Pierre Cardin Jewelry, 1962

I must apologize for my random posting of late.  Things are a bit crazy in my personal life right now.  In the meantime, I thought you might get a kick out of this necklace and bracelet made from plastic grapes by Pierre Cardin in 1962.

Take Your Holiday Dressing Up a Notch, Part 4

When I post photos of gorgeous vintage evening gowns and party dresses here on my blog or on my Facebook or Pinterest pages, one of the most common reactions I get is, "Why don't we dress up like this any more?" It is a shame that our society has become so casual that a pair of jeans and a t-shirt will suffice for most social occasions. Instead of bemoaning that fact, however, why not become part of a change back toward more formal dressing? An easy way to start is to amp up what you wear to all the holiday parties and get togethers you'll be attending in the next month. This week, I'll be looking at ways to accomplish that.  Choose one or more of these ideas, but don't do them all at once please!

The jewels, les bijoux, the baubles, the bangles, the beads.  If ever there was a time of the year to wear your boldest, sparkliest, and best jewelry, this is IT!!!  Don't be shy.  Pile it on!

Wear a necklace that captures your sense of fun and flamboyance!

Break out the heirloom jewels.  Why leave them sitting in a safe?  Wear them!!!

Wear your biggest, boldest earrings.

Pile on an armful of bracelets.

Wear a huge statement brooch.  Or wear a group of smaller ones.

Get creative!  You can even wear jewelry in your hair.  

In fact, if you want to bring out your inner princess, 

there is absolutely no reason why you should not wear a tiara.  

Go for it!!!!!

Les Bijoux - 1980s

Still dreaming!

Mouauad, 1980

M. Gerard, 1982

Boucheron, 1985

Van Cleef & Arpels, 1987

Yves St. Laurent, 1988

Les Bijoux - 1950s

Because every girl is allowed to dream, isn't she?

Cartier, 1950

Van Cleef and Arpels, 1955

Cartier, 1957

Mauboussin, 1959

Boucheron, 1962

Bulgari Necklace - 1972

I thought I would start my Christmas list early.  I am head-over-heels in love with this Bulgari necklace from 1972.  Black onyx and diamond stripes set in gold.   Yes, that will do nicely!

Wild Accessories - 1966

During the Mod craze of the mid 1960s, accessories became bold and fun right along with clothing.  Today, a look at some fun things from 1966.  Would you wear these today?

Above, Veruschka wears a collar made of blue rhinestones by Jack Gilbert.

Huge white plastic earrings by Paco Rabanne.

Peter Bateman wig made of strands of rhinestones.  That's one way to sparkle at night!

Mirrored cubes made into earrings and a ring by Antonio Lopez for Paris House.

Plastic jewelry by Ingeborg/Georgio for Richelieu.

Saks Holiday Catalog - 2000 The Jewelry

More from the Saks Fifth Avenue Holiday Preview catalog from 2000. While not technically vintage, I do think it is interesting to see what Saks and the designers were showing 10 years ago. Today, a look at some of the jewelry.

Orlando Orlandini for Simon Sobie 18K gold necklace with diamonds. Sold for $7525 in 2000.

Marlene Stowe 18K gold, platinum and diamond butterfly and leaf pins. Sold for $2900 to $4400 in 2000.

Yuri Ichihashi handwoven 18K gold multistrand necklace with diamonds set in platinum. Sold for $18,000 in 2000.

John Hardy Batu Mas Collection earrings, ring, and bracelet in 18K gold and aquamarine. Sold for $3045 to $6825 in 2000.

Michael Dawkins 14K gold and South Sea pearl necklace with diamond clasp. Sold for $13,395 in 2000.

Jeweler Ilias Lalaounis

1973

I was thumbing through a magazine from 1973 that had a feature on Greece, when this image caught my eye. Well, not the image so much. It was the necklace that grabbed my attention. Stunning, no? This sculptured silver butterfly with articulated wings is set with semi-precious stones and hangs from a plexiglass collar. It was designed and made by Ilias Lalaounis.

1969

Turns out, Lalaouinis is quite the talented artist. He is a 4th generation jeweler who joined the family business in 1940. He studied ancient techniques for working with 18 and 22 karat gold. In the 1950s, he began designing jewelry based upon ancient Greek artifacts, and his career took off.

1983

In 1969, Lalaounis left the family business to form his own company. He opened several stores on various Greek islands, as well as in cities throughout the world. Today, the company thrives and Ilias' daughter Maria has become the 5th generation jeweler in the family.

1957

In 1993, Lalaounis opened the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum in Athens, Greece. Here you can see over 3000 pieces of jewelry designed by him throughout the last 60 years. It's well worth a stop if your travel plans include the Greek Isles.

1985

If you'd like to see the current designs being offered by the Lalaounis company, take a look at their gorgeous website, and be prepared to drool.

Holiday Gifts - Jewels 1957

Since you are enjoying the jewels so much, here's one more post. By rights, these ads from 1957 should have been my Monday post so they would go in chronological order, but it didn't work out that way.

Tiffany emeralds and diamonds set in platinum.

Harry Winston. I'm not sure what the origin of the tradition is, but most Harry Winston ads feature birds. This one looks rather menacing.

Van Cleef & Arpels

In 1957, Rolex would custom make a diamond watch for you. Shown here, the Basel Fair model featured 208 diamonds in a platinum setting for a mere $10,000 (that's $76,000 in today's dollar!).

This jewelry from 1957 seems rather tame compared to the ads from subsequent years. I still like the David Webb enamel jewelry from 1966 best. How about you?

Holiday Gifts - Jewels 1975

More holiday jewels, this time from 1975.

Bulgari

Elsa Peretti for Tiffany

Elsa Peretti had just joined Tiffany the previous year, and the company is already featuring her designs in full page advertisements in 1975. Interesting to note that the ad states these earrings are for pierced ears, which were becoming very popular with younger women. But Tiffany placates it's traditional buyers by pointing out that you can also wear this pierced earring as a pin.

Van Cleef & Arpels cabochon emeralds and diamonds set in 18k gold.

Piaget diamond and lapis lazuli watch set in 18k gold.

Holiday Gifts - Jewels 1966

Need some ideas for holiday gifts? How about a few jewels from 1966? Click the pics for larger views so you can drool.

David Webb

Van Cleef & Arpels

Tiffany

Harry Winston

Which would you choose? Me? The ram's head bracelet by David Webb, thank you.

In other news:

Over the weekend I found out that Couture Allure has been chosen as the Best Site for Vintage Fashion by Time Out Singapore magazine. Thank you!

Also, check out the photo of Jayne Conroy looking gorgeous in a vintage 1950s suit purchased from Couture Allure at Fab Over Fifty. And do watch the inspiring video featuring Geri Brin, founder of faboverfifty.com.