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Pedal to the Metal
Pedal to the Metal by Morgan Watkins
Fashion is all about standing out from the crowd, and the metallics trend sits at the height of this sentiment. Shiny style statements made across the world’s catwalks serve as sci-fi thrillers of fashion – they get your adrenaline pumping, catching your eye and dragging it quickly down the runway, as if you’re in an alien driven spacecraft flying through a solar system of beaming moons and glowing meteors. If you want to take a rocketship ride into our favorite metallic looks, keep on reading.Driving into some of the most dazzling shows from Fashion Week SS19, our first stop is Rodarte. While metallics are commonly associated with edgy vibes and sleek, futuristic designs, Rodarte took a softer approach. Using voluminous metallic ruffles that glistened alongside romantic floral hair arrangements and picturesque earrings, Kate and Laura Mulleawy were able to take the metallic trend and turn it into a shiny, breathtaking dream.
(Image fromhttps://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/spring-summer-2019-ready-to-wear/rodarte)
Waking up from the dreamy show of Rodarte, we now find ourselves zooming through a galaxy full of sparkling stars at Roland Mouret. The feminine SS19 collection featured glistening fabrics in a variety of flattering forms, ranging from casual drawstring trousers to chic button ups. An exuberant foiled gown dressed smartly with lace up flats and a mesh insert. Fellow London Fashion Week stunner Simone Rocha also took to the metallics trend, showcasing textured taffeta midi dresses in hues of copper, black and ivory.
(Image from https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0004/9184/7739/files/RM-SS19-LOOK35_1500x2400px -500Kb_720x.jpg?v=1537112700)
This intergalactic journey would not be complete without taking a stop at the edgy Balmain SS19 show. Models fitted with metallic over-the-knee boots, sculpted silver belts and sexy casted bodices married with asymmetric, reconstructed denim brought a fiery fierceness to the Parisian catwalk. Olivier Rousteing’s contemporary couture silhouettes were styled to perfection with sleek handbags and chunky metal bangles so divine that Cara Delevingne returned to runway, opening the show in a chrome crop top paired with heavenly white trousers and a matching long line jacket, with shoulder pads fit for an 80s queen.
(Image from https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/g23511537/every-look-from-balmain-springsum mer-2019/?slide=28)
In the accessories sector of our space travel, Milan Fashion Week produced stunning shoes that were out of this world. Attico’s Spring 2019 collection was nothing short of spectacular. Golden cowboy boots, accented stilettos, and metallic platforms round out just a few of our favorite glossy styles from the Italian line. And we couldn’t possibly forget about Chanel’s chic metal chain belts at Paris Fashion Week, contrasted by girly drop earrings spelling out the brand’s notorious name.
(Image from https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2019-ready-to-wear/attico/slideshow/collection#9)
Looking to style this trend, but don’t know where to begin? Don’t fret or fear – talkingfashion is here with some street style inspo to kickstart your voyage into the metallics universe. If you’d like to start small, the easiest way to dive into a new trend is with jewelry and accessories. Try out some layered silver necklaces, or belts with metal hardware to test the waters. If you’re looking to make a bit more of a splash, highlight a basic outfit with a pair of metallic booties or an eye catching clutch.
(Image from https://talkingfashion.net/products/copy-of-link-chain-golden-metal-belt-vintage-accessories)
And this concludes our expedition from Earth to the cosmos of one of fashion’s most gleaming trends. Looking to add a bit of shine to your everyday look? Check out talkingfashion.net to browse our sleekest vintage favs!
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Designer Spotlight: Sugar Gay Isber
Designer Spotlight: Sugar Gay Isber
By Paige McKirahan
This week, we have decided to spotlight a designer that is not only prominent in our collections, but prominent in jewelry lover's collections over the globe. Gay Isber, affectionately nicknamed Sugar, is a Canadian jewelry designer based out of Austin, Texas. As a seventh generation Texan, she planted her roots in the south with Gay Isber Designs, her namesake jewelry and product design company. As the creative force propelling the business forward, she has been crafting jewelry for over 15 years; she has been featured in national and international media, and has created pieces for everyone from royals to rock stars. She has even been dubbed “a guru of the fashion and jewelry industry” in her home state, which eventually pushed her to receive the Designer of the Year award in 2016. Now that we know of her great successes, let’s learn more about her inspiration, background, and her beautiful creations!
(photo credits to shoplc.com)
Sugar is a self-proclaimed jewelry lover who advocates for conversational pieces that are enjoyed more with every wear. As a creator, she is uninterested in what other designers are producing and focuses more about how her materials inspire her or how she can continue advancing her skills; she feels that she is truly only as good as her last piece.
Gay began her amazing journey by starting off as a painter after graduating with a Master’s Degree in Humanities and Visual Arts. She wanted her paintings to be show stopping, and concluded she would stop art show traffic by creating a bracelet that emulated her artwork’s colorful aesthetic. By the show’s conclusion, she realized that most of the patrons were more interested in her bracelet than her paintings, prompting her to make the transition from art to jewelry. Despite this, she has continued painting as a hobby and many of her jewels look similar to her art.
As a full-time creator, Sugar says that she dreams about jewels and has worked with so many amazing people that make the effort worthwhile. Aside from designing pieces for Michelle Obama, Camilla and Prince Charles, Lady Gaga and Martha Stewart (to name a few), she has also created a line for Harley Davidson and have participated in fundraising events for the company benefiting breast cancer. She participates in a vast amount of charity fundraisers and sells her jewelry at those events, through The Shopping Channel, through her mailing list, and independent retailers. In addition to her career as a designer, she also has been teaching at Austin Community College since 2012 where she offers private or group classes.
Whether it be a custom piece or a simple design, Sugar’s jewelry is eye-catching and commonly features bright colors, beautiful gems, bead work or metallic accents. Looking for some Sugar of your own? We have enough to fill a candy store! Head over to our collection to find some great Gay Isber pieces that are sure to sweeten up this holiday season!
(All biographical information taken from gayisber.com)
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A Passion for Jewelry
I don't know about you, but to me jewelry means joy. My dear grandmother planted this seed in my head when I was a little kid. I was always intrigued by the most wonderful hidden treasure box in her closet; it was a French old metal box with red velvet linen full of sparkling and beautiful unique pieces in each of its little compartments. Playing with her jewelry box was mesmerizing. There were rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, watches and a multitude of other bejeweled accessories. Due to our French heritage, we always referred to it as Bijoux. Real or costume, all jewelry was love at first sight and it grew into a passion for life.
Later during my young adult years, I got to do a lot of traveling around the world and I had the pleasure of experiencing some truly amazing places. I always wanted to carry that magical, unique beauty of each culture back home with me. How could I possibly do that? The answer was simple: through jewelry. Every piece tells of history and has its own special story, like a piece of art. There is nothing better than jewels to show what the culture is about; it has the power to transport me to the place it was created without leaving my own home.
Besides the power of bringing so much cultural information with each design, its personal, its timeless and it will always fit! Everyone can wear bijoux over and over, endlessly. Knowing that even my favorite bold styles easily fit in any suitcase size was just the icing on the cake. That being said, it is easy to assume I built quite the large private collection.
For the past couple of decades, I have had the chance to dive in and learn more about the history of these incredible accessories. I admire and treasure jewelry of all styles. Interested on learning some more about these magnificent accessories? Here you can read some other blog posts we published on: Rings, Bracelets, Necklaces, Earrings and Brooches.Want to see our current collection that has grown from a couple hundred pieces to thousands of unique pieces of art? Check out and buy your new bijoux loves here!
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The Met Museum Presents Jewelry: The Body Transformed
The Met Museum Presents Jewelry: The Body Transformed
By Paige McKirahan
In the wake of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s most successful fashion related exhibit since its conception (talking about you, Heavenly Bodies Exhibit!), we here at TalkingFashion we have been excited to see what was next for the art-filled attraction based in New York City. Lucky for us, the topic for their new display covers none other than jewelry throughout time; museum patrons will be able to view over 200 pieces from dated 2600 B.C. to the present. The exhibit, which is titled “Jewelry: The Body Transformed”, opened on November 12th and will have a 15-week run in the iconic museum.
If you are lucky to see the exhibition, you will be faced with an exploration of how “jewelry acts upon and activates the body it adorns” from a historical perspective. The pieces are chiefly taken from the Met collection and many portions of the exhibit pair the jewelry with sculptures, prints, and photographs in order to enhance their story. Jewelry from around the world will be organized into galleries by the part of the body they embellish starting from the top of one’s head and hair; to the nose, lips and ears; neck and chest; and lastly waist, ankles, and feet.
After the exhibition is separated by body part, the remaining galleries are arranged thematically. The Divine Body is focused on early conceptions of jewelry and its previous link to immortality. The Regal Body will look at the use of jewelry as a status symbol. The Transcendent Body moves away from a rank-based evaluation and looks to jewelry’s historical link to the spirit world, where it was said to conjure spirits, appease gods and conjure ancestors. The Alluring Body gallery will celebrate how jewelry evokes romance and desire and the final portion, The Resplendent Body, will focus of elegant pieces designed for luxury settings. To see other magnificent pieces currently on display, head over the The Met's exhibition page. If you are looking to do more than just appreciate historical jewelry, head over to our collection and purchase a piece beautiful enough to be in a museum!
(all image credits to metmuseum.org)
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Jewelry Explosion from the Arts & Crafts Movement
Jewelry Explosion from the Arts & Crafts Movement by Morgan Watkins
There’s something about some good old fashion DIY-ing that can give you an overwhelming sense of pride and satisfaction. Getting down and dirty and creating things with your own two bare hands is a process that has fallen to the wayside as big name manufacturers have taken over that role for pretty much the entire world. But with the Arts & Crafts Movement came a surge of do-it-yourself individuals who wanted to take matters, and jewelry making, into their own hands. Want to learn more about this movement and its impact on the jewelry world? Keep on reading!
Starting in the later half of the 19th century, the Arts & Crafts Movement looked to bring back individuality and artistry. This era was comprised of people who saw the newly booming mechanical and industrial revolutions as a means of stripping away creativity and passion from the working class. Guildsman C.R. Ashbee took matters into his own hands and trained his fellow guildsmen on how to create their own handcrafted jewelry. The guild systems in general greatly rejected traditional jewelers and manufacturers, as did those who handmade materials for a living and lost their positions to machine driven factories. In general, the widely believed ideal was that goods should come from the hands of hard working peoples, notfrom cold and cruel factories with horrid working conditions. As jewelry making left factories and entered the household, married couples began making their own unique pieces together. Thanks to this change in dynamics, women were finally able to enter the jewelry industry, where they flourished and thrived. They were successful in designing, enameling and handcrafting arts & crafts jewelry, and often attended crafting and jewelry making classes in their leisure in order to improve on their skills.
(image from http://www.faycullen.com/blog/arts-crafts-movement/)While the value of jewelry is often gauged by the quality of materials used, like
gold and platinum, arts & crafts jewelry was regarded more for its unique, one-of-a-kind nature. Characteristically, accessories were assembled with cheaper, less frivolous goods like aluminum, copper, glass, freshwater pearls, and hand painted enamel. Stones, including moonstone, opal, turquoise, and amethyst, also graced arts & craft designs, complimenting the often dainty and delicate silhouettes popular during this time. Gold and precious stones, although rare, were used sparingly to accent more high end arts & craft jewelry pieces.
(Image from https://talkingfashion.net/collections/art-nouveau-and-victorian/products/victorian-antiqu e-art-nouveau-black-brown-confetti-wide-link-vintage-bracelet)
Necklaces, pendants, clasps and buckles were most commonly produced during the age of arts & craft jewelry. Stylistically, designs were quite dainty and elegant, but influence from all over the world trickled into the realm of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Japanese art translated onto tapestries, which featured floral designs and animal outlines which later appeared carved into metal jewelry. The Art Nouveau Era also had an impact on arts & crafts jewelry, which explains the interesting and greatly detailed silhouettes that were born from the late 1800s. Influence from Germany, Britain and even the Renaissance and Gothic periods also emerged during the heyday of handcrafted accessories, adding elements of glitz and glam to everyday pieces in an affordable way.
(Image from https://talkingfashion.net/collections/art-nouveau-and-victorian/products/copy-of-tbf-art-d eco-pearls-rhinestones-pin-brooch-vintage-jewelry)
Unfortunately, arts & crafts jewelry fell out of popularity around the 1920s and 1930s as it was overshadowed by the Art Deco Era. The designs were, then, deemed too fragile for everyday wear, as newer pieces were sturdier and just as affordable. With that being said, arts & craft jewelry is still available all over the web. Regardless of arts & craft jewelry’s simmered popularity, it’s never too late to start handcrafting pieces of your own! But if you would rather leave the DIY-ing to the pro-crafters, sites like Etsy and Poshmark promote creative craftsmanship, where individuals run their own virtual DIY shops. Similarly, talkingfashion.net has a wide array of Art Nouveau and vintage styles to shop around for, including dazzling bracelets and stunning brooches. Be sure to take a look and embrace the fun styles from the Arts & Crafts Movement!
References:
“Arts & Crafts Era Jewelry.” Antique Jewelry University, https://www.langantiques.com/university/Arts_%26_Crafts_Era_Jewelry.
