Accessorizing denim with my DIY necklace creation

 

A friend gave me this oversized Eileen Fisher denim dress-slash-tunic last month. I had admired hers and somehow she had an extra one and said, “I’ll give it to you.” Now that’s fantastic! I’d been looking for a chambray cotton shirt and this was even better than that. It’s 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton; machine wash and dry. Although it has a lot of volume (and POCKETS!!!), it’s very cool to wear.

Which is also fantastic because last week it was over 100 degrees in Sonoma.

 

 

When my friend, Mariam, wore it she draped a very long narrow scarf over one shoulder and kept it in place with outrageously fabulous brooches from her collection..

Here, you can see how she did it in this picture with her daughter.

 

 

Lacking both the long scarf and her gorgeous brooches, I had to come up with an original idea for accessorizing my blues.

 

Step 1: Go to my black/blue tray

I have leather trays for organizing my smaller accessory pieces. Each tray is devoted to one color family and labeled: black/blue, orange, white, gold, silver.

 

 

There in the black/blue tray were some old friends. I have two blue necklaces that are shiny and magical to me. I’m not sure what stones they are. I bought them nearly 20 years ago at Saks Fifth Avenue in Union Square from Gloria. (Bay Area people will remember Gloria. I interviewed her in my book Brenda Kinsel’s Fashion Makeover, pages 120-121. She’s a gem, a one-of-a-kind.)

I bought a strand of gray pearls from Gloria at around the same time. I used to wear the pearls separately (loved the colors in them!) but I’d wear the blue necklaces together sometimes.

Jewelry trends came and went but I always hung on to these pieces even though I wasn’t wearing them.

 

Step Two: Create a one-of-a-kind necklace out of three favorites

I knew one necklace would never be a big enough statement for my outfit so I started with my two blue necklaces. I loved the color with the blue dress and the sheen and the sparkle. But because the dress/tunic is so full, I needed more design weight at the neck.

 

 

I spotted my pearls and decided to add them to the mix but first I knotted them. By knotting it in the middle it lined up better with the other two necklaces. I did some adjusting until I got them to snuggle, just so. I didn’t want space between the pieces. I wanted it to look like a cluster.

 

I added lightweight but large blue earrings that move easily. Once again they are very old friends that haven’t seen any action in years.

I saw my friend and muse, Mariam, last week and I was wearing this outfit. She loved what I’d done. She said, “When you layer individual necklaces you’re really making your own jewelry.”

I loved that! So without having to take a jewelry class, I am proudly wearing my “own” designed jewelry.

 

If it’s good enough for Tuesday, it will work for Wednesday too

I was so happy with this jewelry combo with my blues that I wore it two days in a row!

 

 

I know there are some very creative folks out there. Do tell me how you’re designing your jewelry this month!

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