A Year of Pretty - October 06, 2014

Fall; it's definitely Fall. I am posting this blog in early October from my room in a villa in the north of Italy, just outside Alba. The mornings are cool and foggy, the afternoons crisp and bright. The view is spectacular, the people are warm and inviting.

Warm and inviting is a good way to describe these pearls from Chanel. The colours remind me of autumn leaves; each different and unique.

Enjoy these fall colours, along with diamonds, amethysts and citrines; and I hope your day is crisp and bright wherever you may be.

Paris - Day Three

Day Three in Paris!

The day started with finding more mosquito bites. Perfect.

I got a late start to my day. Part because I was waiting for the water to heat up in the hot water tank. Partly because I was searching online for another place to stay. I also had to go to the pharmacy this morning to get antihistamine tablets; hopefully the swelling from the bites will go down soon. I look a mess.

Decided to do a little shopping today. Here's the tough thing about retail therapy while on vacation: You can only take back so many pairs of shoes or handbags, and you have to be careful about weight restrictions. Unless you are filthy rich. If not, here's the solution around that. Actually, a couple solutions:

You can pack a small bag, and then buy all new clothes and shoes in your destination city; as well as a new suitcase. This works especially great in cities such as London or Paris. Pack only your favourite jeans and a couple tank tops and maybe one light sweater. I go a little further and pack one black simple cocktail dress and a pair of black heels. Maybe a strand of pearls (faux for travel). That way, if a special evening out suddenly comes up, you have something to wear. Okay, try and understand that I often go to the symphony or opera when I travel, and you'll realize this little black dress/heels/pearls trick is very handy.

You can do what I'm doing this trip. I packed a large backpack because I will be travelling for over a month. In the backpack, I put a folded up sleeping bag cover. Coming home, I will put my full backpack with items I've purchased into the sleeping bag cover, then fill up the extra space with my worn clothing. This is especially good if you are bringing, oh....I don't know...WINE home in your checked luggage. Pack the wine securely in the center of the backpack, use your own clothes as cushioning around the backpack in the sleeping bag cover, and check it through FRAGILE when checking in.

Another thing I've done (and will probably end up doing this trip) is send stuff home ahead of me. Half way through my trip, I'll go to the post office and get a shipping box. Then I put any brochures from museums, sweaters I don't need, clothing or shoes I've bought but don't plan on wearing during the trip, souvenirs....all go into the box (I remember the first time I travelled to Europe I took a curling and a flat iron. Ha! Those things got shipped back home in a hurry). I then ship it to a neighbours' or my parents' house. Just be sure to ship it ground or by boat if you are overseas. Shipping air is WAY too expensive. Unless, like I said, you're made of money. In which case, ignore and carry on.

During my aimless wandering of stores, I found Fauchon. And I fell in love instantly. I am a sucker for fantastic packaging and this company has done it right. Just look at the display of chocolates, candies, coffees and teas. And this was just one display, of which there were many. It was hard to look at the displays and not want to buy one of each.

There is a real culture of "à emporter" in Paris. This means to take and go or to take away. The store has a large delicatessen, as well as bakery and champagne selection. And I'm not talking cheap bottles of bubbly. From the main floor of the shop, you go downstairs to the "cave" (pronounced 'cav' ), where an amazing selection of vintage champagne awaits, perfectly chilled and ready to take with a box of French macarons to sit along the Seine asthe sun sets and watch the boats go by. Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon, Ruinart, Krug....pick your poison.

All the big name jewellers are located in and around the same area in Paris; Place de Vendôme. These are some serious displays of bling. Needless to say, these beauties were not part of my shopping purchases. At least not for today. But I spent a good amount of time peeking in all the windows. Each store has at least one security guard at the door; each dressed immaculately in a dark suit with French cuffs and cuff links. At least I think they were cuff links. They could have been security microphones. Some had ear pieces in. Like the Secret Service of jewellery stores.

Doing all that window shopping had worked up an appetite, so I made my way over to Angelina for a Croque Monsieur and a glass of champagne (yes, I know....spoilt rotten this one is). Angelina is a Paris landmark. The Salon de Thé first opened in 1903. It quickly became the place to be seen. Coco Chanel and Proust have been counted among its famous customers. It has long been a meeting place for the upper crust of Paris society. Or, at least, it used to be because today they let me in without question.

In any case, you either have to arrive early or come late in the afternoon, because they are quite busy. There is usually a line up everyday; not only to sit and enjoy tea but for their shop as well. There is a selection of house blended teas and coffees, hand made candies, chocolates and biscuits. The display cases offer a beautiful selection of fresh made pastries to take with you, and they are famous not only for these sweet treats, but for their house hot chocolate L'Africain. I saw table after table ordering the pitchers of warm milk and drinking chocolate, which you mix as you like at your table. It is served with a mountain of fresh whipped cream on the side. At €8.20 for hot chocolate that you pretty much make yourself, it is more like an event than a simple cup of cocoa.

After my bubbles and sandwich, I had a little strawberry, cream, custard and flaky pastry concoction; sort of like a fruit mille feuille. I also had a pot of their house tea, Mont-Blanc. Be forewarned if you order tea. It's premium black tea leaves, candied chestnut, toffee, orange blossom and apricot; and as such, you are charged a premium price. A hefty €7.50 price. But it is really yummy tea, and I did buy a tin of it to take home, which was a better deal at €13.00.
Refreshed and revived, I walked around the city for another couple hours, along the Avenue des Champs Élysées, tried to take some pictures of the Arc de Triomphe which didn't turn out well and made my way back to my apartment (and the mosquitoes).

Tomorrow will be another busy day.

A Year of Pretty - February 25, 2014

One Great Gatsby inspired fashion show down, one to go......

As a designer, there are additional items needed for when a model walks down the runway in order to complete the look. These include shoes and accessories. This could mean a snazzy hand bag, a smart looking hat, or a glittering pair of earrings.

The trick is to not let the accessories take over the look, unless of course that is the look you are going for (think Chanel and the multitudes of long pearl necklaces). 

So I came across these gorgeous earrings as inspiration for jewellery for my garments. The earrings are big enough to be seen on the runway, but are refined and sophisticated so as not to out shine the clothing.

They are both modern and art deco, with their combination of square and oval shapes, as well as the smooth upper bezel and the prong-set lower tear drop bezel. 

The original source for these baubles has been lost. When I clicked on the photo, it took me to a new web page that stated "You are lost. Please go back." That's pretty much as clear as you can get. So unfortunately I can't direct you on where to pick up these beauties for your own collection.

However, rose gold seems to be making a big appearance in both costume and authentic jewellery. This is mainly (I think) due to the excitement over the new Royal marriage, in which HRH Prince William gave his beloved a ring made from Welsh pink gold, as is tradition. In any event, you should be able to find something similar at your local accessories store and more than likely for a whole lot less than the price of the these.

Enjoy; both the photo and your day.

A Year of Pretty - February 17, 2014

Mmmmmm, the beauty of pearls. I know this is not the first post of pearls I have done. And I know it will also not be the last. 

The reason I like pearls so much is that they can be both simple and complex ... at the same time. This round, unassuming orb which changes colour in different lights; which can be either warm or cool to the touch. More than any precious gemstone (while not actually a stone), pearls seem to have the most life in them without having to apply heat or faceting. They are simple sophistication all on their own.

A Year of Pretty - February 11, 2014

It's February, and still cold outside. We're still a few weeks off before the first flowers start popping up in the yard.

So, in order to tide you over until then, today's Pretty Post is this floral presentation of garnets and diamonds. There is enough sparkle in this cocktail ring to keep you warm well into spring. A whole 6.31 karat weight worth of sparkle.

Price tag? $2995.00. The ring is produced by Borsheims, but is currently not available.

I like the open fret work on the band and the different coloured garnets along the sides. The ring design consists of a number of different gemstone cuts; brilliant cut diamonds, baguette cuts on the sides, cylinder cuts for the petals in graduating sizes, and round cut garnets in the center. All set in 18K gold.

This? . . would make someone very happy for Valentine's Day. If one believed in Valentine's Day, that is.

A Year of Pretty - February 04, 2014

A few years ago I started with making jewellery. Nothing super complicated of fancy; mainly just beads on string. One of the designs I did a lot of were these three strand "freedom" necklaces. I designed them because my Oma was starting to have troubles with opening and closing traditional lobster-claw clasps. This "freedom" necklace let her just loop the strands around and not have to fuss with tiny closures.

Sometimes she would wear just one strand, sometimes all three. Or, she would take one strand from one set (pink) and mix it with two strands from another set (black and grey). She would make these intricate loops and twists and a lot of people would comment on how put together her jewellery always looked.

Today's Pretty Post reminds me of when I was first starting out to design, the technical stuff I had to work out. Which type of string to use. Would it be strong enough. Would tiger tail wire be better (it was). Would it be flexible enough (not really, but it beats having all the beads spill all over the floor when the silk/nylon thread broke).

I still have one or two of these necklace sets left. One is in freshwater pearls and pink rose quartz; very much like the one shown here. I also have a jet black and crystal one that I like to wear with a simple little black dress. My mom has a blue one with Murano glass beads, blue pearls and crystals; which she wears either with a men's dress shirt and jeans or with a dark blazer and slacks when teaching.

This photo also presents a different way to wear such a necklace, and is very much in keeping with the Great Gatsby Inspiration project I am working on. Perhaps I'll pull out my two necklace sets to accessorize my garments as the sashay down the runway.