Shoe Jewelry

Our loyal readers will know that we're big fans of Moxsie.com - and that's not just because they sent us some fantastic items. The site is a great source for undiscovered independent designers and it's constantly being updated. Litter is one of the newer jewelry brands on Moxsie that Lar and I just fell in love with. The line has a number of Erin Wasson-worthy body chains and bracelets, but my absolute favorite are the shoe jewelry pieces:

I'm desperately wanting a pair! Just imagine all the different types of shoes you can add these to. Mary Janes, pumps, boots, some strapy heels... Bah! Payday cannot not come any sooner.

Or maybe I should be fiscally responsible and do some diy-ing a la Lauren style. Remember how she added chains to her boots? They looked fantastic and cost about an eighth of Litter version.



But then again, isn't it important to support independent designers?

Decisions, decisions...

CL

A Little Librarian-ish

It's been a very unusual May here in Atlanta weather-wise. It was cool enough last week to wear long sleeves without breaking a sweat - that's positively freezing by Atlanta standards! So I decided to take full advantage of the chill and attempt an Audrey Hepburn look with a classic white button up.

H&M shirt, F21 belt, AA skirt, Dolce Vita shoes from Eviva, secondhand bracelet.

I think this is my new favorite bracelet. I got it for $3 at the same jewelry sale Lar wrote about here.

And I'm sure all you Maira Kalman fans out there recognize the book I'm holding. You can probably tell by my writing that I bought the book just for the illustrations and not for a better understanding of writing composition and grammar - sorry, William Strunk Jr.

CL

The Lou Zeldis Ring

Yup, that is a ring. My new favorite. Yet another delightfully unique find at Evolve Boutique the other week (Cath and I did some damage there).

I can definitely understand why this ring wouldn't be for everyone (I promise the prominent body parts don't look nearly as prominent without a macro zoom through my camera lens), but I love the delicate silhouette against the heavy, organic clump of metal. And it's one-of-a-kind. I usually don't splurge on jewelry because I can't tell a piece of cut glass from a diamond (not an exaggeration), but with pieces like this I could fill up my non-existent jewelry box fast.

Is anyone else familiar with Lou's work? Apparently he is a former actor from New York who now resides in Bali and creates these really gorgeous pieces of jewelry. He doesn't have an online site, but apart from visiting Evolve, I found a few places online that carry his stuff, here and here. And here is a little more info on the elusive Lou.



LL

Getting Crafty

Lauren and I like to think of ourselves as relatively crafty people - that's DIY crafty, not cunning and scheming crafty. But for the past few years we haven't done much crafting. I'd like to think it's because we've been so busy, but truthfully it's mostly due to laziness. So imagine my surprise when Lauren bought some chain at a local bead shop and put together this lovely body chain all in one afternoon.



Pretty fantastic, eh? All you need is some chain, a few jump rings, and a pair of pliers to make your own. She had a bunch of chain left over, but I've been too lazy - er, I mean busy - to make one for myself.

CL

Beautiful Baubles

Just like most of you fashionistas out there, Cath and I were really intrigued by the S&M inspired body chains of Low Luv that perfectly complimented the grungy, biker/rock chick look. We're not quite over our infatuation with ripped up boyfriend jeans or studded accessories no matter how calm and breezy the spring runways look.

But... well... sometimes it's just nice to be utterly and completely unabashedly girlie, and wear something because it's beautiful and delicate, not because it looks like it came from Alexander Wang's line.



Enter: ButtercupLtd jewelry. Gorgeous bracelets and necklaces made of crystal, glass, fiber, and wire.


It looks like something Princess Buttercup would wear (and who didn't want to be Buttercup when they we're 5?... Okay 15. 25...). The blues and greens remind me of appropriate attire for ethereal mermaids.

But these glimmery pieces don't just belong on the necks and wrists of fictional characters who wear brocade or fish scales. In fact, I think you could keep the ripped-up cutoffs and big white tees. Slip one of these bracelets or necklaces on top and you have the best of both worlds. Sweet and salty... just the way we like our style.



These gorgeous jewels are available at this Esty site. Let us know if you get anything (there's a limited amount and we're already fighting over the fuzzy bracelet)!

LL

Evening at Dresscodes

Thursday night we stopped by Dresscodes for the store's gallery opening of Devin Borden's Survival of the Fittest. The place was packed with lovely looking people wearing skinny jeans, rompers, oxfords, and other fashion forward items.

We ran into our favorite indie jeweler, June Shin (her jewelry is sold at Dresscodes). Of course I couldn't help but snatch up one of her Ganesha rings. I've been wearing it everyday since.


CL

J.Crew Eye Candy

I occasionally check out www.jcrew.com just to window shop the new items. The accessories in the fall preview section are especially eye-catching this season.


L to R: Italian Calfskin Jamie bag ($495), Spectator Mary Jane peep-toe heels ($228) & Crystal Spangle cuff bracelet ($150).

Juliet patent-leather midheels ($198) & two-toned shoes (price not available).
Satin fleur clutch ($98) & Lulu leather peep toes ($198).
The exorbitant prices should explain why I only window shop J.Crew and never buy anything.

Sorry for the tiny pictures. We've used up our photobucket bandwidth for the month and I'm too frugal to pay for an upgrade. Any suggestions on a better, free photo hosting site, fellow bloggers?

CL

Day Trip to

This past month has been so busy that, not only have I not had much time to blog, but I've fallen far behind on posting images that I've taken from the beginning of the summer. Since this week is turning out to be as hectic as the previous three, it's a good opportunity for me to publish some old posts that I've been meaning to put on the blog for the past two months (including this post you're reading now).

Athens, GA is the quintessential college town and a perfect day trip from Atlanta. It has great, independently-owned shops and restaurants that are usually cheaper than their Atlanta equivalents and the city is home to an amazing music scene.



Agora (pictured above and below) is my absolute favorite shop. With over 50 different vintage dealers, I could spend a whole afternoon in there without getting bored. Hell would have frozen over the day I leave Agora empty-handed.



On my most recent trip to Agora I purchased a white 70s dress with black detailing, a cylindrical black and silver ring, and a pair of pink wayfarers for Lauren.



Every time I go to Athens I end up visiting with my boyfriend. He loves the coffee shops, but hates shopping (can't blame him). So, before the summer is up, I'm determined to take Lauren over to Athens for the day so we can do some serious shopping, coffee drinking, eating and music listening.

CL

The June Shin Ring

I lifted my self-imposed, temporary (i-haven't-bought-anything-since-sunday, yes-i-have-a-problem!) shopping ban because I completely fell in love with this ring by local jeweler extraordinaire June Shin. You guys must, must, must visit her etsy site before everything is snatched up. I will no longer be sucked in by Tarjay's tawdry, cheap baubles. I will only shop etsy – at least that's how I appeased the consumer guilt when I clicked "Buy Guns & Roses Ring." Oh, and did I mention how much I'm in looooove with it?



I've had a thing for cameo since I was 10, but I've never known how to incorporate it into an outfit without looking too Edwardian or Goth. But give me cameo + classic rock and I can envision about 16 new outfits!
Now, dear readers, go forth and shop local/independents. It's practically guilt free!

ps- Let me know if you guys get anything from June or other etsy sellers!

LL

Pre-Summer Outfits

Things are really beginning to heat up here in Atlanta. Usually I don't look forward to summer fashions because I never feel like you can be as creative without layers, but this year I'm determined to make the best of it. It's a good excuse to go through the accessories that I already own and work them into a warmer-weather outfit.

For example, Lauren used my brown woven belt with her new wide-leg jeans to give the outfit a vintage feel and the pointed piano scarf helps emphasize the vertical line.

Scarf: secondhand
Shirt: American Apparel
Jeans: Bill Hallman Atlanta
Belt: secondhand

I'm so happy that vests are still in style this summer. They add a lot of texture to an outfit without making it too warm for the season. On a side note, I made a quick trip to Office Depot today. The guy at the counter asked me what kind of stone was on my necklace. I had to tell him the truth...it's plastic.

Dress: American Apparel
Vest: Anthropologie sales rack
Necklace: Target

CL

Our Kind of Jewelry

We've never really agreed with the saying "diamonds are a girl's best friend." That could be because we can't afford them and have therefore never given them a proper chance to be our bosom buddies, but we honestly don't feel the need. Don't get us wrong. We love shiny, sparkly things, but that encompasses everything thing from glitter to a thoroughly scrubbed hubcap.
We understand that we aren't quite cutting edge enough to pull off the latter as adornments, so we happily drape ourselves in June Shin's gorgeous daubs! Dainty, but not prissy; elegant, but not stuffy; unique, but not overly trendy or trying too hard.
We lucky ladies of Decatur can hop over to Dresscodes any time to see what June has cooking (these photos are from their current selection of June's wares). Other ATL locations include Sole, Veruca, Tracy Ewell Cosmetics. Out-of-towners, don't fret! She is available on line too, at Etsy! Oh, bless! Check out her lovely blog too, while you're at it.


LL

Anne Finley Jewelry

Oooooo shiny! That's how I judge the extent of my desire for a piece of jewelry. Luckily Cath introduced me to Anne's gorgeous jewelry a few years ago at the Decatur Arts Festival and it's not just shiny, it's also handmade, well-crafted and so reasonably priced (reasons quickly spotted by Cath- the thoughtful consumer).
I know the photos are a bit fuzzy (we're still figuring out this hand-me-down camera). The top photo shows the silver cuff and pinkie ring I picked up at jewelry party she was having at a friend's house. The bottom photo shows a close-up of the ring, which is actually square instead of circular. The sides of the square hug my finger quite nicely... a perfect fit!
If you guys are in town at the end of May (Memorial Day Weekend), you have to stop by the Decatur Arts Festival. Anne and about 200 other extremely talented artist will be hawking their wares. Anne also has a website, though at the moment it just highlights one line of her jewelry. Keep your eyes peeled! I let you know when all of her stuff is up for grabs on the site.


LL

Color Inspiration

The trend of mixing jewel tones has been going strong ever since Prada's Spring 2007 RTW line, but I was inspired to do a post on it today when I saw this Free People necklace online.

Free People Crystal Spectrum Necklace

Don't even look at the price unless you are willing to spend $200+ on it. But there's hope for those of us who don't have that kind of money. I've put together some jewel tone items that won't break the bank:

1.) Heritage 1981
2.) American Apparel Nylon Taffeta Wind Breaker
3.) American Apparel Figure Skater Dress
4.) Fred Flare Swan Lake sunglasses
5.) American Apparel Baby Rib Dog T
6.) Forever 21
7.) Banana Republic
8.) Top Shop Bright Tregging

CL

Necklaces

I usually try to keep my jewelry collection very sparse. If I have more than 30 pieces, I start loosing track of what I have and half the items go unworn for months. That being said, since the start of the new year, I've acquired two new necklaces.

Lauren and I each purchased the letter necklaces below from Vivid Boutique in Decatur. They're a lot more elegant than the name necklaces that Carrie Bradshaw brought back in style a few years ago and they're handmade by the shop owner. Best of all, one necklace only costs around $40.


Lauren recently made a trip over to Urban Outfitters. They're having a huge sale and she bought these two necklaces (one for me and one for her) for $2 each. They were both originally $24.

I love the asymmetry of this necklace. The dangling black chains are meant to be worn off-center. (I purchased the bird pin at a local boutique a few years ago for $8).


This is the necklace Lauren bought for herself. It's very delicate and a little punk-y at the same time. Urban Outfitters also wraps everything in this graph tissue paper, which is like the icing on the cake of the whole purchase - two great necklaces and some cheeky tissue paper all costing no more than $5.


CL