If you’re hoping for change to come on Valentine’s Day, it is time to start doing something different. This season, leave out the cliché floral accessories and re-invent your look with a new, big and chunky fashion statement.
This January, from Primavera Estate runways to Christopher Bailey’s personal studio, the big brand names have all punched out their Spring 2009 collections, showing a clear change from the old, tired and sad, and turning to an era of boldness.
While girls crave cheap and easy ways to obtain those “I’m-in” looks, some local places offers reasonable refuge from the brand names’ “I’m-out” prices:
The Accents Plus store on the intersection of Davis and Chicago follows a fashion-forward taste in its clothing and accessories, entertaining various audiences. Brook Stafford, the store manager, said the store tries to be unique in what it offers its clientele.
“Virginia [Escalante, the store's owner and buyer] buys things from many different lines, including some high-end designer lines, vintage lines and many costume jewelry lines. She looks for things unusual that people will not find in department stores,” Stafford said.
Angela Missoni re-interpreted the rough and undefined look of large chains, and made a surprise run by molding the blazing metal into a mysterious message from another planet. The bold combination of weird, alien geometric shapes seems to convey an existence of another world, a lost civilization — this spring is no longer a synonym for shallow and mundane. Missoni has instilled her meditation into mysteries.
“How am I ever going to wear that out?” Luckily, the otherworldly theme in Missoni is represented in many boutique charm necklaces with a lot less out-crying runway-ness.
A large, vintage, choker-length necklace with a chunky pendant, available for $110 at Accents Plus, seems to have predicted years ago the mysterious style encoded in these necklaces.
“It’s not fun. I have something like that already. What’s the novelty?” To bring this look to life, but not compromise the uniqueness, spread out your mysteriousness to all over yourself instead—an exotic, peacock feather hair band for instance.
For Marc Jacobs this season, a bangle going solo is worse than wearing nothing on your wrist. Bold bangles must be escorted by thin ones; the lustrous shine of enamels makes it impossible to ignore you. Pair a big bangle with two chic, thin and enameled ones and tell the world that after enduring a bleak, somber winter, your spring will be bold and strong.
Burberry’s Creative Director Christopher Bailey never fails to strike us with surprises, and this season is no exception. A large necklace actually made up of cerise rouge boxes complements a deep burgundy bangle — it reminds any girl of her secret, a crazy dream of a whole room full of beautiful eye shadows, blushes and powders.
The core of this Burberry design is a “constellation” of pendants so real-life as if non-pendant-like, like the train of cerise rouge compacts in this look. Recreate Bailey’s marvelous imagination by linking your “non-pendants” on a single cord. Feel free to branch out your possibilities a thousand miles and make a necklace out of anything, even belt buckles. Ask yourself: “Does it look like a pendant to me?” If yes, put it down; if no, put that on.
To start this look, a simple, black cord is the basis. Major online shopping sites like amazon.com offer cords like this. New possibilities inspired by Burberry: wind a funky belt around your neck and place the buckle in front of your chest. That makes a nouveau “chain of no-chain” that vows to catch people’s eyes.
Consuela Castiglioni blew a storm to her fashion label, Marni, with large chain with pigment blue and white seashell — in with the exaggeration, but out with the gaudiness. Elegant with strength, bold with subtlety — who would have thought it?
At Accents Plus, the Teresa Goodall necklaces — “Itasca,” “Earth” and “Green” featuring resin, glass and metal wash beads on ribbon and linen cord — just so happen to recreate Castiglioni’s seashell-mania in this spring’s accessories, all priced at around $100. The costume jewelry, with bronze, mauve and fuchsia beads and a dashing glass pendant brings, just the right sense of loveliness for $25.
Johnny Was’ Bohemian ethnic-print dresses are a strong reflection of Kenzo. Lovers of this master will gasp with joy: A grey-and-fuchsia printed rayon dress with embroidery collar, costing $198.40 at Accents Plus, bears a striking resemblance with the Japanese Parisian’s exotic style.
Also, boost your boldness with something you once thought useless. Got a large ring chain from ages ago that you hate now? Chain it to your favorite new purse like an Hermes scarf and experiment with the different ways you wind and link it — but don’t go with more than two chains on a same purse.