Wholesale Fashion Jewelry & Accessories Blog

SO…WHAT ELSE IS NEW?  Price was the overriding “buy factor” at the latest Fashion Industry Gallery in Dallas, as retailers came, saw, and bought…providing the price was right and the value was exceptional.  “We are trying to make a big push and come down in price a little and make it more accessible,”  said Lisa Benham Shinn, daughter of the owner of the upscale boutique, Balliet’s, in Oklahoma City.

Accessories played a big role at the Gallery, outshining almost all other merchandise.  Motorcycle and military jackets were very hot items, along with leather lariats and edgy statement belts.  Fur and leather trimmed knits were big.  Multichain necklaces gave an exceptionally trendy look to the jacket rage.  Very refined dresses were important, especially those with piping and tucking.

One Plano, Texas retailer was anything but optimistic.  Sounding a little like yesteryear, she said that she had to drop more expensive dresses in one of her stores because “the women’s husbands have cut their allowances.”  She pointed out that the Industry in her part of the woods wouldn’t see increases until real estate improves and the banks start lending again.

                                              Bright Colors

On the other hand, a number of retailers were quick to pick up good buys and trendy items.  One story that sold particularly well was hippie-chic.  Old keys were a jewelry favorite here, along with long jade necklaces in bright colors.  Turquoise sold well, too, along with coral.  A mammoth-tooth owl pendant encrusted with diamonds and hanging from a gold chain was another important item in the jewelry class.

TURQUOISE  IS UPTRENDING IN ALMOST ALL MARKET AREAS.  YOU CAN GET THE LOOK AT A FRACTION OF WHAT YOU’D EXPECT TO SPEND.  LOOK HERE:

• Chunky turquoise necklace set.  Chic!

• Dramatic turquoise necklace set.

                     SHOP TILL YOU DROP?  DON’T BE SILLY

DID YOU KNOW?  Oniomania, the clinical term for shopping disorder, comes from the Greek word Onios, meaning for sale, and mania, otherwise known as insanity.  For people with the disorder, the term fits.  Take fashion journalist Avis Cardella, who has recently written about her own compulsive shopping disorder in a book, “Spent,” due out later this month. 

“I used shopping to avoid myself,” she says. Cardella admits it took her a long time to accept the fact that she had a problem, despite the fact that she was piling up debt and spending enormous amounts on fashion she often didn’t even wear once.  Shopping addiction, she contends, comes from trying to fill voids.  In overcoming the addiction, she says, she had to deal with many hard issues, like her continuing grief over her mother’s death, and her need to always appear perfect in public. 

Cardella doesn’t blame the fashion industry for her Oniomania, and that’s an important point.  “It’s a matter of keeping it all in the right perspective,” she says.  You have to not let yourself get carried away with the false idea that that is reality. 

   –But most of us already know that.  It is just a magnificent obsession!

YOU CAN BUY…AND NOT GET ADDICTED!  HEY, THIS DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THE END OF THE WORLD.  IN FACT, IT CAN BE THE BEGINNING OF WONDERFUL THINGS, IF YOU KNOW HOW TO SHOP RIGHT.  HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THE BOOK:

• Dangling leaf earrings. Trendy!

• Exquisite freshwater pearl bracelet.

BIG, BOLD, BRAZEN AND BOISTEROUS:  this season’s new signature necklaces literally shout out their presence and force everything else in fashion to take a back-seat.  These wildly strong necklaces are growing in popularity, even as they give handbags hot competition for Number One placement on the accessories popularity list. . When you look at someone wearing one of these signature pieces, your eye is immediately pulled toward the jewelry. That is what you see!  What are we talking about specifically? Top level fashion jewelry, with all the excitement and beauty necklaces have to offer, in all of many different materials and designs.

But…before we get started on the marketable, let’s take a look at the runway jewelry, over-the-top, admittedly, but signature pieces that quickly explain what this new trend is all about.  Take, for example, the huge triple gold strand necklace from Phillip Lim, with its massive blue and red/black disks that bring attention to the entire bodice, neckline almost to waist.  Or, a Gucci necklace of antiqued, gold, black, and orange/brass coins on chain that drops down the center of the bodice in double strands. Or, a massive necklace filling in the space from the shoulders to the waist and flaunting big diamond-shaped silver slivers on a black dress from Emilio Pucci.

HOW ASSERTIVE CAN JEWELRY GET?  Take big, heavy, multiple silver chains rolled together and worn as a single, huge necklace statement, falling almost to the waist. Sounds wild?  Well, it’s on the runways! And Givenchy takes the idea a step further with a dramatic necklace assortment of chains…maybe 30 silver and gold chains connected into a single jewelry piece at the back of the neck, with lots of little silver charms (like crosses, circles and hearts) hanging off. Whew!  It is exhausting just looking at this concoction, much less contemplating the weight of wearing it! 

But…this is the style, extreme as it may be, and fashionistas bent on taking ideas to the limit will want the look. For such, there is still more.  Prada, for example, presents a very big, very black, very incomprehensible, geometric “U” shaped sculpture hanging off a heavy black chain.  It takes up the entire bodice of a suit or blouse. Crazy?  You bet!

But most signature necklaces are very attractive and not at all so extreme.  Some factors to think about for signature necklaces:

• COLOR:  It can make the jewelry piece, giving it styling pizzazz. Glass is just one of many different materials that offer wonderful color: green, blue, crimson.  Think about Murano glass for a really classy, upscale effect. Black, of course, always gets major emphasis in jewelry, especially this season when black is so popular. Jet black faceted glass beads give a very intense look, especially in large signature pieces.

• TRIBAL IMAGES: Africana impressions are especially fitting to the signature necklace look, since tribal pieces are almost always bold.  These effects can be total, as in a tribal necklace that is almost totally taken from the Dark Continent.  Or, they can be partial; i.e., using some African designs along with more Western-oriented styles.  Like slivers of silver hanging down from a silver choker.  Or big handmade-looking natural beads in simulated or real wood.  

• PENDANTS:  Many signature necklaces use pendants as part of their overall design.  Often, the pendants as big and artsy, with animal print designs, abstract line, or special materials, such as mother-of-pearl.  Handmade-looking pendants are important here, as are one-of-kind looking pieces.  The more unique or different the piece, the more likely it will sell big!

• MEDIEVAL SIGNS: Europe circa 1400.  That’s the hot idea.  After all, just think about those ecclesiastical necklaces worn by the clergy way back then. A take-off on these ideas, complete with gemstone embellishments, real or faux, is perfect for the trendy 2008/9 style. Practically any large interpretation of rosary beads, Christian or Asian, fits the bill, too. 

LASTING POWER:  The latest runway shows gave physical assurance that the signature necklace trend is not about to go away soon.  Louis Vuitton, for example, put forth a big silver artsy necklace with a circular pendant hanging down from thin sheets of ribbed silver. A particularly wild and yet fun signature necklace from Dries Van Noten was done in multi-bright-colored bakelite rings.  It looked like 20 or more bracelets strung together and worn hanging down under a black fox neck ring.

Balenciaga dropped a peacock-like center pendant of black metal and dark blue stones off a large matched stone chain for real runway excitement.  And Salvatore Ferragamo worked with a carved chunk of dark stone hanging long on a thin metal chain. –Some of these pieces admittedly looked like they belong more in a museum than on a model’s neck.    

Even if you are inclined toward the more conservative or conventional, don’t dismiss signature necklaces out-of-hand.  They work well with the present glitzy movement, and often give it a new sense of class and even refinement with their art-form shapes and designs. And interestingly, the more you get used to things big and bigger, the more just-the-right-size these oversized pieces seem to be!

Fine jewelry has intrinsic value, but the attraction of fashion jewelry is art with breath-taking beauty.  Colors, shapes, textures, and materials provide new surprises with endless fresh interpretations.

One line that we distribute has its own signature look that impresses us.  Judging by the volume of wholesale jewelry that we ship in this line, it apparently impresses the retailers also.  As we move into summer with vacations, cruises, and the need for resort wear new arrivals in this classic look are worth reviewing. 

Crisp design, bold look, and wonderful use of colors characterize this jewelry line that began by producing everything in glass with a fresh twist.  The look is simplistic making a dramatic statement, but never ordinary.  The entire line is necklace sets and one innovation this season is wire strung necklaces with a weave that provides a vision of open space without the use of spacers.  The fashion jewelry has an American designer and overseas production. 

Another innovation in these necklace sets is the entry into Murano style glass jewelry this year.  Colors are marvelous with the same clean designs and bold statements. Pancake foil beads and striped tile beads add an eye-catching dimension that stands out.

Also this season adds gemstone creations with the same signature look.  Turquoise is the hot gemstone jewelry this season and enters into the designs replacing the glass showpieces.  A stylish touch of bold chain linking makes these necklace sets definitely 2008.  As with most other lines, turquoise stones are reconstituted, which provides the beauty of the stone at an affordable price.

As baby boomers grow older vacations do not always mean a trip to the beach.  Cruises, resorts, and international travel add a growing aspect to summer vacations.  These include formal dining and an evening of entertainment or dancing that calls for jewelry and accessories beyond the fun items for the beach.