gemstone-cut variety, similar to these earrings:

They’re very lovely, and I certainly would not turn my nose up at them. However, I never realized how gorgeous the “less clear” aquamarines can be, like in this stunning necklace (which just happens to be marked down by 50%.)

Speaking of necklaces, here’s another gorgeous one:

But, if you prefer the clear aquamarines, these earrings should fit the bill quite nicely, no?

Happy birthday, March!!!

LPA

Okay, so this is the first time I’ve live-blogged anything, so please bear with me.

I won’t be blogging the ENTIRE Oscars, ’cause I just don’t stay up that late. But I will blog the red-carpet, and maybe a bit beyond.

Keeping with the theme of this blog, I’ll make a special point of noticing and commenting upon jewelry. However, I won’t be limiting myself to only jewelry, and may make the odd comment regarding anything else that catches my eye.

So, I hope you all have wine in hand, popcorn in bowl, and tongue firmly in cheek.

BTW: Am watching the ABC coverage, as it’s in HD. Just so you know.

8:00: Robin Roberts looks pretty. I see that she’s following the “big cocktail ring on index finger” trend that we’ve seen a lot lately.

8:04: I love you, Tim Gunn. Come live with me.

8:05: Maria Menounos is also doing the big cocktail ring.  I’m not sure if that gigantic sparkly thing on her wrist is a bracelet, or part of her dress.

8:05: Mila Kunis. I like the purple, but I’m not keen on the sheer. I love her earrings — a really different and pretty shape. Stand up straight, though. For someone who used to be a ballet dancer, her posture is crap.

8:07: Hailee Steinfeld. She’s so cute and poised and pretty. Not a BIT of jewelry on her, except for a tiny subtle ring, which is interesting and brave, but it works, considering that her dress is pretty sparkly.

Commercials: Cheese puffs, or popcorn? I can’t decide.

8:14: Amy Adams: That’s a pretty necklace, and a pretty dress, but I just would not have worn them together. That high neckline, calls more for earrings.  And the stones don’t contrast enough with the dress to look cool — just enough to look like they clash. Fail, Amy.

8:15: Jennifer Lawrence: Gold! Nice to see! I kind of wish she’d worn her hair up, so that we could have had a better view of those earrings.

(more…)

I am soooooooo sorry, February ladies! (Including my own mother, whose birthday was on the 18th — Hi Mom! Love you!)

It’s not that I forgot about YOU, it’s that I forgot that I’ve been doing birthstone posts. My only excuse is the short-term memory loss brought about by severe sleep deprivation (ref: “Pearly Whites”).

So, if you will forgive me and still love me, I will now do my best to bring you all sorts of lovely goodness.

The irony of it is that February’s birthstone, amethyst, is actually one of my favourite semi-precious stones. I definitely share Anne Shirley’s love for them:

“I think amethysts are just sweet. They are what I used to think diamonds were like. Long ago, before I had ever seen a diamond, I read about them and I tried to imagine what they would be like. I thought they would be lovely glimmering purple stones. When I saw a real diamond in a lady’s ring one day I was so disappointed I cried. Of course, it was very lovely but it wasn’t my idea of a diamond. Will you let me hold the brooch for one minute, Marilla? Do you think amethysts can be the souls of good violets?”

Anne wound up choosing a pearl as her engagement ring. She didn’t want a diamond, because she was forever reminded of her disappointment that they weren’t purple.  Pity she never saw this ring.

Gorgeous, no? I love the simple setting, letting the stone take centre stage.

Here are some other amethyst lovelies that would have turned Josie Pye a most unflattering shade of green.

I love the delicacy of this necklace and the contrasting chains. So pretty!

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These pyrite-and-amethyst earrings are so unusual, but so lovely.

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I also love the shape of these earrings with their amethyst drops.

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Of course, if our Anne really wanted to steal the show, and still wanted to incorporate pearls into her look, she could have worn this stunning bracelet:

Isn’t it all just so romantic, Marilla?

Bisous!

LPA

So the Grammys tend to be known more for wackitude and big upsets (who knew that Bieber fans were so bloodthirsty?) than for elegant, gorgeous accessorizing.

And much like the wackitude tends to upstage the elegant, the “big names” tend to upstage the lesser-known folks on the following day’s fashion pages.

So, in the spirit of celebrating (or in some cases, kicking) the underdog, let’s take a gander at some looks from people other than your JLos and your Rihannas and your Lady Gagas, shall we?

N’Dambi:

Smart girl. Her dress is already sequined up and her hair makes a big statement, so she kept it simple with the jewels. (In other pictures, I saw that she did Too Much with the shoes, so we’ll just ignore that and focus solely on this picture, m’kay?) I love the teeny little diamond helix piercing — it just adds that subtle bit of edginess. Don’t believe me? Put your thumb over it in the picture. Makes a difference, no? Now, let’s wipe our greasy thumbprints off of our monitors and keep on going.

Mya:

I’m not sure what to think about the dress. It looks a little bit too much like a Project Runway challenge, involving the use of remnants of 19th century bonnets for my liking. However, I love the earrings, and love that she wore her hair back to show them off.

Paz Vega:

I wouldn’t want MUCH bling with a dress like this, but a subtle pair of earrings would have gone a long way towards this look. As it stands, Paz looks like she’s wearing the world’s fanciest hospital gown. One stumble, and we’re talking MAJOR wardrobe malfunction here.

Alicia Arden:

Good lord, what in sweet Rose’s marmalade is this? The earrings don’t go with the necklace, which doesn’t go with the bracelets, which don’t go with each other. Not that everything has to matchy-matchy, but this looks like Alicia just decided to throw on everything in her jewelry box, just for s**ts and giggles.

India.Arie:

I love you. Don’t ever change.

And, just to leave you on a high (and squashed) note, I bring you Gramma Funk:

I guess that’s one good way to keep anybody from stealing your necklace: wedge it so tightly between your breasts that a thief would require a crowbar and some WD-40 to jimmy that sucker loose.

Bisous!

LPA

Oh, I am SO tired of snow.

Today was another day spent working from home, due to the roads being impassable.

And I must say, nothing quite encapsulates the working-mother experience like being on the phone with a major client while your toddler repeatedly pokes you in the left butt cheek with a piece of Duplo.

However, one advantage of working from home is that while on said phone call, one can do some online jewelry browsing, without worrying about Mr. Boss Man suddenly appearing over one’s shoulder.

And due to a recent birthday, I actually have a tiny bit of spending money available. And what better way to get rid of the money that is burning a hole in my pocket, than by spending it on pretty sparkly things?

Currently on sale, we have the talented and delightful Kendra Scott.  Her work has been featured here before; I love her interesting use of colour and shape.

These earrings are just lovely. I love the earthy colour of the stones. And they’re marked down to less than $50:

These earrings are outfit-makers. So exotic and pretty. They’re great for completely changing the look of a basic top ‘n’ jeans ensemble.  AND, they’re $23 off!

I could fill this entire page with Scott’s earrings, but she also has some gorgeous necklaces, such as this feather necklace, now 20% off! With the necklaces, be sure to click on “Larger Images and Additional Views”. You’ll be able to click on a video showing a model wearing the necklace, which gives you a MUCH better idea as to its size and scale.  In the regular photos, the necklaces look smaller than they actually are.

We also have this gorgeous aqua necklace (I LOVE the colour aqua), at a third off!

And lastly, this pretty tassel necklace at a great price, (and there are only two left!)

Well…I guess my birthday money is spoken for, my darlings!

Bisous!

LPA

Good morning, my lovelies!

My apologies for the delay in publishing the answers to this particular quiz. Technical issues, blahbity-blahbity, software compatibility, yadda, yadda.

Anyway, yeah…so this was  a really tough quiz, no? And you thought that Manolo’s Whose Shoes Wednesday was tough. Seriously though, I won’t make it as blisteringly difficult next time.

And so, on to the answers!

1. Kim Kardashian

2. Camilla Belle

3. Tina Fey

4. Claire Danes

5. Jenna Ushkowitz

6. Catherine Zeta-Jones

7. Natalie Portman

I have to say, I really didn’t understand the hoo-ha over Claire Danes’ look.  I thought the dress made her look rather gaunt. But hey, in Hollywood, since when was that considered a BAD thing?

Bisous!

LPA

Well, the Golden Globes was definitely an interesting show.

Between Helena Bonham Carter wearing two differently-coloured shoes on the red carpet (on PURPOSE!) and Ricky Gervaise hilariously introducing Bruce Willis as “Ashton Kutcher’s dad”, I was entertained the entire time.

So, to keep the entertainment going, I thought I would springboard off of the Manolo’s always-delightful “Whose Shoes Wednesday”, and present to you “Whose Golden Globes Bling?’

Can you guess who wore what beautiful accessory?

And my vote for best-accessorized of the night? Well, it’s a toss-up.  An alarming number of women wore no jewelry at all, or only very subtle baubles.  That’s why I was so thrilled to see Kyra Sedgwick and her bold colour combination:

My other vote for best-accessorized goes to Susan Downey, and not because of what’s around her neck.

Bisous,

LPA

Yes, I just made a bad pun based on a 1990’s-era dance tune.  I have no shame.

However, thinking back to 1993, I realize that there’s not too damn much that I wore back then that I would even consider putting on my body today (puffy poet shirt, I’m looking at you).  However, even back then, I loved hoop earrings.

Hoop earrings are one of those things that you either love, or you hate.  Smaller hoops rarely elicit a negative reaction. Larger hoops, however?  Well, there’s more than one Facebook group ranting about how trashy they look.  And consider this tidbit of information from a very knowledgeable acquaintance of mine:

“Cultural Difference Fun Fact: In many conservative  and/or old money families, particularly in the South, Nice Girls Don’t Wear Hoops. Small ones are considered merely low rent, but anything bigger than a quarter? You might as well be working the pole. They’re like lucite heels for your ears.”

I think hoops are one of those things that are extremely dependent on the wearer and on the  context. Yes, they ARE inherently more casual than studs or drops, but they don’t have to be lowbrow.

Big hoops with lots of cleavage, too much makeup, an equally big necklace and a Bumpit? Yeah, that’s lucite-heel territory.

Big hoops with an exotically patterned tunic over pale linen trousers and a low strappy sandal? Delightful.

When wearing hoops, keep in mind that while big hoops can be gypsy-esque and fun, smaller ones do tend to be more elegant.  The smallest of all, also known as “huggies”, would likely work in even the most conservative setting.

Fortunately, there are a LOT of choices out there.

Beautiful leaf hoop earrings:

Unusual and delicate citrine drop hoops:

Sparkly and elegant hoops for evening:

Of course, if you want to go full-on gypsy chick, these are a beautiful way to do so:

So to the hoop-haters, I say “You do NOT know what you’re missing, my friend!”

Bisous,

LPA