WHIMSY

Like most (all?!) fashion bloggers, we love New York Fashion Week.

Even though we couldn’t be there, we eagerly gobble up what other bloggers have posted regarding what styles designers are showing for the Spring 2010 season. But unlike most fashion bloggers, we focus more on jewelry trends than clothing trends. This is often difficult during NYFW because most runway models’ necks and ears aren’t adorned, for fear of taking attention away from the fabulous clothing. We’ve actually noticed that the spectators are the ones wearing most of the fantastic jewelry!

Lucky for us, this season the Accessories Exhibit returned to NYFW with amazing designers like Judith Ripka and Alex Soldier, along with a number of great handbag and watch designers.

A lot of fine jewelers are struggling for sales in this economy because quality jewelry is a true investment, so it was excellent to hear that fashionistas who traveled to the event had a chance to see popular trends in the jewelry industry—what’s a great outfit without accessories?!?!  And we were delighted to see that we’ve covered a lot of the trends NYFW showcased—like Indian/Bollywood-inspired pieces with bright colors and rich yellow gold, like those found at Isharya; the bright gemstones and chocolate diamonds like those from Alex Soldier; and fantastic multi-strand necklaces and chokers like the findings at Lulu Frost.

It’s just so nice to have a temporary escape in the form of great fashion in NYC, and we’re not looking forward to it ending!!

-Keri

Keri is a 23-year-old aunt, blogger, editor,

wanna-be fashionista and marketing chick

who loves M&Ms way too much and reads

(real) books.

Although the kids just got out of school today (hooray!), I am already deep into planning for the holiday season. My children laugh at me (frequently — they are teenagers after all) but December will be upon us before you know it!

So, even though it’s already 80 degrees outside this morning, I am thinking of jingle bells, gingersnaps and snowmen. In the spirit of looking ahead, I took a quick peek at the June issue of InStore magazine and found an interesting mix of trends in the jewelry industry for Holiday 2009 including:

Delicate openwork or lattice earrings in yellow gold

Chunky, almost masculine-looking sterling cuffs

Raw and rough cut stones

Garden inspired pieces

Architectural cocktail rings

Besides the fact that every piece featured was absolutely drop dead gorgeous, I am having a hard time figuring out what these “trends” have in common. Are they designs created in response to a down economy? Trends based on the rising price of precious metals? Pieces created with an eco-friendly focus?

Since I was unable to find any common thread that linked these trends, I looked past the editorial forecasting and focused instead on the advertising. The outstanding trend that jumped out at me immediately (starting on Page 7!) is that personality beads are stronger than ever. The behemoths were are all well represented. In the June issue alone, there were full page ads by Pandora, Chamilia, Trollbeads, Storywheels, Rembrandt Charms and Zabel!

There are many companies to choose from, but each one seems to have a specialty. Trollbeads offers beautiful Murano glass that adds a welcome splash of color to a bracelet or necklace. Halia has wonderfully detailed sterling charms. And Chamilia has fabulous, sparkly crystal-encrusted beads.

The BEST part of this trend? You guessed it — these beads all look wonderful on a WHIMSY™ ring!

We all know that fashion statements made by Hollywood A-listers can become instant trends. View any red carpet “wow” outfit and you can be sure that the knockoff will be available nationwide very, very shortly.

But how often does the actual film itself affect the world of style? In answer, you can point to such iconic film fashions as Marilyn Monroe’s frothy white halter dress in The 7 Year Itch, Audrey Hepburn’s ladylike LBD in Breakfast at Tiffany or even John Travolta’s decade-defining white suit in Saturday Night Fever. These films and the style trends that they began changed the way we dress forever.

In recent years, this phenomenon has not abated. In the jewelry world, the spectacular sapphire and diamond heart-shaped necklace central to the Titanic storyline has been widely imitated. The popularity of the Lord of the Rings trilogy inspired a line of jewelry, most notably the pendant worn by Arwen Evenstar, played by the luminous Liv Tyler. And just a few months ago, young men everywhere were scooping up replicas of Edward Cullen’s distinctive and very masculine Goth wrist cuff popularized in the teen flick Twilight.

The 2009 summer movie season is no exception. Opening the summer is long anticipated Angels and Demons. A prequel to Dan Brown’s smash success The DaVinci Code, the film centers on a conspiracy, once again involving the Church. So it’s no surprise that religious-inspired jewelry is popping up on style watchers’ lists with increasing frequency.

Just yesterday, I opened the mailbox to find the current issue of National Jeweler. The cover was graced with a lovely model wearing a black cord necklace, complete with stylized cross. And according to the jewelry trade magazine InStore, Damiana, whose exceptional pieces were featured in the film, now offers a full line based on the movie, crosses, necklace and rosaries.

If this continues, I can only wonder what sort of trends we’ll see after the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince this July…

 –Susan