The Art of Choosing Jewelry

A comment from Lynette prompted me to write this blog post. She asked me to write some more about where I find my necklaces and how I go about choosing them. I take any excuse to sort through my jewelry so I wasn't exactly reluctant! 

You wont get to see my complete jewelry collection today, as part of it is still lost somewhere in some moving box... But here is an illustrative selection. 

There are a few criteria that I use when searching for, choosing and buying jewelry. I want unique jewelry, preferably handmade, vintage or repurposed. I also want jewelry that is more than pretty. I want it to have a context or a subtle symbolic meaning. I wear a lot of jewelry with association to history or nature. You may notice a lot of old keys among my necklaces along with other repurposed items but also some leaves and mysterious historical patterns. These are things that I feel are distinctively "me", that have a meaning for me! I also want to introduce more macabre in my collection. My raven skull is feeling kind of lonely. But I don't want to venture into gothic cliché so the hunt is a bit slow...

There is also the material to consider. There are some colors and materials that I prefer, that I have made mine. Bronze and forged iron are my favorite materials by far! Gold is too... vulgar, silver too pale and they are both too perfect, too light, too bright. I want a rustic and dark feel to my jewelry! I like oxidized, rusted, aniqued! I try to make sure that I have matching rings and bracelets fro every color and material. I just obsessively need my pieces of jewelry to match perfectly! Another signature material in my jewelry wardrobe pertains specifically to my rings. I really like carved stone rings, meaning rings that are carved out of solid stone. I have a lot of them in various different colors!

There are other personal preferences to take into consideration as well. How large do I want my jewelry to be? And what lenghts suit my clothing best? Admittedly, I enjoy large pieces of jewelry. Large but still elegant and practical. I want my jewelry to be noticed. And I want it to be noticed right away, and not as an afterthought! I also want my jewelry to be a natural part of my outfit. For that it is useful if a necklace is flexible and can be made shorter or longer depending on my needs. When I wear my vest I need my necklaces to be shorter than when I am without vest. When I wear a button down shirt I need a necklace to lay just right between buttons... A wardrobe with a variety of cleavage types demands more flexibility from the necklace wardrobe. For some of my pendants I have made braided cords to use instead of the chains they came with, for added versatility.

So where do I find my jewelry? There are a few different places. As I am into making jewelry I create a lot of pieces for my own use. I sell my jewelry on Etsy (my shop is here) and that is a great place to buy handmade jewelry. I have made some really stunning finds there, like the raven skull and the wire eye! I also buy a lot of jewelry on handmade markets or in handmade shops. Another part of my collection is thrifted or second hand. But it's hard for me to find vintage jewelry that really suits my style...

Final thoughts on building a jewelry wardrobe:

• Make sure rings and bracelets fit right. If they are too loose you wont wear them, no matter how pretty they are. 
• Find your style! Your jewelry should match (or maybe contrast) your clothing and if you have a distinctive personal clothing style then why not an equally distinctive jewelry style?
• Signature pieces are very useful to have, especially if they are versatile and suits the majority of you clothing. If you can't be bothered/don't have the time to choose jewelry then you have something to fall back on that always works!
• Try making your own jewelry from items that mean something to you! These pieces will be very personal and original!
• Signature materials are important. They help you focus your search and keep your collection consistent! Look at your clothing style and try to come to a conclusion as to what materials and colors you should focus on. And the choice doesn't stand between gold or silver. There is a myriad of other materials! Maybe wood is your thing, or a particular type of gem, or leather, or sea shells or maybe bone....
• Avoid very fragile pieces of jewelry. Jewelry needs to be quite durable to be wearable! Most materials can be sturdy and elegant at the same time. Buy quality!
• Support small businesses and handmade goods. Capitalism and multinational corporations may rule the world but they don't have to rule your wardrobe!

What kinds of jewelry do you use? What are your favorite materials? Favorite shops? Do you ever make jewelry youself?

Five Things From My Wardrobe

This post is in part inspired by the "five things tag" that is moving around the blogosphere right now. It is an interesting tag, but I felt like modfying it to be more about personal style. This post is also inspired by some posts by Lynette at Evolution of an Aristocrat (awesome blog, do go visit!). She has embarked on a closet remake and while I have not found myself doing the same, I am doing this instead.

Lynettes posts about her wardrobe really had me thinking about what items make out the core of my wardrobe. What are my favorite items (right now)? Which items do I use the most (or wish I could use the most)? What items are indispensible? What items are at the core of my personal style? With these questions in mind I created a few categories and got to work.

Five Favorite Clothing Items

• Dark red velveteen shirt. As seen here and here.
• Black shirt with wide sleeves. As seen here and here.
• Gold and red brocade jacket. As seen here. 
• Pleather pants. As seen here and here. 
• Black skirt with ruffles at the hem. As seen here.

Conclusion: This was a difficult category as I decided to limit myself to just five items from my whole clothing wardrobe. But I learned a lot in the process of choosing these five items! They are items that work well together. Almost all of them have been in the same outfit at some point. They are also for the most part items that are second hand. They can also be said to be a representation of my personal style. 

Five Favorite Necklaces

• Raven skull necklace. As seen here.
• Gothic winged necklace. As seen here. 
• Wire eye pendant. From Twisted Sister Arts.
• Beaded black and silver necklace with key. My own creation.
• Rosary inspired amber colored necklace with key. My own creation.

Five Other Jewelry Favorites

• Forged iron ring. Recent find. 
• Leaf brooch. Recent find.
• Eye button brooch. As seen here. My own creation.
• Hematite ring. A jewelry staple in my wardrobe.
• Peace sign clip on earring. Good for a gal without pierced ears.

Jewelry concusions: I wasn't as strict with my jewelry categories. I have soo many favorite necklaces that they got a cateory of their own. Here too I can see certain patterns. I seem to have an obsession with anything gunmetal/oxidized silver/forged iron/dark silver colored... The wire eye gives a dark red splash of color and then there are the couple of bronze/amber/rust items. I notice a certain similarity in color scheme between my favorite jewelry items and my favorite clothes! Most of these pieces of jewelry have also been used in outfits together with my favorte clothes!

Five Favorite Perfumes

• Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Cuir.
• Slumberhouse Jeke. reviewed here.
• Darling Clandestine Maudlin and Bedlam.
• Wild Hybrid Wrangler.
• Olympic Orchids Tropic of Capricorn.

Conclusions: this is very much a "right now" category of favorites. Jeke is a long time favorite and I believe that Tropic of Capricorn and Cur might also stay favorites for a long time. The other two are ones that I am obsessed with at the moment but that might be forgotten tomorrow or next week. Still I notice patterns of leather, animalic notes, darkness, spices and a hint of smoke. These scents are definitely "me".

Five Other Indispensible Items

• Top hat. As seen in all of my outfits, it's always on my head!
• Brass (?) shot glass. Perfect to bring with me to parties. Why borrow an ugly glass when you can party in style!?
• Perfume notebooks. As seen here. 
• Gunmetal pocket watch. As seen here, there and everywhere really. 
• Ankh cross pendant. Why isn't this one among my necklaces you ask? Well, I, um, forgot about about it...

Conclusion: Several of these items are with me or on me most of the time! The Ankh is the odd one out here, but I adore it so sue me. Other candidates for this category were my black satchel bag, my winter coat, my beautiful tea cup and a few other items... but these made the final cut. What most of them have in common (sorry ankh) is that they are beautiful accessories with a practical use! 

I'd love to see some of you do this! It really is a learning experience and I am very curious as to how your five favorites would look!