Red Carpet Jewelry

Red carpet jewelry at the 2010 Emmy Awards showed a new trend. Big earrings were definitely a popular item along with outrageous rings and bangles. Most dresses were heavily adorned with crystal, ruffles or texture so necklaces did not compete with the dresses.

The jewelry was understated and elegant with diamonds and golden tones. Neil Lane and Lorraine Schwartz led the favorite jewelry designer list and the look was old school cotillion with jewel encrusted button ear clips and dangles, opulent but conservative chokers and large bracelets. The rings were huge and worn in multiples. Clutches with prominent rhinestone closures were also popular.

The vintage influence is ever popular. The dresses that got a thumbs up were sequined strapless columns, sexy, navy one shoulder gowns and white or cream Grecian and Egyptian goddess styles. The wedding cake dress was only popular with a couple of gals and only a few wore black. There were so many misses like the Alexander McQueen gladiator bolero dress, the high soft serve center bodice peak dress, the geometric wallpaper dress and of course the Armani under the sea dress waves and all! No edgy trend setters at this show-maybe we will have to wait for the Oscars for that. The TV audience was on edge waiting for someone to trip over her too long dress!

Vintage jewelry is the perfect accessory. Vintage Couture Jewelry has fabulous giant earrings from the 80s, Grecian neck rings, Givenchy, Lalique, Les Bernard, Fendi, and Kenneth Jay Lane bangles and link bracelets, and many other new accquisitions! See me at the following shows:

September 4,5 9-5pm
Farmington Antiques Show
Polo Grounds, Farmington, CT

September 7 11-1pm
Dealer's Choice
Brimfield, MA

September 8 9-5pm
Heart of the Mart
Brimfield, MA

September 16 5-7:30
CashmereInc
East Putnam Ave. Grenwich, CT

October 8,9 1-8pm, 11-6pm
Manhattan Vintage Show
Metropolitan Pavillion, NY,NY

November 13,14 9-5pm
Pier Antiques Show Fashion Alley
Pier 94 NY, NY

Take care,
PatraB
Vintage Couture Jewelry

Delight, Excite, Take Flight with Lucite!

Hello fashionable friends!



The easiest way to energize your outfit this spring is with vintage lucite. So many colors and finishes to choose from and... size matters! Three or four stacked lucite bangles makes the statement you need and oversized lucite necklaces can add just the right amount of sophistication.



Clear acrylic thermoset plastic also known as lucite was introduced in 1937 by the Dupont Corporation. Bakelite (an opaque formaldeheyde plastic resin) was popular first then Lucite surpassed Bakelite in popularity by the 1950s. Lucite has been used in costume jewelry since 1940. Between 1940 and 1960, many colors and textures were introduced. Pearlized, moonstone, confetti, granite and embedded textures were introduced and costume jewelry companies began producing tinted, molded and opaque finishes. Vintage lucite is highly sought after by collectors and designers but the lucite look has become high style again. Spring 2010 runways for Burberry,Prada, and Michael Kors all featured oversized lucite jewelry.



If you are interested in purchasing some fabulous vintage lucite from my collection, please email Vintage Couture Jewelry at circa360x2@hotmail.com for pictures and price list.



Love,

Patra B

I'VE BEEN TO HOLLYWOOD, I'VE BEEN TO REDWOOD
I CROSSED THE OCEAN FOR A HEART OF GOLD-(by Givenchy that is!)

Well my dear fashionable friends,

I found a heart of gold designed by Givenchy in the early 1980s along with a gold mine of fabulous finds at my recent vintage jewelry treasure hunt at Brimfield, Mass! I bought an estate collection of 1970-1980s Givenchy jewelry and I am making it available to you. Givenchy is extremely collectable now and the 70-80s jewelry style is just perfect with today's fashions. The giant gold Cleopatra logo necklace by Givenchy has sold but you never know when it will turn up again. Maybe on one of Rachel Zoe's stylings for the red carpet!

You know how Tiffany released the key necklace last year? Well I've got Givenchy's take on it from the early 80s. It hangs on a lucious long gold chain and is accented with rhinestones and of course the Givenchy logo.

Another fabulous necklace is the large link necklace. Three 2" circular rings are centered with rectangle links on both sides follosed by two more smaller circles and a square link. Between each link is an elongated Givenchy logo on an oval cartouche. This necklace is amazing!

The treasure trove of Givenchy also includes two fabulous large link bracelets, earrings and oversized brooches. All Givenchy jewelry featured here is available through Vintage Couture Jewelry at circa360x2@hotmail.com . email me to see all Givenchy selections!

Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy was born in 1927. Being a French aristocrat and fashion designer, he founded the couture House of Givenchy in 1952. He designed much of the personal wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy. He worked with Dior, Balmain and Schiaparelli. Gianfranco Ferre, John Galliano and Alexander Mcqueen all designed for Givenchy.
His fashions were inovative and his jewelry was made to enhance his fashions. His amazing designs are highly collectable today.

The Wedding Event of the Millenium!

The marriage of Earth and Sea is by far the event of the Millenium! Gorgeous red salt water Sea Coral is striking in a deep orangey red tone and handsome, earthy turquoise is magnificent in engraved hot blue. Coral and turquoise have been seen together for thousands of years (quite an engagement period) and have delighted the ancient Egyptians, Chinese Emperors, Greeks, Aztecs and American Indian Tribes. They create a fantastic contrast that jewelry designers, clothing designers, and interior designers love to play with. Turquoise was believed to possess protective forces for health and coral was believed to possess supernatural benefits to ward off accidents, evil and magic. Between them the wearer is assured of vitality, strength, wealth , healthy heart and increased sensuality (sounds like a great honeymoon to me.....).

Coral is a calcified skeleton of sea creatures that grow in salt water at 25 to 1000 feet. Shallow water coral is nearly depleated so deep water sea coral has become costly. Much of the coral harvested today is bamboo or sponge coral which is porous and needs to be dyed to achieve the rich red that has become so popular in jewelry. Coral and pearl are two biogenic precious gemstones that are chemically similar and are composed of mostly calcium carbonate. Both coral and pearl are desposits by marine invertebrates. Much of the world's coral comes from Australia, New Guinea, Scotland, Washington State and Alaska.

Turquoise, the December birthstone , is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminum. Turquoise is found in copper mines all over the world and was one of the first gems to be mined and then traded at Turkish bazaars to Venitian merchants who spread the gem across Europe.
Turquoise occurs as nuggets in the southwest United States. It was popular with American Indian tribes and believed to give the archer dead aim. Turquoise was used in American Indian jewelry as a fetish. Turquoise was first combined with orange argillite inlays and later was popularly combined with coral when it become available on the trade markets.

This spring, coral and turquoise are seen in bracelets by Stephen Dweck, MCL, and James de Givenchy. Spectacular vintage coral and turquoise pieces can be found at http://www.vintagecouturejewelry.com/.

I'll see you at the wedding!
PatraB

Plastic Fantastic Lovers!

What is hot, hot, hot.... and not, not not going to break the bank?

What comes in all colors and manifests itself into all shapes and sizes?

What can be solid, clear, opaque, tinted, and molded?

What can look like moonglow, confetti, granite, tortoise shell, and precious stones?

Lucite my dear fashionistas!

Alexis Bittar ( the current leading designer of plastic jewelry) knew the answers and used his creativity to feature lucite in his newest collections. Armfulls of lucite bangles are his signature and his neck discs and floral pins can be seen now that spring is in full bloom. Ben Amun uses milticolored clear lucite beads in his chunky necklace and pendant collections Their design inpirations came from the bracelets, necklaces, pins and earrings of the 40s, 50s, 60s and seventies.

Lucite was trademarked in 1941 by Dupont although many companies tried synthetic moldable "plastics" since the 1800s. Lucite as a jewelry material became most popular in the 1940s and the 1950s. Lucite is an acrylic resin and a type of thermoset plastic. The original state of lucite is clear, yet it can be tinted in any color and can go from transparent to opaque. The look can mimic fine stones or can be used in lighthearted, fun jewelry. Lucite can look like moonglow-as if it was lit from within, confetti-where chips of glitter are encased in transparent lucite, granite-where opaque chunks of lucite in varying colors are molded together, and can be solid, molded or carved.

Enhance your spring wardrobe with colorful vintage lucites from http://www.vintagecouturejewelry.com/ and don't forget to ask Lucy and Ethel where they bought their new polka dot sundresses !

PatraB