Jewellery History (picture heavy)

I wanted to do something a bit special for my 100th blog post! Can’t believe it has been 100 already, I still feel new to the blogging world, but thank you to all those who have and still support me. Thank you for commenting and of course coming back to see more. 

Back in January I visited the Victoria and Albert museum last week. Originally I went to see the clothes section which was closed but in exploring the rest of the museum, found the jewellery section. It was dimly lit, with the jewellery behind glass so clear that it felt like at any point you could reach out and grab it! Unfortunately no photographs were allowed but if you are a jewellery lover it is a must see.

It was organised such that you could see jewellery through time, from ancient Egypt through to now. The material used, as well as the purpose or symbolism of each set of pieces was described. The opening quote which caught my eye was ‘ jewellery adorns and protects the wearer on the journey through life’. It was that which inspired me for this post, jewellery throughout time has served a purpose, ranging from purely decorative and extravagant to functional and even spiritual. I learnt a lot and I thought about the pieces of jewellery I own and the story they tell in my own life.

My first pairs of earrings, given to me as a new born, yes I still have all my baby jewellery. Although there are a lot of pieces I will never wear again, I cannot and will not ever get rid if them. The studs I wore up until my teenage years when I discovered hoops!

My first ever ring, I had the stone replaced since the original fell out. 

Various pendents I wore continuously!

18th Birthday gift from my two best friends at the time from school

18th birthday present from family, each piece was given to me by a different family member

Of course in between I have brought cheap bits of jewellery, however they also have their story. The necklaces I thought were so stunning throughout A-levels!

My personalised earrings

My ‘heart of the ocean’

The necklace brought for me on my most memorable of trips to Marrakech.

This is just a small collection of what I own. I have always loved jewellery, it is one of those things, that age, shape, size doesn’t discriminate and always has a way of making you feel beautiful.

GOGO PHILIP Jewellery

I spotted a jewellery stall in Westfield, and was immediately drawn to this beautiful pair of earrings by GOGO PHILIP.

I love the details of the bracelet and ring on the hand and the fact that the pair isn’t the same. I have never styled myself with two different earrings so I love this. Considering how big the hand looks the earrings are actually lightweight which makes them comfortable to wear.

Based on the way the stall was laid out and the quality of the jewellery on display, I was expecting everything to be very expensive, but these were only £7.50. There were some more expensive items, one which I loved was a scissors bangle! Everything was packed up very nicely for me to take away and although these are not unique pieces, the designs of much of the jewellery is very unique and unusual compared to high street shops. 

GOGO PHILIP vintage bijoux is an Italian company, with all jewellery designs hand made in Italy. They have a website where you can check out and purchase more of their designs as well as a facebook page. 

New Primark Pieces April 2011

So another trip to Primark, actually to return some things resulting in another spend, although only 5 items, 3 of which were jewellery and sort of don’t count!

Starting with the jewellery, a love or hate item, I found this gorgeous triple fingered flower ring. There were only small sizes left and this one loose ring with no packaging but which fits perfectly, so I am not sure what size I eventually got. I personally love it, I am all about big statement jewellery and for only £2.50 a bargain! Surprisingly the rings are all a slightly different size to accommodate for the fact that your three fingers are slightly different sizes, so it fits better one way round that another. Small detail I noticed!

Next this beautiful elephant head long length necklace in a lovely ‘dirty’ gold colour encrusted with yellow/gold stones. I do not like the chain as much since it is more of a yellow gold, and to my eye doesn’t match as well on closer inspection, so if I can find a better chain at some point I will replace it. Considering I make jewellery as a hobby I know it would cost me £4 or more to get a pendant like this so I do not consider it a waste. I also brought a tusk necklace which, although long, is slightly shorter than the elephant, but matches and fits in well to wear as a pair if I chose to. I like addition of the brown rope chain in the design. It reminds me of the necklace J-Lo wore back in her first ever music video, anyone else remember?

Finally I picked up this sheer loose fit top. It has an elasticated waist where the excess fabric is all gathered, with a slight sleeve. The fabric is not your typical sheer shirt fabric, with more of a textured effect/feel to it. I picked up the coral, they also had white, violet and green. These were £10 each and I plan to style with both skirts and jeans.

I have spied some nice things on other blogs but I am going to try and resist the temptation to spend, I won’t ban myself though since that never works out well!

Another Primark Haul!

I know two blog posts in one day, but I’m feeling energetic! I had 2 interviews this week, and with the prepping for those, along with the early starts to the day and the driving I was pretty exhausted, so thats my excuse for not posting anything sooner. I have had time to try out some more face masks though and had a few brain waves for future posts so do look out for those.

If you do watch my YouTube videos you would have seen my mini haul/interview outfit video featuring a few of my Primark goodies.

If you didn’t though or do want to see this is the link; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1QKAjsQC7M

I did feature a skirt in here, which I showed without having tried it on, and although I still love it, it just doesn’t suit me, so it has been returned and replaced with a few other finds.

I already featured this top in my video. It’s a beautiful, sheer, loose fit top. Dusty pink with capped sleeves and dots all over, with a gathered/elasticated waist. This fits perfectly, and I’m looking forward to styling it since I haven’t owned anything like this previously.

I replaced the top with a t-shirt, it reminded me of a vest top I wore to death as a teen with a big tigers face on it. Again its sheer and actually has a hole in the back (I have no idea of the proper styling/fashion term for that!) I want to wear it now, so I plan on putting a long sleeved t-shirt underneath to keep me warm. It has a patchy sheer effect (again not sure of the proper term) but hopefully the picture illustrates that well.

Lastly, accessories! I love the belt, there are two colours available, I opted for the beige but there is black too. I really like that the poppers are hidden away underneath the flower. I have no idea how I will be styling it but I look forward to the summer and the chance too.

I also picked up a oversized army print scarf, thinner fabric than I usually go for but this will strictly be for styling rather than warmth.

Jewellery wise I went for the ‘Love’ necklace, which has a sparkle covered ‘L’ with the ‘O’ made of a peach flower. I love that pastels are in this season. It’s very pretty and a noticed that it is, in my opinion a nicer ‘dupe’ of a necklace in New Look which has a darker flower and a few extra dangles from it. In fact I noticed a lot of similarities between New Look and Primark jewellery, a lot of pieces similar to those in my last Primark haul.

There was also a flower necklace which looks very effective from far away, the petals portion is actually a fabric. Finally, I picked up the stud flower earrings for my sister although I imagine I will be removing a few!

I FOUND IT!! My perfect doubled fingered ring

I have been searching for the perfect double finger ring ever since I saw them come out whenever that was. I hadn’t loved anything, and things I did like I walked away from and never thought twice of again…… my test for if I REALLY want something.

So very randomly I came across the perfect ring yesterday in Aldo, and YAY! the last one was my perfect size…….only doubt point…..the price. £10. For many that seems like nothing, but its a lot more than I normally allow myself to spend on costume jewellery. So I walked away and wondered if I may in fact at a later stage come across something I love that much more. I found myself thinking about it in other shops and having checked the usual suspects for jewellery, new look, river island, topshop etc (sad right!), I decided if I went back to Aldo as my last shop before heading home and it was still there, then it was meant to be and this was the ring for me………..and well you know the result of that now.

It fits me perfectly, I love the way it covers the majority of my two fingers, I’m wearing it now and it doesn’t obstruct my finger movement at all. I just can’t stop staring at it! haha. It’s a beautiful tarnished gold colour, hopefully the images do the detailing justice.

I’m very glad I found it and can add it to my collection and finally give up the hunt until the next must have hits me!

First Outfit of the Day! Semi-Casual

I think I have finally figured out how to take photos, how to pose now is another question but I’ll figure that out too!

I was pretty casual today for a wander round the shops and then out for a family meal. All I did was take the cardigan off in the evening so I could put a coat on since it’s so cold! I love how slouchy and warm this outfit is, it’s the comfort of wearing a big jumper and tracksuit round your house but looks that much more like you’ve tried!

The cardigan and jumper dress were both from Asda, jeggings from New Look and Boots from River Island, the belt was from Primark.

’till next time! x

Disney Couture, My new Obsession!

I have had my eye on a lot of the Disney Couture pieces for a really long time but held off from buying because of the price and the fact that I had never seen them to know what the quality was like.

Recently I decided to treat myself since for the longest time I wanted the Tinkerbell hoop earrings. I love hoops and I thought this would be such a nice addition since they would just give an outfit a special touch without being ott. Every picture I had seen online looked like they would be beautiful, so I opted for the silver colour, not entirely sure if the gold would be a more yellow shade than I like.

I was so pleased when they arrived, they were packaged beautifully within a pretty box and then with the Disney Couture bag. They feel so solid, so worth every penny and are a good size. I haven’t worn them yet but I will (I don’t like labelling something as best and then never pulling them out for an occasion!). I found these on eBay since the other online sellers didn’t have this style anymore (adding to the NEED to buy!).

QVC also did sell Disney Couture at one stage but everything they have is on clearance now, so I am not sure if they will get anything new. I picked up two pieces, the first is intended for my cousin, the Tinkerbell sitting on a pearl necklace, this was only available in gold, however it is a lovely gold and the piece again is really solid. She is only 8, so I know she will love this and it will be something she can keep for a long time. It was just over £20 with the postage, so a very good price compared to the full selling price of there things usually.

Finally, I picked up this gold bangle. ‘A dream is a Wish your heart makes’. The bangle is very dainty looking but solid. Like the other pieces it is something that can easily be worn any time. My only reservation with it is that there are small charms hanging off near the clasp, which although pretty, I am worried can potentially catch and snap off. This was dearer than the necklace but still good value since these bangles retail much higher on other websites.

I really want to add one of the necklaces to my collection, they have some with cinderella quotes which I like the most. I had ordered one from the sale in ASOS however the gold of that was more yellow than I liked to it did make it look cheap and I returned it. So when I do find the ideal one I’m going to go for the silver colour.

Please share your thoughts of any of the jewellery if you own it, or even better link/comment with photos!

‘Till next time xx

Pocket Watch Necklace Fix

So anyone who saw my jewellery haul on YouTube would have heard me talk about my pocket watch necklace which broke, (I also lost the chain), and I wanted to fix.

Here is the pocket watch…..

…….and on a random shopping trip I came across a suitable chain/necklace on sale for £5 in Miss Selfridges……

I didn’t like the cameo attached since it is difficult to make out even looking at it what the image is (a bird I think). I thought the chain colouring would match that of the watch so I brought it and replaced the cameo with the watch.

Here is the finished result……..

I’m really happy with it, just hope this one stays attached! I like knowing that this makes the piece more unique and I think that the colourings worked out really well, so it almost looks like it was meant to be!

Anyone else got any jewellery fixes?

Clothes and Jewellery Haul: Primark Boots and more!

It's the first time I have been to a shopping centre after all the festive period madness and it was such a lovely experience. The shops were really empty and tidy, staff were friendly and helpful, obviously not a good thing for my pocket since I stay looking around longer!

I wasn’t on the hunt for anything in particular but I did find a few things……

First stop was Primark, recently I haven’t found anything that I have liked especially in the jewellery/accessories department but I could have picked up a lot more than I did today, all the small necklaces are only £1.50. Usually I don’t go for the gold toned since they are more yellow than I like, but the matted gold that some of these have is very pretty. I haven’t decided yet if I will keep the charms on the necklaces as they are, generally I buy and wear much chunkier jewellery (see Debenhams example!). At the time of purchase I had already decided I would make the nautical style necklace into a double bracelet and remove the charms I am not too fond of and replace with others. My favourite piece though is either the ring or the flying bird necklace. There was a lot of peach and gold tones around so I guess that is the trend this season?

I also picked up a pair of skinny jeans/jeggings which remind me of a pair I have and love, since they are thicker than traditional leggings but thinner than jeans and makes them a good inbetween item. In the past the jeans I have brought from Primark although fitting well and looking good initially eventually lose shape so I am hoping these will last that bit longer.

There was a lot of colour options with the shirt but I liked the red base best since I am not always planning to wear it done up but with a white/brown/black vest or t shirt underneath to tone it down a little. The sleeves are also able to button up or down to mix up the look a bit and the thicker fleece like fabric makes it wearable in the colder weather.

Finally the beading and detail on the vest top is what made me purchase, all the t-shirts and vests I have ever brought from Primark have been see-through thin, so I will probably be layering this!

The bobble hat was a random purchase after spotting another hat and then getting distracted with this one! I love the detailing on it….the next one I am looking out for is the turban style which is meant to be in this season.

Pen-ultimately a quick trip into boots since I randomly decided the other day that my hair is too dark and I want a change……hopefully before and after pictures to come. Having heard great praise for the Rimmel exaggerate eyeliner I also picked up one of these. I have high hopes for it to be an eyeliner which lasts in my waterline without smudging all over the place. Also expect to see a nails of the week with the new beautiful gunmetal grey nail polish from Bourgeois (as well as a review on the weird new brush applicator!!).

Finally, a trip through Debenhams had me stopping in the sale section where I found this beautiful necklace 70% off. I do love a bargain.

Do expect to see outfits featuring these, I have nearly sorted out the camera situation so hopefully will have nice clear pictures soon.

'Till next time, thank you for reading.