Custom Design Jewelry
Custom design jewelry may very well be the comfort that serious fashion individualists are seeking for. With the outpour of cheap, mass-produced but low quality merchandise from the billion-strong labor force of China in recent years, it is not uncommon that you find out you are not the only girl wearing the same necklace in the room.
While it is a triumph of the pocket to haggle an already cheap price, it is a cause for regret when your newly-bought item lasts only a few proud moments. You end up spending more on cost per wear. That is why true fashion savvy girls know that spending a little more on high quality goods proves to be more valuable in the end. Even more rewarding is having your own custom design jewelry.
With the advent of the internet, more and more people are exposed not only to fashion trends but to online sellers as well. Everything now seems to be just one click away. It is this easy access that has encouraged a lot of budding entrepreneurs to engage in business. In effect, it has become more convenient to the consumer to choose from a wide array something that screams at her style instinct. Most of these accessories come in limited quantities, even one-of-a-kind.
Shopping without leaving your room? That and more! The vendor-customer relationship is personalized. Unlike buying from a store, you can request for adjustments in size, color or materials used to suit your taste even better. With all this value-added service, you ultimately start with your first taste of custom design jewelry.
What about those who have yet to find their own personal style? For most people, it takes awkward years to develop a distinct look. It is a process of trial and error, hit or miss. There are easy ways to embark on your fashion education. The most obvious of which is to look at fashion magazines which give an up-to-date report of the trends. Websites devoted to fashion are even more updated. Looking at stylish girls and how they carry their clothes and accessorize them also gives invaluable and very practical ideas. Anyone from your officemate to a favorite celebrity can be somebody you learn from. Of course, the aim is not to be a copycat. More important, you have to take into account your own lifestyle, propriety, comfort factors and confidence level. In other words, do not wear haute couture when you have to take the jeepney to work, sweating throughout the trip and wishing to dissolve into the ground below.
A very good way to test how far you can go is with accessories. Fashion jewelry gives your otherwise plain outfit the x-factor in an instant. If you don’t think you have the courage to take on the ever-evolving design of clothes – hemlines and waistlines rising or dropping, silhouettes ballooning or tightening – then you can pick up a trend just by adopting what’s in as far as accessories go. Once you become comfortable with that, you may start looking at more designs that will really represent who you are and not end up a slave to fashion.
There are many online sellers who showcase plenty of alternatives in custom design jewelry. One such online seller is my very own http://cerashop.multiply.com. It is a site going on its third year and has produced a diverse range of designs, yet always unique and creative. The collections are thematic so it is not difficult to identify which of them can joyfully agree with your personal taste. Modifications on the present designs are welcome. So go and visit the site. Select a style and feel free to request alterations or even have something else you have in mind made so that it becomes you own perfect custom design jewelry.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Handmade Costume Jewelry
Handmade Costume Jewelry - The Prehistoric Fact
Handmade costume jewelry as a subject for a blog may be something far from anyone's mind.
Handmade costume jewelry was far from my own mind when I even remotely entertained the thought of starting a blog in the past. But just before writing this post, I decided, not without the shadow of procrastination looming over my head, to turn the laptop off and turn the TV on instead. I had marked seven p.m. today on my planner as HBO time: 10,000 BC, the prehistoric epic film was going to be shown. It turned out to be the better choice as it turned on the light for me on what exactly to write about.
Since this is not a film review blog, I will have to skip the critique - the film is quite entertaining, there is no question about that. What struck me though was how jewelry played a prominent role in fashion as shown in this film - or was it just me desperately searching for an angle to tackle?
In the first ten minutes of the film, the character of the wise woman - Old Mother - appears wearing a... you guessed it... handmade costume jewelry! Of course since this is set in 10,000 BC the necklace she carries around her neck is no chunky Louis Vuitton Fall '08 blown glass disk encased in steel must-have. But chunky it sure is (there is a reason I used the word "carries")! It is a long layer of different bones tied by a cord in all its raw, animal rights-deficient glory.
Now why am I writing about this? In those times when men had to hunt down a mammoth at their own peril so that the whole tribe may have red meat for lunch, the Old Mother managed to adorn herself with the leftover bones. If that doesn't speak about how far back and how covetable what today is known as the statement necklace goes, I don't know what does.
In a later scene, the lead character D'Leh presents his hot girlfriend, Evolet with a bone necklace, a smaller scale than Old Mother's. When she gets captured by raiders called the "four legged demons" she tries to do a Hansel and Gretel using the bones, piece by piece so that her hero can trace the tracks.
Now why do i mention this? Just to say that jewelry does not only serve as adornment but survival tool as well. Okay, okay... so it's just a movie. I have not really reseached on the history of fashion jewelry but I bet my bones the production designer did and such necklace did exist. Hah!
Oh, did i mention that the men didn't mind accessorizing their very rastafari mane with saber tooth pendants either? Yeah, that with painted faces, dirty nails, exposed undergarment and leather hide clothing.
This makes me realize how essential jewelry has been for a long time. Whether or not people in those early times even had a vague notion of what vogue is or wore jewelry to signify position or merely produced a creative byproduct of hunting and an unconscious move to recycle, it was a part of their lives like survival itself.
And jewelry continues to be a part that makes fashion whole. How it has evolved is a topic of what I'm certain are many other write-ups. For now, Old Mother's fossilized teeth must be grinning, even mingling with her own handmade costume jewelry.
Handmade costume jewelry as a subject for a blog may be something far from anyone's mind.
Handmade costume jewelry was far from my own mind when I even remotely entertained the thought of starting a blog in the past. But just before writing this post, I decided, not without the shadow of procrastination looming over my head, to turn the laptop off and turn the TV on instead. I had marked seven p.m. today on my planner as HBO time: 10,000 BC, the prehistoric epic film was going to be shown. It turned out to be the better choice as it turned on the light for me on what exactly to write about.
Since this is not a film review blog, I will have to skip the critique - the film is quite entertaining, there is no question about that. What struck me though was how jewelry played a prominent role in fashion as shown in this film - or was it just me desperately searching for an angle to tackle?
In the first ten minutes of the film, the character of the wise woman - Old Mother - appears wearing a... you guessed it... handmade costume jewelry! Of course since this is set in 10,000 BC the necklace she carries around her neck is no chunky Louis Vuitton Fall '08 blown glass disk encased in steel must-have. But chunky it sure is (there is a reason I used the word "carries")! It is a long layer of different bones tied by a cord in all its raw, animal rights-deficient glory.
Now why am I writing about this? In those times when men had to hunt down a mammoth at their own peril so that the whole tribe may have red meat for lunch, the Old Mother managed to adorn herself with the leftover bones. If that doesn't speak about how far back and how covetable what today is known as the statement necklace goes, I don't know what does.
In a later scene, the lead character D'Leh presents his hot girlfriend, Evolet with a bone necklace, a smaller scale than Old Mother's. When she gets captured by raiders called the "four legged demons" she tries to do a Hansel and Gretel using the bones, piece by piece so that her hero can trace the tracks.
Now why do i mention this? Just to say that jewelry does not only serve as adornment but survival tool as well. Okay, okay... so it's just a movie. I have not really reseached on the history of fashion jewelry but I bet my bones the production designer did and such necklace did exist. Hah!
Oh, did i mention that the men didn't mind accessorizing their very rastafari mane with saber tooth pendants either? Yeah, that with painted faces, dirty nails, exposed undergarment and leather hide clothing.
This makes me realize how essential jewelry has been for a long time. Whether or not people in those early times even had a vague notion of what vogue is or wore jewelry to signify position or merely produced a creative byproduct of hunting and an unconscious move to recycle, it was a part of their lives like survival itself.
And jewelry continues to be a part that makes fashion whole. How it has evolved is a topic of what I'm certain are many other write-ups. For now, Old Mother's fossilized teeth must be grinning, even mingling with her own handmade costume jewelry.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Bracelets Costume Jewelry
Bracelets Costume Jewelry
Bracelets costume jewelry or costume jewelry in general has, in the recent past, ceased to connote something too grand to wear as an everyday fashion accessory. While it is said that the "world is a stage" not every girl has the boldness of a diva to pull off what may be considered an over-the-top piece.
Costume jewelry started in the 1930's to match a specific fashionable outfit or costume. Unlike fine jewelry, it was inexpensive (usually made out of cheap materials like glass, plastic and synthetic stones) and disposable, meant only to be in fashion for a short period of time and then became outdated. It could be repurchased though once a new garment or style matched it.
But fashion has gone through so many revolutions that what used to be clearly defined rules are being trashed in the name of artistry and style, otherwise known as designer's vision or quite simply, whim. Color, for instance, is no longer dictated by the season as black is being largely used now for spring/summer collections. Sheer fabric and floral prints have found its way to fall/winter line-ups. In the same way, necklaces, earrings and bracelets costume jewelry have become a staple that you can now wear them with, not only an evening dress but a t-shirt and jeans as well.
With the arrival of statement necklaces starting about two seasons ago, bracelets costume jewelry could not be far behind. Spring/summer '09 ushered in a parade of chunky bangles. Everything from jeweled to industrial to tribal, designers cashed in on the new fashion craze quicker than the police could cuff bank robbers. The bigger, the better. The more you pile up, the more fashion points you make.
Perhaps the most outstanding of the lot is Louis Vuitton's ethnic-inspired bangles in wood and animal print with no less than pop superstar Madonna gracing the campaign. These bracelets costume jewelry are attention grabbing and could easily snatch iconic status.
An accessory, or an "extra" as the new fashion-speak goes, can make or break an outfit. The true fashionista knows just how to survive in these hard times. The key is to mix high and low - or expensive and cheap. If you could look like a million dollar without splurging, you have truly gotten fashion in your veins. And one easy way to achieve this is to use necklace, earrings or bracelets costume jewelry.
In fashion, when the economy is in bad shape, that is when designers put all cares aside and make women (and men) all over the world forget about the hard times. It is fashion's contibution to optimism. And the most accesible way to join the bandwagon is to write on your must-have list, necklaces, earrings and bracelets costume jewelry.
Bracelets costume jewelry or costume jewelry in general has, in the recent past, ceased to connote something too grand to wear as an everyday fashion accessory. While it is said that the "world is a stage" not every girl has the boldness of a diva to pull off what may be considered an over-the-top piece.
Costume jewelry started in the 1930's to match a specific fashionable outfit or costume. Unlike fine jewelry, it was inexpensive (usually made out of cheap materials like glass, plastic and synthetic stones) and disposable, meant only to be in fashion for a short period of time and then became outdated. It could be repurchased though once a new garment or style matched it.
But fashion has gone through so many revolutions that what used to be clearly defined rules are being trashed in the name of artistry and style, otherwise known as designer's vision or quite simply, whim. Color, for instance, is no longer dictated by the season as black is being largely used now for spring/summer collections. Sheer fabric and floral prints have found its way to fall/winter line-ups. In the same way, necklaces, earrings and bracelets costume jewelry have become a staple that you can now wear them with, not only an evening dress but a t-shirt and jeans as well.
With the arrival of statement necklaces starting about two seasons ago, bracelets costume jewelry could not be far behind. Spring/summer '09 ushered in a parade of chunky bangles. Everything from jeweled to industrial to tribal, designers cashed in on the new fashion craze quicker than the police could cuff bank robbers. The bigger, the better. The more you pile up, the more fashion points you make.
Perhaps the most outstanding of the lot is Louis Vuitton's ethnic-inspired bangles in wood and animal print with no less than pop superstar Madonna gracing the campaign. These bracelets costume jewelry are attention grabbing and could easily snatch iconic status.
An accessory, or an "extra" as the new fashion-speak goes, can make or break an outfit. The true fashionista knows just how to survive in these hard times. The key is to mix high and low - or expensive and cheap. If you could look like a million dollar without splurging, you have truly gotten fashion in your veins. And one easy way to achieve this is to use necklace, earrings or bracelets costume jewelry.
In fashion, when the economy is in bad shape, that is when designers put all cares aside and make women (and men) all over the world forget about the hard times. It is fashion's contibution to optimism. And the most accesible way to join the bandwagon is to write on your must-have list, necklaces, earrings and bracelets costume jewelry.
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