Make Room Challenge Two: Primping and Pampering with Jewellery

I am part of a team to promote and publicize Melissa Micheal's latest book, Make Room for What You Love: Your Essential Guide to Organizing and Simplifying . As part of that, we are participating in weekly challenges to set up our homes to help us move through life with ease and grace. (I love that!)

 Part of doing that, of course, is preparing the space to make yourself pretty and put together. The task last week was to organize our jewellery. About three years ago, I decided to keep my necklaces on a corkboard set into an old, unused picture frame. How I did that is here.

The necklace collection, 2013

That worked until this past January when I noticed the cork had come loose from the frame.

Rather than take the whole thing apart, I decluttered the necklaces I rarely wore (and I rarely wear necklaces, they just aren't practical for work) and inserted a band of cardboard along the top to hold the corkboard in and under the lip of the frame.

necklace collection, 2016

Unfortunately, the cardboard is not as attractive as it could be, but it gets the job done!

About the same time I made the necklace holder, I made an earring holder out of a frame and screening material. That did not fare as well. (Sort of like the first two times I tried to pierce my ears!)

It was just awkward to use.

Then, my daughter made this great ceramic dish and I wanted to find a use for it, so I started putting my earrings into it. It is now my official long dangly earring holder.

Studs go into the other, smaller ceramic dish.

It's incredibly easy to put on those finishing touches--and I quite enjoy seeing it all out there.

*This post contains affiliate links.*

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It's All Your Fault

I keep moving my head up and down, up and down, like a dashboard bobble toy.
I am walking very carefully down the stairs.
I am not to drive for a few days.
I am so thrilled, I don't have the words to tell you.
YES.
I picked up my new glasses today.
And it's all your fault.
Thank you.

Pile One: Analysis

The shape of my face is oval or oblong. Without a standard for each, I'm not sure which it is. According to this site which Wende referenced in the comments, I should be able to wear "any length" if I have an oval face, and if it is oblong, I should wear choker length necklaces because they reduce the perceived length of the face.

This site, tells me a choker length is 14 to 16" but that it is best I don't wear that length if I don't wish people to focus on "that part" of my body. Fortunately, I'm not so aged as that, yet.

Interestingly, I don't have anything in this length, nor in the shorter "collar" length (12-13" usually multi-strand) But it would be a good length for T-shirts wouldn't it? And collared shirts, with the collar open. I'd have to see. I know the 18" length I wear is a tad long for T-shirts. I do have an awful lot of 18" necklaces. Apparently this is the "princess" length and one's collar should be either higher or lower for this. (And on me, this is just about exactly where T-Shirt collars fall. That could explain why I don't wear them.)

The "matinee" length is 20" to 24." It's supposed to add elegance to work clothes and casual wear.

The rest of the necklaces fall into the "opera" length category, and as the name implies, they are for formal dress--at least that's what I infer from this:

Add elegance to your formal gown or blouse with an opera-length necklace. At 28 to 34 inches, it draws the eyes down to your chest and away from your neck. This is a good thing if your bosom is more attractive than your chin, but wear a good bra!

Speaking of which, (ahem), if one is well endowed, one should not wear necklaces longer than 22" (I think that's what it says). If one is full figured, one should wear "chunky" necklaces (and jewellery in general. I've heard this before). If your neck is thick, the folks at this site recommend staying away from shorter necklaces and opting for graduated, opera or rope (over 45" long) lengths.

This site also raises some interesting issues. If you don't want to draw attention to your bust line, wear necklaces either very short or very long. If you do want to draw attention, then a pendant or a knot right at the breastbone should do it.

Other questions they raise are so basic, I don't know why I've never thought of them before.

1) Do I want the necklace to contrast with my outfit and thus be a focal point or create a serene monochromatic look? Good question.

2) Do I want the focus on the jewellery or the clothes? (Colour is only one way to create contrast. One could contrast textures as well.)

3) Do I want it to sit on my skin or on the shirt? (I don't know. What's the effect of each?)

I decided to go Windows(tm) shopping to find a necklace for this turtleneck:


Using the model in the post below, I decided I wanted the necklace to fall between 24 and 30." This was not an easy length to find!

I like this one: it's pretty. Maybe it's a bit too delicate and fussy for a turtleneck. It is 48" long, so one can wrap it double.

As I looked at Google page after Google page, I realised I have a taste for hand crafted jewellery, as opposed to mass marketed or "rarefied" high priced "gem stone" pieces. I love beads and pendants. I love glass, crystal; sparkly things. And then I saw something from Etsy which led me to this:



It's from GlowNGlass. It measures 1"x2" on a 24" silver cord.
I think I'm in love. I can certainly make beautiful, one of a kind, artisan crafted jewelery a focal point with casual clothing when it's like this. And it's only $40.00. Thank gawd for Etsy.

ps. I've figured out that all those silver necklaces I own are "snake chains."

Variations On A Theme....Pile One

(image from this site, courtesy of Wende. (Thanks!)

Other than "dressing up" to go out, I don't wear anything beyond a watch, my wedding band and a cross on a small chain around my neck. If I had pierced ears, I'd probably have fun with earrings, but I don't and I have scar tissue in my ear lobes from two unsuccessful attempts, so wearing clip ons or screw backs is at most a three hour affair....

So, I've been through the jewellery, such as it is.
Pile 1: Necklaces.
18"
Black and white coral.
Wood, glass and metal beads on string
Two pearl strands: one small and yellowish, one large and white.
Fine, fine silver (tarnishing)
Fine gold with five tiny pearls set like beads
Fine "knotted" silver
1/8" wide silver. This is the "chunkiest" of the lot.
Silver Celtic cross around my neck on fine silver chain.

24"
Silver chain, less than 1/8" wide
Silver chain, about 1/8" wide

25"
5 strand multi coloured shiny tiny beads in blue, purple, chartreuse.

30"
Single strand pearls, neither white, nor yellow: they actually look like pearls!
Silver strand, about 1/8" wide.

34" or "Pendant"
hammered copper pendant on a thin leather strap
green soap stone (looks like a stylised comma) on a waxed string.
Silver Celtic cross on linked silver chain.

What's up with all the silver chains? Actually, they aren't really "chains." They aren't chain links: they are all sort of flatish--under a magnifying glass, you might say they are braided. I don't know the "correct" word. I have no idea why I have so many, more or less identical. Why all the pearls? I don't know that either. I probably read somewhere that a woman ought to have them...so I do.

Why is everything so fine?
Well, that I can answer. I'm scared of jewellery as it calls attention to oneself and says things to others about your style, your savvy and your pocketbook. Until WT I hadn't anything I really wanted to say to others about myself. Secondly, when I'm thin, as I mentioned, I am rather fine-boned. Delicate, simple jewellery seemed to say "me" without broadcasting it, kwim?

But I now have no idea whether it is a) suitable, b) what I want to "say." Actually, I do know the answer to the latter. It isn't. But I feel rather mute. I don't know how to say anything with necklaces. I've highlighted the ones which interest me in purple.

I've taken pics of all of them, but they'll be in the camera for a long time....

So, now what?

The Most Expensive Accessory I Will Always Own.

We did it.

Last week I saw an optometrist who diagnosed my current vision problem as the need for bi-focals. Bifocals! Let's officially join the old-fogey's club, shall we?

But encouraged by scb's advice that "seeing is good" The husband, the boy and I went frame shopping.

We chose these:
They are Burberry's in Gunmetal grey. They aren't exciting, they aren't a "statement." When it came right down to it I was nervous about putting something that looked "fashion-forward" and "fabulous" (with bling!) on my face that in ten years will look stupid, dated and silly. Of course, rectangular frames by then will scream "late oughts" just as my oval frames scream "mid to late nineties" now.
Oh well, I'm still excited. They should be ready in ten days.