yowza

check out that bracelet in the middle. and ignore the eye-slanting. that is all.

blood milk

Blood Milk is a jewelry designer (her name is J.L. Schnabel if we're splitting hairs here, and I rather enjoy her blog, which I discovered yesterday) based out of Philiadelphia whose collections at the moment are divided into several themes: Catholica Melancholia (lots of immaculate hearts, which, given my catholic school education at a school of the same name, I'm slightly less attracted to - bad memories and all), Surrealism, Ritual, and Victorian Mourning (my personal favorite).
I like her stuff because it hits the aesthetic I love while still being delicately wrought, unlike Pamela Love's jewelry, which I actually dislike in a lot of cases because it is so bulky and looks roughly hewn (which in my mind is the antithesis of jewelry). But Polyvore won't allow me to import photos from Etsy, because it's essentially just a huge marketing platform, fine, I get it. So, Pamela Love becomes the default jewelry in a lot of things, even though I'd probably never wear her stuff. Partially because it's so grotesquely overpriced.
I digress. Anyway, Blood Milk does some cool pieces, at reasonable prices. So check out her Etsy shop!

yum

Yukie Deuxpoints necklace, Proenza Schouler PS1 bag, VPL bra, Glynneth B bracelet, Eddie Borgo earrings, Falconiere epaulets, Givenchy studded flats, Ann D. buckle boots, Bijules ring, Fleet Ilya belt, Sigerson Morrison Gladiators, Madison Marcus buckle mini, YSL cuff, Darcy Miro for Unholy Matrimony cuff, Helmut Lang printed tank

I am so into buckles right now, it hurts. That and crazy, geological-looking jewelry. I wonder if the straps on the mini go all the way around, or are just sewn on the front. I'd feel gypped if they were.

eddie borgo

Today Gilt had a sale on Eddie Borgo jewelry. I'm not overwhelmingly impressed with it, largely because, like Dominic Jones' work, it just feels like it's capitalizing on the spikes/studs/80s trend and has no real character of its own. But, I gave the sale a peruse, and there were a couple of interesting pieces (although only the last of which I'd consider buying).

The ring: I like the rose gold, it's an unusual choice, and the glass accents and general structure make it look like an early 20th century conception of something industrial. It's a little deco, possibly futurist, and Machine Age. It looks like a microchip modded by an overzealous Steampunk. I back it, but I don't think I'd wear it (rosegold doesn't flatter my skin tone).

The cuff: I like that it's squared, I don't love the rounded pyramids on it. That's about it.

The necklace: It's made of petrified wood!!! Wtf how is that possible? Not that wood petrifies, but that they managed to acquire it for jewelry-making purposes. Did they manufacture it? Did they get it from China, where environmental standards are a joke? Did they raid the petrified forest??!? Also, I like the graining.

source: gilt groupe

boned and dethroned

Honestly, what I've wanted, more than all of the jewelry I've featured, is these rings from the Bone Room, a store in Berkeley. They've been sold out for so long I'm ready to die over it. I guess they don't have a manufacturer anymore (?), not sure, not the point. The point is that I PINE for these rings. PINE, I tell you.

Another piece from the site, an anteater vertebrae & rib bracelet, I've largely ignored because of the other picture on the site was so unappealing. But this picture is much better: it shows two of the bracelets interlocked together, and I want it too, especially after having just bought vertebrae friendship necklaces with my friend Paris, and these interlock into each other too. I don't own a bracelet (literally, not a one), so these could be some excellent investment pieces for me.

source: the bone room

harakiri

I saved these in my fashion folder about a month ago with nothing remotely helpful as a title to help me remember where I found them. Thanks to some frantic searching of my browser history I managed to track it down: Harakiri, whose work I've written about before (double-ended mouse skull bangle, anyone?), available at NotJustALabel. Although I think the things above are supposed to be earrings (?), I think they'd function best as brooches. Ahhh, I can just picture one on my lapel right now... Apparently my fascination with dead-stuff jewelry will never die.

winter wishlist

unknown sleeveless cardigan from browns, preen skeleton vest, unknown black dress from browns, miu miu flats, ann d. belt corset thing, balenciaga print scarf, rodarte skirt, miu miu embellished flats, black thigh-high socks, made her think cuff, gareth pugh leather jacket

color me obsessed

Hand ring by Daphne Guinness and Shaun Leane
from the Sunday Times Style Magazine, 21 October 2007

source: the fashion spot

mi piace

I'm in love with these rings by Aoi Kotushuiroi. They remind me a lot of the pieces by Imogen Belfield that I posted about ages ago. Both artists have created rings that remind me of stone outcroppings - uneven jagged edges protruding from a softer matrix. In a way they also recall the studding mania that has had us all in a vise grip for months, but in a fresher, less distinctly 80s way.

This last piece on the right is by far my favorite, which is surprising because it seems so much less dynamic and raw compared to the other rings. It's a little more constrained, and in a way looks like the encrustations of barnacles on the hull of a ship.

pieces of flair

from left: bittersweets baby vamp rings, alexander wang x abraxas rex cuff, burberry barb wire ring, made her think chain rings, rando glasses, comme des garçons x stephen jones sunglasses, mark walsh & leslie chin x rodarte bracelet, natalia brilli bone bracelet, fleet ilya belts, miu miu patent flats, mark walsh & leslie chin x rodarte ring, natalia brilli chicken foot brooch, thakoon mosaic mirror shoes, natalia brilli heart bag

better medor

I've always wanted a Medor watch, but maybe this is cooler? Definitely cheaper...



by unearthen, available at bona drag

bad day

top: demeulemeester, leggings: rag and bone, ring: demeulemeester, earrings: a.wang, shoes: demeulemeester

dear god i'm tired

proenza schouler glasses, tom binns (i think...) bracelet, rando feather skirt, givenchy necklace, wangster bag, lanvin organza and stone bracelet, chanel wedges, eddie borgo thorn bracelet


aaaaand i'm back.

i don't feel good today

clockwise: Fendi military dress, Lanvin necklace, Delfina Delettrez hand ring, Lydia Courteille skull ring, Lanvin necklace, Kirkwood shoe

blast from the past

Numero May 2005; who knew we were so stylish in the dark ages?

source: the fashion spot

more more more

This morning I watched a documentary about people who struggle with compulsive shopping, and I thought to myself, I really need to get to the mall. If that mall was Browns.

Anyway, sort of clockwise from left: YSL cage clutch, VPL fractional bra, YSL black stone ring, Jil Sander fringe dress, Lanvin cuff, Sandra Backlund dress, Maria Francesca Pepe nut ring, Preen double-layer mesh dress, Limi Feu mesh vest, Givenchy lace-up wedges, Nicholas Kirkwood heels.

atelier swarovski

Atelier Swarovski collaborations make me actually interested in Swarovski for once. Hmm.

Christopher Kane FW09. I love scarab beetles.

Giles FW09. I'm not a huge fan of brown as a whole but this piece is called the Ennis necklace, so I still kind of love it. I am also liking the use of felt which I feel has been a generally under-appreciated material, with the exception of Joseph Beuys.

nicht schlimm

Slim Barrett has apparently been an extremely influential jewelry designer who until recently I'd never heard of. He apparently helped Karl Lagerfeld to develop silver wire thin enough to be knitted (very cool) and was influential in spreading the use of the tiara, especially among brides (not so cool). Among his collections was a period of chainmail work:

An EXTREMELY crappy photo I took of a book, intending to find it later on the internet. Couldn't manage to locate it, so this will just have to do.
British Elle, 1990

The same piece from the photoshoot. If I was a patient person, which I am not, I might try to make one myself.

A few other pieces from his chainmail collection:

source: slim barrett

if it's not baroque, don't fix it

Last year when I went to the Grünes Gewölbe in Dresden, which is full of riches beyond imagination, there were dozens upon dozens of little figurines made out of baroque pearls set into metal to create different creatures.

Baroque pearls are the shit. When I went through my prep phase (everyone else went goth or punk, I went through a rebellious phase of cableknit and pleated skirts), I accumulated the requisite strand of pearls and a set of earrings. I don't wear them anymore because they add an instant prissyness to anything you wear - well that is except for whenever I have a job, I wear them to distract from the fact that I'm wearing entirely work-inappropriate outfits. Flawless round pearls are so boring in their perfection - the lumpy irregularities of baroque pearls makes them much more interesting.

Lydia Courteille Baroque Pearl and Diamond Ring

I have yet to find any baroque pearl jewelry that I'm particularly wowed by - the Lydia Courteille ring is pretty cool but would probably make me look like a madam from 17th century France. Really, all I want is a single wonky pearl to put on a chain and wear along with my wisdom tooth.

This is a cool ... setting? I'm not even sure what to call it. Like I said, I'm not too hot on these other pieces, but I just wanted to post some differently shaped examples of pearls.