Jewels on Jewels

July 1, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

The best Letters from the Editor of a magazine are informative well beyond a summary of the theme and contents of the magazine. The letters provide thought-provoking insight into larger issues on the minds of experts who live and breathe the subject matter of their publications. I particularly enjoy the musings of Editor in Chief Linda Wells of Allure magazine.  

In the July 2009 issue of Allure, Wells considers fashion from the standpoint of a practical-minded consumer. She writes that she cheered when the First Lady was photographed wearing the same flowered print dress more than once: “By appearing in it at two important events, Mrs. Obama spoke to all of us who open our closets every morning wondering what to wear, and then grab the thing...Read More

June 29, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Perfectly round eyeglass lenses have come back into vogue this summer, a trend  influenced in part by the continuing public affection for the hero of the Harry Potter books, combined with a resurgence of 1960s-influenced fashions. ‘You’ll See It Everywhere,” proclaims the June 1, 2009 issue of New York Magazine, identifying round sunglasses as a trend defining the 2009 summer season. 

While circles themselves have been a symbol of eternity (think wedding bands) and even a denotation of the divine (like a halo on the medieval painting of an angel or saint), perfect circles can be perfectly difficult to wear as the shape of lenses in a pair of eyeglasses. Eric Wilson, writing for the ...Read More

June 24, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

I have come across this phenomenon in working with some of my image consulting clients: They are attractive, even beautiful, but they are afraid of bringing attention to themselves with statement-making jewelry.

Some of this reticence, no doubt, can be attributed to shyness or an introverted personality. A sense of modesty can be refreshing in a world where fashions sometimes translate to exposure of too much information about the wearer.

Sometimes, however, it is a matter of a different kind of lack of exposure—a lack of exposure to current trends. For the self-confident professional woman with a full schedule of obligations, including family, volunteer work, professional networking and ene...Read More

June 22, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Is there a dearth of inspiration at certain premiere American fashion magazines these days? After years if not decades of preaching that true style combines high price and low, designer and mass market, for fall 2009 the magazines are replete with a new aesthetic, or rather, the many competing aesthetics of the designers they choose to highlight.

While I appreciate a desire to give readers a peek at the pure genius of individual designers, I cannot recall a season where a demonstration of how to utilize or to combine designer looks to create an individual fashion statement has been so obvious in its absence. Perhaps Vogue magazine identifies the dilemma: “How we want to dress is under microscopic scrutiny again.”

June 17, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

From time to time, I come across a photo of an individual styled so beautifully with jewelry that the photo deserves comment and another admiring look.

This post’s photo comes from the June 2009 issue of Marie Claire magazine, which features a montage of actresses mixing bright colors with black. Although many of the stars look fetching, particularly eye-catching is actress Jessica Alba wearing an ensemble mixing bright red and black, accented with a spectacular pair of earrings.

     

For many individuals, myself incl...Read More