mixing metals

My older sister is getting married in less than two weeks (eek!) and my little sister and I are her maids-of-honor. Unlike most brides, my sister didn't care what type of dress we were wearing, as long as it was cornflower blue and modest. This was extremely lucky, because it means I got to pick out our dress, and not get stuck wearing some hideous dress straight out of 27 Dresses. She has been even more lax about shoes and accessories, and let each girl in her bridal party pick her own. I fell in love with Christian Louboutin's, but not being able to afford the $1,750 price tag, I made my own (post on these to come soon- promise it will be worth the wait!)

Shoes were easily taken care of, but the accessories are giving me some trouble. I bought a two strand crystal belt off of eBay ($10) but I am not sure about jewelry. Between my belt and shoes, I am wearing over 2,000 crystals, and I do not want to be Pippa Middleton and take away from my sister's special day (I would, however, LOVE to be Pippa on any other day). My mother suggested letting me borrow her diamond and gold pendant, which I immediately vetoed because I can't mix silver and gold, it just wouldn't look right.

But then I started thinking about it. Is it ok to mix metals? Every designer has at least one item in their line that has gold and silver mixed, and they are gorgeous. But is it acceptable to wear gold jewelry with silver shoes? Or a silver necklace with gold earrings? I guess it depends on your personal style, I definitely wouldn't do it. But that doesn't mean I won't be picking up some new mixed metal pieces....as soon as I get paid.

mixed metals by dj47dj featuring pave jewelry

Friday Favorites

I decided to use this blog as an excuse to buy at least one new thing every week- so that I can write a Friday Favorite!
My favorite thing this week is my peacock necklace from dELiA*S . Unfortunately, it isn't available online (yet?) but since I work there, I was luckily able to snag the last one!

Lately I have been drawn to animal jewelry. I fell hard for an octopus ring from a little boutique in Collingswood, but every time I went to buy it, the store was closed. After the 4th time, I was about to give up, but we went one last time and the store was open. But the ring was not as cute as I remembered: it was huge and kind of cheap looking. That is something hard to avoid when shopping for animal jewelry. A lot of it looks trashy and even gaudy, but there are some places that carry cute items:
Forever21 has a peacock brooch , an owl ring (for only $2.80!), a rose tusk pendant , and tons more.
Buckle has a rhinestone turtle ring, an elephant ring, and a lion ring.
Francesca's Collection has a lovely peacock bangle , a sunbathing elephant, and wide eyed owl earrings.
Slightly more expensive, but still absolutely adorable is Nordstrom- crab studs, rainbow fish ring, and a peacock necklace to rival my precious purchase.

Every website I visited had multiple peacock items, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings in a wide variety of metals and colors, and tons of owl options- both of which are big for back to school and the fall. You can buy a bunch of different pieces or invest in a single high quality item, but you're definitely going to want to get on board with this fun trend.