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Vintage brooches seem to have made somewhat of a come back in the fashion world.  This is due mainly to the first Lady's, Michelle Obama,  fondness for them.  They are certainly beautiful, but often an outfit can seem dated if they are worn in the traditional way. I thought it would be fun to think of other creative ways to wear brooches which will give this fashion choice a new lease on life and won't make you feel like you are wearing jewelry like your great grandma does.

• 1.  Pin a brooch onto an evening bag. This method looks best when the brooch is pinned onto a clutch or other small evening bag. Pick a brooch that matches a color or detail in your dress, and it will really help tie the bag into the look.

• 2.  Want your outfit to have little French chic? Simply wrap a scarf around your neck and fasten it in place with a brooch. Very simple but effective. For a slightly more modern take on this look, place the scarf around your waist or hips instead to draw the eye downwards and accentuate your figure.

• 3.  Do you have a sweater that is too big? Use a vintage brooch to make it fit better. In the back of your sweater, about where it hits your waist, pull the extra matieral together and fasten it with a brooch. You'll have a better fitting garment and a fancy new detail in the back. This really spices up an outfit.

• 4.  Another neat idea takes a bit more creativity. Use a brooch as a hairpin. Make a bun or french twist extra glamorous by pinning a brooch in your hair. This usually looks best in the back of your hair, but use your judgment depending on the style. You will need bobby pins for this technique, since brooches are decorative but aren't great at holding hair in place by themselves.

• 5.  Do you have a plain belt? Jazz it up with a vintage brooch. You can either pin the brooch directly onto the belt, or for leather or delicate items, use a piece of ribbon to hang the brooch or tie it in place while protecting belt.

Ready to try some of these ideas? Be sure to browse our website for a huge range of vintage brooches. Here are a few choices to whet your appetite.

If you love to follow fashion trends, you will know how popular statement necklaces have been all year. They are seen on all the red carpet runways by major Hollywood starlets. The first lady, Michelle Obama also seems to favor them, which seems to give their popularity a boost, it seems.

She is seen here wearing her latest aquisition, a chunky oendant design by Erickson Beamon, which accents her knee-length, draped halter dress from the Donna Karan Collection. 

Joining her in the photo is Sarah Jessica Parker, also a lover of vintage jewelry, and Dr. Jill Biden.  The first lady was speaking at a democratic fundraiser in New York earlier this week.



 I prefer festoon statement necklaces to the pendant styles, but this piece still is also lovely. What do you think of the look?

As promised, this is another article in my ongoing series about the trends in jewelry for fall 2010.

I have been looking at the runway photos of some of the hottest clothinhg designers and this proved one thing to me. The minimalist jewelry look that has been so favored in the last few years has been abadoned for big and bold necklaces  from designers such as Donna Karan, Lanvin, Vera Wang and Proenza Schouler.

You should expect to see huge festoon necklaces with unusual combinations of beads, large metal flowers, and many multi strand designs. Anything goes as long as the necklaces will  make a statement.  Animal prints are once again going to be popular in the fall. But the look will be more diverse shapes and patterns combined with each other. While last year showed us a preponderance of leopard prints, this year the animal prints will be combined with lots of metal chains.

The earth tone colors will be the most popular shades, as well as grays, blacks and browns. They remind us of nature and go well with the muted colors that fall jewelry will have.

I've been a busy gerl for the last few weeks looking at the upcoming trends from the runways and from wholesale jewelry supplier offerings, and it appears that jewelry is going to the birds for fall 2010 when it comes to jewelry trends.

For the next few blog postings, I'll feature some of the up and coming forecasts for fashion trends. Today peek ahead is a look at  feathers in jewelry designs. Last fall, animal prints like leopards were all the rage, and this year it appears that the birds will take center stage.

Whether it is just a simple set of ostrich feather earrings, an ornate brooch with feather fringes, an elaborate fur bracelet design, or a huge statement necklace with fringes of feathers, you can expect to see the birds out in force!

Here is a preview of some of the looks that you can expect to see in trendy boutiques and on the red carpet for some of the upcoming events which will make the news.  What do you think of the trend?  Yay or nay?  Stay tuned for other fashion peeks in later blog postings.

Do you love turquoise jewelry but wonder what sort of clothing it accessorizes well with?  Turquoise is this season's hottest color and accessory choice. It is very earthy and has long been a favorite of vintage jewelry collectors who love Native American jewelry.

And right now, turquoise is seen in all of the trendiest boutiques and on the fashion runways too.

Turquoise is such a dramatic color that one would think it might  overpower other colors. But the richness of the gemstone fits right in with so many earthy shades. This means that it will translate well with fall colors too, so the piece of turquoise jewelry that you purchase today will also keep you in style for several seasons.

I've been playing around on Polyvore again. It is such a fun site to get an idea of how to use jewelry (and clothing styles) to their best advantage. The set that I've put together here shows how well turquoise earrings and a single strand of turquoise beads look with tans and browns. It's a real winner.

Vintage jewelry lane has a huge range of genuine turquoise jewelry right now. Most of the styles are brand new, with a few vintage pieces as well.  Some are accented with additional gemstones and set in sterling silver.  We have items in all price ranges. Here are a few examples to whet your appetite:

Do you love turquoise jewelry too? Grab one today!

Have you ever tried the website Polyvore?  If not, you really should have a jewelry  just by dragging them into one picture. They even have belts, shoes and hats to complete a look.  It is perfect for online shopping when you can't try on an outfit but want to know what it might look like on you.

It's also a really fun way to spend an hour or so if you are just feeling creative.

Layering has been one of the most popular fashion trends in the jewelry world for both spring and summer this year.  After looking at the runway shots for fall fashions, the trend will continue to be popular for the fall of 2010 as well.

Don't know what to layer together?  It seems that anything goes when it comes to layering. Rows and rows of chains and pendants, chunky charm looks with more chains and maybe a pendant for effect.  It can be as much of a mish mash as you would like.

Here is my latest attempt at some Polyvore creations. I layered several chunky necklaces together with some multi strand chains to give a bunch of look to give you some inspiration.

What do you think of the trend of layering? Like it, or not?

All of my shops have a huge range of necklaces that would work well for layering purposes. Just click any of the links on the top right of this page under my web-stores and then type in necklace and you will find those that you can can choose to start layering your own creation.

American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity is the first Costume Institute exhibition drawn from the newly established Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It will explore developing perceptions of the modern American woman from 1890 to 1940 and how they have affected the way American women are seen today.

The exhibit focuses on archetypes of American femininity through dress, the exhibition will reveal how the American woman initiated style revolutions that mirrored her social, political, and sexual emancipation. "Gibson Girls," "Bohemians," and "Screen Sirens," among others, helped lay the foundation for today's American woman.

Of particular interest to me is the fabulous vintage jewelry that is exhibited as adornment for the fashions that the exhibit is featuring. 

I found a wonderful write up of the exhibit in woman's fashion section of the New York Times by Lori Ettlinger Gross. The years covered by the exhibition are 1890 to 1940, which were also some of the most innovative in vintage jewelry design.  This NY times photo of Mae West in Diamond Lil wearing Beaux-Art jewels gives a good idea of the fashion and jewelry of the period.

For those of you who can't be at the MET for the display, here is a YouTube video with some highlights.  (warning for those who read this blog at work:  Sound is embedded in the video.)

The exhibit opened on May 5, 2010 and will run intil August 15, 2010. 

Michelle Obama is known for wearing jewelry in unusual ways.  She'll often wear two or three pins together, or use a pin in combination with a necklace for a fresh new look.

The White House Correspondents dinner on May 2, 2010 had the first lady in another unusual look - this time on her wrist.  There is a recent trend for clusters of bangle bracelets worn together on one wrist, but normally they are not as wide as the two featured here together.

Ms. Obama wore a red matte jersey hand draped off the shoulder gown designed by Prabal Gurung.  The bracelets were  a Bochic white cuff and Sutra Jewels gold cuff bracelet with a raspberry tourmaline of 10 carats, flanked by rose cut diamonds in a star-burst motif and set against a hand hammered gold cuff in 18k.

What do you think of the look?  Too much or just right?

I talked blogged about how undervalued glass is in the vintage jewelry collecting hobby. It's fabulous to wear and doesn't have the price tag that some other high end jewelry materials do.  And nothing is more special to me than the pretty glass known as "milk glass."

Early examples of milk glass vintage jewelry include pieces made in Germany, and Japan. Miriam Haskell was particularly fond of milk glass in her jewelry designs, and her pieces are much in demand and command high prices. Trifari also used white milk glass, often using marquis and navette shaped stones.

Milk glass is used in all sorts of vintage jewelry. Japan and Germany made both earrings and necklaces - some single stand, but many with multistrands and fancy milk glass clasps.  Many of the beaded necklaces were hand knotted in a manner similar to glass pearls, since the beads are quite heavy and need this extra security in case the silk cords break.

Germany and Miriam Haskell often used unique shapes of milk glass instead of the traditional oval or round shaped often used. Dimpled glass or "baroque" glass shapes like the one shown here were common. Some designers used petal shaped milk glass stones in earrings for a lovely flower petal effect.