“It was something that lasted; something that mattered for ever. She strung the afternoon on the necklace of memorable days, which was not too long for her to be able to recall this one or that one; this view, that city; to finger it, to feel it, to savour, sighing, the quality that made it unique.”
Virginia Woolf, Moments of Being
Edited: February 26th, 2009
OK so the Oscars were last night. A “glamorous” evening of gowns, jewels, beautiful people . . .
But what really is glamour? Glamour is not necessarily defined by uber expensive clothes, lots of bling and fire-engine red lips. No, real glamour is far more subtle. The dictionary’s definition of glamorous is: an air of compelling charm, romance and excitement—
But how can we be glamorous on shrinking budgets? Not to mince words—but most ladies in the real world right now are a little afraid to spend much money—which means we won’t be buying as many of the things that often make us feel . . . well happy . . . you know . . . new things now and then . . . I met with some friends recently and as we discussed the situation, we wondered: in the current economic state, will we lose our desire to dazzle? Will we feel uncomfortable being chic? Does this mean glamour will be but a memory?
We can always be glamorous without spending a lot. Even if we don’t have much extra money right now, we can rummage in our closets, mix the old with a few new things and look grand! Bring out that simple white blouse you couldn’t bear to part with 10 years ago (they never go out of style), pair it with jeans and a great necklace (have to make a pitch)—and voila—glamorous! What about that cool vintage dress found for a song at the thrift shop last summer? Add tights and high boots and you’re gorgeous! We can certainly approximate the Chanel look with a simple black dress. And great jewelry does help—one special piece can bring a whole outfit together and give us the feeling that we’re forging our own tantalizing and bewitching identity.
So dare I say it? There is a positive side to these times. We can re-discover our own unique sense of self, not dictated by what the fashion industry tells us is cool. We can be newly confident of our own sensibilities. And we will be authentically, enduringly and uniquely charming, romantic and exciting—in a word—glamorous!
Emily Blunt wearing a Sautoir
Edited: February 23rd, 2009
You’ve probably heard the old cliché—the “Greeks had a word for it”—well they did—and they actually had four words for love. Here they are:
Agape—pure love, the love you feel for all living things, selfless love, soulful love, Buddha Love, God’s Love, the interconnectedness of all life.
Eros—ah . . . that’s the one that makes the world go ’round—sexy love, desire, passion, longing, for us girls: Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise, Paul Newman in just about everything,ditto Clark Gable, Marlon Brando in Streetcar, Olivier Martinez in Unfaithful, Daniel Craig as Bond, Djimon Hounsou in In America, Sean Bean in the Sharp Series for the BBC . . . Paul & Joanne, (I’m mixing up real and fantasy here)—
Lucy & George (Room with a View)—
Stanley & Blanche—
Scarlett & Rhett, Aragorn & Arwen, and of course, Liz & Diamonds—
and Holly & Tiffany’s . . .
Philia—brotherly love, loyalty, kinsmanship.
Storge—affectionate love—what you might feel for your parents, kids or your pets . . . my doggie Wookie—
Wishing you a very Happy Valentine’s Day experiencing one, two, three, or all of the above!!!
Edited: February 13th, 2009
I told you I was obsessed! Pictured here are a few of the Sautoirs that I recently designed. I’m so excited about them as they look absolutely gorgeous on (as do all Dominon of Light Jewels of course) and are fabulous to layer with just about everything! You can click on the Sautoir Collection at right to see them all.
Among the Sautoirs is “Goddess” — a magnificent rock-crystal amethyst suspended from textured copper chains and a classical gold grape vine connector. One of a kind. Very long, very much a statement — very much a necklace for all times, and a powerful stone. Amethyst is known as “Metamorphisis”, a healer and protector for all levels of body, mind and spirit. ”Goddess” is available at Kristin Londgren Couture, Los Angeles (323.653.9200).
I used the wonderful large vintage etched copper beads and the vintage bronze beads (finished off with lovely café au lait colored gros-grain ribbon) that made up the Glimmerblooms to create a 1920’s type Sautoir — very evocative of the Jazz Age and quite contemporary as well. And another Sautoir also with the Glimmerbloom beads, double chained in copper —very dramatic. This will also be available at Kristin Londgren Couture.
There’s also a wonderful double copper chained Sautoir with a lovely cherry red and bronze-capped bead suspended at the bottom, and a Sautoir made with a fabulous copper chain (it will darken with time) that ends in a beautiful faceted smoky topaz.
On the shorter side—one of my favorites (this is a limited edition, I can make a few more)—a vintage etched copper bead finished with gorgeous gold vintage “crown” beadcaps, antique glass pearl dangles, all on wonderful oxidized chain—doubled and reminiscent of chain mail. There are also a number of other new pieces including “Leitmotif” and “Far Country 3”.
Edited: February 9th, 2009
