Fine jewelry with bite

I'm picky when it comes to spending proper money on jewelry. I like it to be chunky and/or unusual. I'm not a huge fan of diamonds - for the obvious and myriad other reasons. I don't usually do gold either. Too brash, too shiny, too shouty. That doesn't leave room for much.

So it's rather refreshing to be introduced to the twisted works of Bittersweets NY, who do jewelry in silver and gold and diamonds but also have a sense of humour and the macabre.

Bite me! - Vamp rings and hinged vamp pendants

I heart you. No, really. - Beating heart charm

Monkey see, monkey do - monkey skull pendant

Creepy! - gold and silver maggot charms and silver worm bracelet

For those who want something really one of kind they also do a custom service.

Get a load of V V

There has been a lot of buzz around indie popstrel VV Brown over the past few months, enough for her to enter my peripheral consciousness and prompt a Youtube trawl to find out what she's all about. Pleasantly, I kinda like her happy, poppy, "doo wop indie" sound.

It's the kind of music that reminds me of my childhood spent listening to Elvis Presley and trying to tease my, frankly unmanageable, think afro hair into a slick quiff, whilst perfecting my lip curl and jumping around like a possesed wind up toy. Ah... Good times...

It helps that Ms Brown is utterly gorgeous and quirkily stylish. I do like a good dose of eye candy in my music videos. "The suits" have been quick to jump on the cool kid status bandwagon and purveyors of fine mobile phones, 2 for one cinema offers and music sponsorship, Orange have had V V design their orange poncho for Glastonbury this year, which means that I can use this totally gratuous shot of VV with said Poncho on my blog.
Isn't it fetching? Don't you want one for your very own? Well, there are 100 free limited edition ponchos up for grabs at Orange's Chill 'n' Charge tent at Glasto this weekend.

Now let's see a bit more of the divine Ms Brown in action, shall we?

A woman's right to (cheap) Choos

Far be it for me to even pretend that I'm still running this blog regularly but sometimes the news is so stupendous, you have to come out your hole, blink shortsighted at the sun and say: H&M have somehow managed to convince Jimmy Choo - THE Jimmy Choo - to design a range of accessories for them. How do H&M do it?

The collection will include bags and shoes for both women and men and will be hitting 200 stores worldwide in November. Dear lord! I can just see the long queues and the mad scrum that'll ensue. There will be blood, I tells ya.

Fringed benefits

As I mentioned in my outfit of the week post earlier this week, the High Street is teeming with fringe at the moment. Fringing, tassles - call them what you will - those dangly strips of silliness seem to be beckoning from every shop window on everything from bags to clothes to shoes.

I love the sense of movement created by fringe. You wear a fringed item and it immediately feels like you added another dimension to yourself almost hyper-real. Like you are your own stop action movie or an animation of yourself.

I love the fringing on this waistcoat from ASOS precisely for this reason. You can't get the full effect from these images but if you watch the catwalk video on the site, what I mean becomes obvious. And here is another fab pair of leggings from Topshop, this time with added tassles. I also love how the added fringing around the neck of this vest from Urban Outfitters makes it a two in one piece of clothing with jewelry attached. Accessory problems solved.

There's also plenty of fringeing going on at foot level. My favourites so far are these Suede peeptoe boots from Oli that remind me of old cowboys and Indians movies. There's something of the squaw about them. I think they'll look great with tanned bare legs.I bought the fringed, studded limited edition ankle boots from New Look because I was simply powerless to resist. They just looked so lovely on and comfortable too, considering the height. I haven't made up my mind what to wear with them yet but I think could add some edge to short summer dresses, and interest to denim shorts and a t-shirt.

I'm going to start calling peeptoe boots, summer boots because that's essentially what they are. They're wildy impractical for winter and if they were closed toed then they'd seem a little overwrought for sunny days. Somehow, however, we've managed to have another invention thrust upon us that it is neither boot nor sandal but something in between. I'm not complaining because I quite like the idea of them.

I've deliberately not included tassled bags in here as they are too numerous to mention and Tor of Fabfrocks has already done a brilliant piece on them. Check out the plethora of tassled arm candy on her blog.

I want it now! Topshop rainbow brief case, £35

I have long held the opinion that no matter how much you may like what you do for a living, some days work is just... work. And it's a non-stop, angsty, stressy slog that starts the moment you leave the house and join the general flow of drones until you get back home again. It's doubly annoying in the winter when you have to get out of your bed in darkness and return in darkness. So depressing.

So yay! for springtime and also this lovely rainbow brief case, which should bring on an instant personal ray of sunshine that'll combat any work related dreariness with it's cheerful, colourful presence.

So bright and colourful is it, that I am convinced it was actually made in a factory in the mythical land of Oz. Could it have magic powers to immediately make you bolder, brainier and more loving of your fellow man? Who cares? It's gorge.

Talk to The Hat

There were many, many impressive things about yesterday's inauguration of America's first black President: Obama's pitch perfect speech, and just how tall and imposing Michelle Obama really is, for example.

But I have to say I was very impressed by the sheer presence of The Hat that was wearing Aretha Franklin. Let's just take another look at that baby: That is some hat. That hat looks like it has it's own condo and pays alimony to it's former wife. That hat is holed up somewhere in Reno, making plans to take over the world and WILL NOT BE DENIED! Mwahahahaha!

The rumour is that The Hat is the work of the Mr Song Millinery in Detroit. Of course, I had just had to take a look at the birth place of such a superlative affair. Athough I could find no sign of anything quite like The Hat, this came close.

There are also many other fine pretenders to The Hat (I would show you but Blogger image loader seems to have had it with cooperating for the day. *sigh*). 

But The Hat is special and therefore one of a kind. I guess.

Christmas gifts £10 and under

Continuing my self-appointed mission to provide affordable gift ideas that will actually earn you smiles of gratitude rather than a dirty look and a next Chritsmas regifting, here are my picks of Christmas gifts for £10 and under.

Click image to enlarge

Black felt hat with bow, $9.80; Forever 21
Necklace with mirror pendant, £10; Topshop
Floral bangle, £6.85; Accessorize
Owl ring, £7.80; Accessorize
Jewelled belt, £8; Boohoo
Cupcake pin, £8.50; Dolly Dagger
Snake bangle, £7.50; Miss Selfridge
Pink sequin fascinator, Star by Julien MacDonald@ Debenhams

You may have noticed that the gifts are distinctly accessory heavy. This is because:

• Garments under £10 that you would give as a Chritsmas gift? Very few and far between
  
• Buying clothes or shoes for anyone except you most nearest and dearest, is walking very dodgy ground, I tell you
  
• Never. Ever. Buy underwear for anyone. No matter how near or dear. I speak as the voice of experience here. I shudder at the recollection.

Swarming with studs

Do you ever have those moments when you notice something for the first time and then it seems to be everywhere? Like red cars. Or Christmas novelty ties. Well yesterday, I slept blissfully unaware of studs and awoke this morning to studs everywhere. They're on shoes, on boots, on jackets, on bags... Everywhere I look it's studallover.

I like studded black accessories in particular because they can really toughen an otherwise girly outfit. Ideal for breathing new life into your summer dress.

Belt, Oli Fusion; bowling bag, Oli; tassled bag, River Island; clutch, Star by Julien MacDonald; patent bag, French Connection

Just throw your dress over a black poloneck and shiny leggings and add any or a combo of these studded lovelies and suddenly you are so punk.

Tassled boots, River Island; knee boots, Full Circle; Shboots, Peacocks;

flats, Miss Selfridge; courts, All Saints

Alternatively wear one of those studded dresses with simple accessories and a boyfriend cardigan and see how fresh it looks.

Shorts, Topshop; sequin dress, Warehouse; biker jacket, Monsoon; bomber jacket, Lipsy; black dress, River Island

Watch this space

I've never been a huge fan of watches as fashion accessory. I have one watch. I've had it for years. It's got a chunky leather strap, which - I try to tell myself - makes my man's wrists look dainty, and it tells the time. That's about all I need from a watch.

So I'm baffled by my sudden hankering after some rather novelty-esque watches in the past 24 hours. Must be that Christmas feeling.

For starters, Swatch, purveyors of fine novelty watches for the fashion obsessed have only gone and done a whole collection of watch designs inspired by Bond villains. I have to say, it's brilliant. I mean, it's not like I'd be buying one myself, but for die hard Bond fans, they'd be hard to resist. They are also a perfect no brainer Christmas gift for the Bond-geek in your life.

My favourites are the Dr No (fantastic retro styling), Baron Samedi, Xenia Onatopp (I know) Franz Sanchez and Le Chifre. But for maximum bling points, it's got to be the shiny, gold plated insanity of the Goldfinger inspired, Odd Job. Diabolical fun. Check them out here. You can also take the online quiz to find out which villain you're most like.

If you like your wrist candy a bit more pop-py then feast your eyes on the candy red loveliness of Betsey Johnson's red bow bangle watch, available on ASOS. It's ridiculous yet divine.It's pure plastic pleasure perfection. It appeals to everything in me that wants to gorge on toffee apples, while lounging in bath full of pink feathers, sipping a baby bottle of pink champagne with one of those bendy straws that go round your eyes like glasses. So, so wrong.

I want it now! Accessorize statement necklaces

Spotted these necklaces at Accessorize today and my eyes fair popped out of their sockets. Both look incredibly ornate and expensive. Both have the magical ability to transform an outfit from dull to da Da DA! Neither one is over £25.

Layered petal, £14

Embellished bib, £22

Cherry on top

I love cherries. They're probably my favourite fruit of all time, though they cause me no end of, um, "airy discomforts". I'll take them in any form from pie to cough drops (cherry tunes... Mmmmm).

Somehow this cherry love has stretched over to my sartorial life. How else do you explain my love for these cherry covered shoes and clutch bag from Faith?

Yes, they're matching and sort of twee but also utterly cute and workable.

You could work a sophisticated yet kookie look by pairing with a simple LBD and black opaque tights. Just for fun add this gorgeous cherry pendant. Work do sorted. Dress, French Connection@ Oli.

They'd also work well dressed down with some turned up blue jeans and pretty printed tee or check blouse. Rockabilliscious. Jeans, Urban Outfitters, tops, Oli

But I'd most probably want to wear them with this Peter Jensen prom dress from Topshop and some cherries in my hair.

Doggy do or doggy don't?

Let's just lay this down for the record: I don't do pets.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against keeping critters in your household and have been known to be smitten by other people's "familiars". But I reckon that the patience and commitment it takes to look after a pet is just too far beyond what I hold in reserve. It's hard enough with people most times.

However, I recently got some info about a line of "pet inspired" jewellery and I decided to check it out. We all know how crazy pet people get about their pets and the lengths they go to to keep their prized pooches and admired moggies happy. It's a multi-billion pound industry that thrives on the sometimes beyond-all-reason love of pet owners. It's a love that makes them do stupid things.

So let's just say, I was feeling a little cynical about what the site had to offer. Would it be diamond encrusted collars? Swarovski crystal encrusted doggie jackets? 18 carat gold pet bowls? My mind boggled with the cringe-worthy possibilities of it all.

Turns out my instincts were half right, because although the "pet inspired" jewellery is quite tasteful (as far as pet jewellery can be) and is aimed directly at humans rather than their pets, it still obviously trying to rake in the "mad pet love" cash with pave diamond encrusted "dog tags" (bone shaped pendants, mournful dog-faces, paw-printed rings) and 18K gold trinkets. The prices are equally ridiculous, starting at $1,200 for a pair of bone-shaped stud earrings.

Surely there are better ways to spend this amount of cash, even if your weiner dog (or sausage dog to us Brits. Weiner's just funnier, heh) is the undisputed love of your life. But then what do I know? I don't do pets.

While we're on the subject, pet owners, I beseech you, stop dressing up your pets. They are animals. They come ready dressed. Everytime I see a dog in a frou frou pink tutu I want to cry. They look so traumatised and embarrassed... Just stop it, okay?

Oh, the drama!

Back in my 20s (alas! no more) I woke up one day and decided that it would behove me sartorially to start dressing like a 1920s gentleman. Don't ask me why. These were simpler times when gal could decide to spend a year playing drag king, if that's what took her fancy.

I set about procuring the necessary accoutrements with gusto. Thrifted pegged pants - with special pockets for gentlemanly things such as pocket watches, white vests and shirts, pocket squares and cravats, the perfect waist coat... I must've looked pretty strange but I fancied myself and that's all that mattered. However, no matter how far I looked I could never find a nice pair of spats.

You have to understand that this was at a time when the internet in all it's modern glory was a thing yet to come. This was the time when it took 4 hours to download an image and email was a glorious new invention and mobile phones could possibly still be used as evidence in a particularly brutal bludgeoning. Yes, that's right; the early 90s.

Hard times, before internet shopping or even useful browsing. It's not like now when you can just google stuff and browse an array of sites only too willing to send you anything your little heart desires. You kiddies don't know you're born!

And that handy dandy rant/insight into my sad old life is a preamble to the sheer joy of finding a website recently that would've made my drag king phase ever so slightly easier to maintain. Or any other dressing up phase I might have gone through at the time (and believe me, I went through a lot).

Liking a lorgnette? All a flutter for fans? Wondering where you can get your hands on some serious sock garter action? If, like me, in your head life is just one big costume drama, then you'll understand why I find the costume store nothing short of amazing.

It's got everything: hat pins, dress studs, parasols and canes, mask and medals, as well as an assortment of gorgeous gloves and natty hats. For me, it is online heaven. Should I ever feel a need to dress like lady of the manor - again, this is where I'm headed. Join me, why don't you?

And, in case you were wondering what the Dickens a lorgnette was, here it is:
No, I didn't know either.

Top image via bbc.co.uk

Ring, ring

Have you noticed that huge cocktail rings are back in fashion again? This time they are distinctly more solid and masculine looking and I have to admit, I am very drawn to them. But then I am a ring ho' so nothing new there.

Check out these ones at £90 a pop and only to be bought if you're not a faddy shopper.

Or if you're anything like me, check out some passably comparable, cheaper options like these from £10-£7.

Me? I'm raiding my closet because I know I have a whole trove of huge rings in there. But I might have to stop by Dorothy Perkins for one more.

Irregular Choice go matchy, matchy

Fancy wearing a virtual fruit salad on your feet? How about pink frilly shoes, decorated with teddies? Maybe floral booties? How about if you had the matching clutch bags?

If any of these are setting your world alight then, good news! Irregular Choice, purveyors of the sometimes good, sometimes bad and the frequently fugly shoe, have taken their production of quirky accessories to new heights. Observe:
Now available at Schuh. Don't all rush there at once, mmkay?

The shameful truth is that I kinda like floral booties and the fruit salad combo is starting to grow on me. With the right outfit - read, a lot of neutral - they just might work. It's like admitting to your teenage crush on Sylvester Stallone... I know, wrong, wrong, wrong!

How come the boys are getting all the good stuff?

I have a well-documented issue with coveting stuff that's meant for boys, especially accessories. But really I have to say that this skater statement necklace from Topman has no business belonging to a boy.

Look at it...

Topman skater necklace, £10

It's perfect for me.

Her dark materials

I love the way that the right accessories make an outfit come together just so. While raiding around in Style Narnia (AKA my wardrobe) looking for some glam goth inspiration, I also came across quite a few little lovelies to go with. Actually, make that, that A LOT. I have boxes full of this stuff.

It's practically all cheap and all from either H&M or Diva at Miss Selfridges - who do the best cheap jewellery on the high street. The little voodoo doll, is a little souvinir from a trip to New York a few years back. It's just there to add atmos, although I am seriously considering turning it into some sort of head piece... Wouldn't that be awesome?

(Click on all images to enlarge)

Chunky rings: green heart, thrifted; rectangular metal, blue stone and snake ring, H&M; red apple ring, Diva at Miss Sellies

Others: Multi strand black bead choker and long length black bead necklace (I usually wear them layered for extra drama), diamante studded bangle, black elbow length glove and fascinator, all H&M!

Brooches: red heart, thrifted and painted; black spider, H&M
Necklaces and neck pieces: Beaded and buttoned, felt neck piece, DIY; chunky crucifix, thrifted and customised with black velvet ribbon; skull pendant, H&M; heart shaped locket, Diva at Miss Sellies, Hematite choker, gift
Bangles and bracelets: purple pearl and stone bracelet, House of Fraser; hand painted black bangle, thrifted

Close up of heart-shaped locket - isn't it gorgeous?

Head case

You may have noticed that I'm developing a massive obsession with head gear (or has that ship already sailed right over the edge of that bit of the map marked "ere be dragons"?)

Anyhoo, some more head candy for ya (well, for me really, but I can share!):
Mini beret fascinator, Coast at ASOS
Feather Alice band, Warehouse
Rope Alice band, Topshop
Corsage head bands both at Urban Outfitters

If you're at all interested and not already bored witless by my new obsession, check in tomorrow for my DIY doily head piece (has to be seen to be believed).

Bow Wow!

You could probably slap a bow on anything these days and I'd instantly find it more appealing. Such is the power of the subliminal bow messaging that I've been receiving all summer. It would go a long way to explaining why I find these lovelies totally irresistible (click on images to enlarge):

Big bow Alice bands and bow shoes, Topshop
PVC bow hair pins, Urban Outfitters
Clip on bow with veil, ASOS

But I have no excuses for my growing collection of "Bowrabilia":Silver Mary Jane, New Look
clip on PVC bows, Topshop
Bow ties, thrifted
Bow belt, thrifted

Or the fact that I have recently made a bow Alice band of my own with not one, but two wonky bows:DIY Alice band

Outfit of the week 07/05/08

So, you remember how I was going on about those El Dantes wedge sandals and how they would look so good with a summery maxi dress? Well, I've found just the dress.

It's from Monsoon Fusion and that bejewelled halterneck alone is well worth the £180 price tag. But that's not enough, I plan to pile on the chunky bangles with gay abandon, add some hoop earrings and an oversized blingring. Plus a cute straw bag. Roll on summer.

71 per cent of you rated this outfit a Do
28 per cent of you hate maxi dresses and said Don't

Dress, £180, Monsoon Fusion
Wood and silver bangles, £10, Oasis
Colour block bangle, £6; wood earrings, £6; and chunky ring, £8
Shoes, El Dantes at Faith