Serious Statement Jewelry

"This all started when I was ambassador at the U.N. and Saddam Hussein called me a serpent," she says. "I had this wonderful antique snake pin. So when we were dealing with Iraq, I wore the snake pin."

Turns out you really CAN make a statement with jewelry! Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is making news with the revelation that the brooches she wore when working with foreign leaders and to meetings at the White House were carefully selected to convey her feelings and intents. Take a look at MADELEINE ALBRIGHT'S JEWELRY and listen to the NPR story about the book...excerpts included on the page as well. I'd love to see the whole collection....and I hear it includes a bit of vintage!

The Trend is Not Being Trendy is Trendy.

So says InStyle magazine. Via an appearance on the Today show, they have brazenly denounced trends as trends and now say the trend is to go against the trend (which, if you follow the logic they apply by showing several celebrities who "go against" the trend, the fashion industry is pushing this as a trend of its own....thereby making being non-trendy trendy!). In other words, you can't win for losing. Anything goes!

InStyle points to starlets like Tilda Swinton, who has long shunned being a victim of the latest fashion craze and opted for her own unique look. Poor Tilda. Now, no matter what she wears, the very effort to dress as an individual will be seen as trendy! No doubt this troubles dear Tilda...

Another fashion rule to be broken, with the approval of the fashion industry, is to wear sparkling "evening" jewelry during the day (raise your hands if you've been doing *that* for years....hello, jewelry box full of shimmering vintage rhinestone brooches!). Seems that rule was bucked long ago, no? Not according to InStyle! As of today, you may now wear your baubles all day long and not be trendy because the fashion world says everyone is doing it so it is, um, not trendy and not trendy is cool! I'm behind the concept of daytime shine, so while I find their logic unnerving, I'll share a fab sparkler I found on etsy and desire muchly from seller GLAMSTONES, appropriately named.....

(ps, red and pink is the new puce and maize).

Lastly, a trend which apparently (determined by the last 20 minutes of Googling) is *actually* a trend yet if you choose to follow that trend, InStyle says you are actually following the trend of not being trendy....chipped nail polish!

Clicking that pic will take you to an article on Huffington Post written in May, lamenting that chipped nails have become trendy. Somehow this jives not at all with InStyles decree today that because it isn't trendy to have chipped nails that by doing so you buck the trend...yet, quick research shows it is indeed trendy to look a mess. Shocking (thanks, Olsens).

I suggest taking that a step further and knocking out a front tooth! That'll show the fashion elite who's trendy by not being trendy because not being trendy is trendy!

~Ang

UPDATE! Its been pointed out to me by jewelry designer WENDY BRANDES on Twitter (blog at WENDYBRANDES) that the aforementioned segment did have a saving grace, using a jacket by up-and-coming NYC designer FRANCIS NEW YORK! Video, jacket at 2 minute-ey mark. Get the jacket at Bloomingdales while its hot! HERE

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Shop on! Ang

Life Without Earrings

Funny. Was obsessing over 80s earrings today. Remembering wearing them, seeing the triumphant yet slightly frightening return to the runway of long forgotten 80s trends like Hammer Pants, acid washed denim and massive shoulder pads....mulling and missing big, BIG 80s earrings. And so thought I'd take a look around at the 80s earrings on etsy. Meanwhile Twittering (follow me! ANGATDOROTHEAS), I caught a post by the lovely ELIZABETH TAYLOR that stated simply "Life without earrings is empty!". No doubt then life with earrings from the 80s is full to overflowing.

All available on etsy, pics are clicky. Go shop!

~Ang

America Wears Vintage

America Ferrera, that is! Just did a quick flip through images from last night's Emmy Awards show's red carpet fashions and right there, front and center on PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S best dressed list was Ms. Ferrera, wearing "(a) vintage black ruched dress, Fred Leighton antique diamonds and Rene Caovilla lace pumps." A gorgeous vintage dress, antique diamonds! Doesn't get any better!

~Ang

I'm Back!! Vacation= Over. Site News, etc....

Back from vacation! I'm not nearly as excited as that made me sound, but I do have a lot of new vintage to work with which is cool. Right before I left I aquired a large cache of vintage jewelry...mostly rhinestones, clear and coloured. I'm researching and building a page for the site but for now a few pieces are available on the front page! Watch for more from Weiss, Juliana, Kramer, Whiting & Davis, Florenza, Miriam Haskell and Hattie Carnegie.

This is one of my favorites, an Eisenberg Ice crystal clear rhinestone brooch and earrings (quite large in size, too!)

A Weiss attributed clamp bracelet with bright, big rhinestones and matching earrings....

Another clamp bracelet with aurora borealis stones...

Weiss deep blue rhinestone earrings...

Kramer lilac and lavender starburst rhinestone earrings...

Coming soon, 2 pairs of Juliana earrings....

I also spent some time with Bonnie, the head of the wardrobe department at the Spencer Community Theatre in Spencer, Iowa. I'd met her a couple years ago and bought some vintage they were purging out of their packed wardrobe storage area, and as it turns out she was looking to sell AND consign some pieces to make room and salvage some better, older pieces before something bad happened to them! I was happy to be able to help out.....here are a few things I've shot but arent quite ready to sell yet (tomorrow! I promise!)

Two fantastic European themed 40s ribbon knit, two piece dresses.....

A smashing, dramatic stenciled mohair 50s coat by LILLI ANN....

Watch for some amazing things from the jewelry buy AND the theatre to come over the next few weeks!

~Ang

I've Been Tagged! Color in Vintage....

I've been tagged by eVINTAGE SOCIETY member SYDNEY'S VINTAGE....play along with me!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Orange!! Love it. Bright monk's robe orange.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BRIGHTLY COLOURED PIECE IN YOUR INVENTORY?

Since I started the blog tag as the eVintage blogger, I'm answering with a fellow member's dress, ANDAPANDA, listed now on eBay (click piccie!)......a luscious orange lace wiggle cocktail dress.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO ADD COLOUR TO AN OUTFIT?
I like bright plastic, large size jewelry....modern or vintage!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOUR TO WEAR?
Pinks, greens and red.

WHAT COLOUR ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW?
Um, pjs.....so Miller High Life pj pants and a tank top. There is no matching when sleeping!

WHAT COLOURS DO YOU DECORATE WITH?
Copying my eVintage answer, too sleepy to get clever here....."Danish Modern teak brown and aqua for the living room, leopard print tones with salmon, aqua and white in the sunroom, 40s tropicals in greens and coral pinks in the dining room and the bedroom is Ikea-esque orange, red and pink. I love red and pink together!"

Done and done. I'm tagging fellow eVintage member Julie, of >DAMN GOOD VINTAGE! Go Julie!

~Ang