Cynthia Sliwa

Customer Watch: Bare Necks: Lessons from the Emmy Awards
September 19, 2007

With all the bare necks at the Emmy Awards Sunday evening, earrings came into prominent focus. All manner of design was on display to perfection.

Today, rather than focus on all those stunning jeweled creations, let’s take a look at the physical beings the earrings adorned. Here is the perfect opportunity to study the wide diversity of the components that comprise the features of some very beautiful women. The photos reproduced here are all credited to Jeff Vespa of WireImage.com, available on Yahoo.com’s coverage of the Emmy Awards.

It can be easy to assume that height translates to longer neck length, and that a taller woman will have a longer neck. As these photographs show, this assumption is not valid.

I have paired up the photographs of Heidi Klum and Mariska Hargitay because both are tall women. Yet notice the marked difference in the length of their necks and the resultant difference in the amount of space between the bottom of their ears and their shoulders.

When the earring fastens on the earlobe rather than is suspended below it on a wire, the use of space is maximized. Keep this in mind for your customers who are considering the purchase of drop earrings.

Now let’s look at photos of two actresses who are not as tall. Eva Longoria and Sara Ramirez are both short, but notice that their necks are very different in length. Although she is very petite, Ms. Longoria has a neck that appears proportionately much longer than Ms. Ramirez’s neck. 

    

Please look at the full-length photos of each of these actresses and all of your favorites to get a better perspective on neck length relative to their full height. The tilt of the head can be somewhat deceptive in a cropped, close-up shot.

Use the readily available photos from Yahoo.com’s coverage of the Emmy Awards or those of People.com or any other source you prefer, to study all the features of the various celebrities pictured there. With all the variety in their features, each and every one is a beautiful and unique work of art.

As you look at these photos, ask yourself some questions:

• Which of your customers might look good in a particular pair of earrings?
• What earrings from your current inventory might flatter each of the actresses? If she walked into your store today and wanted a new pair of earrings to accessorize her dress, what earrings would you want her to try?
• What do you like and dislike about the earrings chosen by each of these actresses to wear? How might you have altered the designs to make them more flattering, or are they sheer perfection?
• How might you alter a particular design to make it wearable by more customers?
• Imagine swapping the earrings between any two of the actresses. Can you come up with better pairings?

You, too, can indulge in a Fashion Police moment, but, even better, you can use each red carpet event as an opportunity to learn more about relating jewelry designs to the women who wear them.

Posted by Cynthia Sliwa on September 19, 2007 | Comments (1)