I can’t decide, I need some input besides the beau! On one hand - the gold matte would go pretty well with everything, but the contrast would have it stand out a bit more. On the other hand - the bling is so fun, and is so Chanel - but is it too much?
Being new to Austin - and so far away from the saturation of fashion my life and work were in New York, I’ve been searching for any form of inspiration I can get these days. While doing so, I was lucky enough to meet the brains behind Naughty Secretary Club - Austinite Jennifer Perkins - at the E.A.S.T. design tour this past November. (see post: Keep Austin Weird: E.A.S.T. Design Tour). After drooling over the website and reading her bio - I realized that she is a huge part of STITCH, an Austin fashion week of sorts that I had read about before moving here. Usually I would think, oh what a small world - but now I realize maybe it’s just leaving a city of 8 million.
Stitch aside (no worries it will make an appearance again), her pieces are kitschy chic and make you feel giddy just looking at them. The combinations of objects - leopard bow headbands with little dolls sewn on - you really can’t find anything like it anywhere else. There’s a lot of dichotomy & irony with the jewelry - not too serious but seriously adorable. Anyone’s design aesthetic that encompasses femininity, color, and eccentricity - I can’t get enough of.
The wearer of many hats that is Jennifer Perkins, has also begun carving a niche in the Austin art scene - with her fancy Fro Lady works of art. What’s a Fro Lady? She basically embellishes the hair (fro) of a vintage photograph with oldie estate chachkies. My friend who tagged along at the event actually ended up splurging on one for her bachelorette pad. Call me crazy, but I think that’s a pretty ideal response for your first stab at art in a city of artists.
Powder Puff Puss Hair Clips $14.00
Cigarettes Will Kill You necklace $18.00
Finally - the Fro Lady! Somewhere around $150 (art is an investment!)
Alex & Chloe is a great resource for unusual, but refined tastes. They really only use acrylic, silver and gold - which gives the pieces a very simple and chic style. The actual figurines, however - are very ironic and personal. You can find a charm necklace with anything from a fork, to a runway model silhouette, to a safety pin. They no longer offer it - but I was first introduced to this site because they had a bleeding Chanel (the two C’s) necklace that my best friend was drooling over. Dear Alex & Chloe: bring it back! In the meantime, the bleeding Paris necklace is my new must have. The laser cut acrylic is the best I’ve ever seen laser cut jewelry look. What many are used to seeing when they hear laser cut - is plastic pieces, but this is a more substantial material with a sweet sheen. Now it’s just a matter of picking which color…
Shop Alex & Chloe “Paris is Bleeding” necklace $52
See post “Giddy Gift Giving - His & Hers” for Alex & Chloe runway silhouette necklace
Just got back from this super eclectic, one stop shopping experience (AKA the E.A.S.T. Austin Design Tour)! I can’t say enough about Amy Barber of Sweet Tooth bags (see post: ATX Sugar Rush: Sweet Tooth’s Amy Barber) - she had the cutest setup and most colorful & inspiring studio - where I was schooled on her use of vintage fabrics and estate sale embellishments. She also partnered with Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club for the tour, who made that adorable bracelet above (fledgling IPhone photograph aside).
I’m constantly amazed by the designers here - the design oddities are a little reminiscent of Williamsburg, but I was never really a huge fan of the Brooklyn art/fashion/creative scene. It always seemed a bit contrived, a little too full of unemployed 20 somethings carrying Chanel cocktail bags. That’s where Austin has it’s niche, the pieces from both of these ladies comes from a place where you know it’s just their innate creative ability and persona to put together birdies on bobby pins - or scrabble pieces on a bracelet. My girlfriends and I pretty much bought out the place, as actions definitely speak louder than words - so I’m dying to show off my Sweet Tooth bag & birdie bobby pins around town. So Austin!
Read more about the E.A.S.T. design tour & an interview with Amy from The Austinist
Shop Amy Barber @ Sweettoothbags.com
Shop Jennifer Perkins @ NaughtySecretaryClub.com
My best friend has been facing the dilemma every girl wants to face but only fantastic FIT girls usually have to conquer - choosing an internship between JCrew & Vogue. Of course I made it clear that I would disown her if she didn’t go with Vogue - but this girl was my introduction into main line yuppie fashion (as well as the term “fashion nemesis”), so JCrew design would be her lifelong soul mate. I know, life is so tough.
JCrew has been doing everything right lately. Micky Drexler (formerly of the Gap) has been making a sizable impact on the taste level, assortment, and overall styling. At Ralph we used to joke about how if we created a top one season, the season after it was on the selling floor JCrew had their own interpretation. Classic, American fashion is so restrictive - and a lot harder to work with than you think - so it makes sense that we all have to feign inspiration off of one another once in a while.
Wherever my loyalties lie - I can’t resist the jewelry. I am innately drawn to things that look like candy - I always used to be mesmerized in candy stores as a kid by all of the colors. Too bad it’s a little pricey for me, as I sit here and sip my $5 wine that has a funky smell - but I could be motivated to invest in at least one piece. I like being an “adult” during Christmas - you can buy yourself gifts and not feel guilty, I can justify that!
Bib necklace $150
Charm bracelet $125
Starburst ring $68
Bumble bee necklace $55
I said if I found something I would post it - and crazy enough Patricia Field came to the rescue with these Erickson Beamon - seeing double - earrings. I won’t lie - a little pricey for rhinestones, but Patricia Field tends to go in that direction (love her, but hate that), and really - the originals are $445!
I’ve been feeling a very, very 60’s vibe in my style since I moved to Austin - it’s a very chill city with more hippies per square foot than Berkeley - and I even invested in bangs! This past summer (primarily on the train/ferry to Fire Island) I read Pattie Boyd’s autobiography “Wonderful Tonight” (she was married to George Harrison & Eric Clapton, modeled with Twiggy) and fell in love with her hippy dippy style. These earrings seem so retro to me, is it the circular shape - I don’t know - but right now I’m living for that free spirited, hop on a jet to India to study Buddhism - young & in love lifestyle.
Shop Patricia Field earrings $64
In this month’s fashion issue, Rare Magazine (Austin pub) features a bevy of boutique owners, but only a few caught my eye while flipping through & craving inspiration. If you’re not familiar with Austin, it is swimming with boutiques (TX is pretty unaffected by the real estate downfall). Coming from New York, I could never afford to shop anywhere except H&M or sample sales, so the fact that this city has boutiques that offer up more than Margiela - was extremely exciting for me (and I’m sure every twenty something not mooching off the ‘rents).
The one write-up that did catch my eye - was that of UT grad Natalie Tischler, designer of “Ornamental Things”. It takes a lot for me to advocate a designer outside of the FIT rearing, but I just about died when I saw this TX devotee necklace (notice the Blue Bonnet & Guitar?). I’m still getting used to the lifestyle change - sometimes I feel like I went from the equivalent of London to Prague, but deep down I reaaaallly want this necklace! Her style is timely - that straight from your grandmother’s jewelry box look has been part of the larger Boho movement (i.e. Kate & Sienna) - but her styling is really innovative and ironic as well. I love the bronze colored metal she uses - it reminds me of old, old, old school Islamic ring bezels (her pieces are from recycled jewelry).
I’m also a huge fan of whimsical, fun pieces - why shouldn’t you get butterflies when you get dressed in the morning? Word on the street is that your early twenties professional life is like a baby teething - so we could all use a pick me up in the A.M.
Earrings $48
Necklace $58
Ring $24
Upcoming Ornamental Things Events:
(For my non TX and non U.S. readers - www.ornamentalthings.com)
Shecky’s Girls Night Out
Dallas, Texas
November 13-14
For more info: www.sheckys.com
Shecky’s Girls Night Out
Houston, Texas
November 18-19
For more info: www.sheckys.com
Trunk Show at Adelante in Austin
December 4-5
1206 W. 38th Street
Austin, Texas
Bouldin Creek Studio Tour
Austin, Texas
December 6-7
For more info: www.bouldincreekstudiotour.com
Cherrywood Art Fair
Austin, Texas
December 13-14
For more info: www.cherrywoodartfair.org
Blue Genie Art Bazaar
Austin, Texas
December 3-24
Sun-Thurs 10am-10pm
Fri-Sat 10am-12am
For more info: www.bluegenieart.com
Noir has got to be insanely innovative costume jewelry if it’s in Vogue next to the likes of Tom Binns, with an average selling price of $60! SO happy I read up on this brand so soon after the Erickson Beamon post - it’s such a viable and envious alternative - it blows Kenneth Jay Lane away in so many ways. At least with Noir you aren’t buying exact Kate Spade replicas for over $100 - yeah, you know I’m talking about those awful encrusted strawberry necklaces! Oh - and did I mention they did a line for Patricia Field? Definite seal of approval.
Shop Noir @ HSN.com (above ring $30)
Bracelet $45
Ring $60
Necklace $40
Many a girl has told me that they never think to accessorize when getting dressed in the morning - because their jewelry isn’t immediately obvious to them. It really is true – if you have pieces tucked away in your closet, a closed jewelry box, storage under your bed (New Yorker’s) – you forget you have it and those wonderful baubles go to waste!
It doesn’t have to be a huge investment - once you have the right fixtures it’s kind of like mini-shopping every morning for the perfect necklace, earring, or bangle. I even get so nuts as to switch my jewelry out as per the current season, so I don’t have to spend too much time on the selection – since I usually oversleep and have 20 min to get ready anyway.
And once you become more comfortable with your daily routine – watch your intake! Sometimes all you need is a statement cocktail ring to pull an outfit together.
Get it all out in the open (in descending order $18, $32, $12), at UrbanOutfitters.com
