Look At It My Way

How and where new fashions “get started” is not always an easy call, as some fashions (no surprises here) are generational. If you turned twenty 4 years ago you might have wanted jewelry fashioned in a skull motif. A ‘wannabe’ rapper of that same moment in time might have shelled out a lot of money for a ‘grill’, Now I’m not seeing much of either fashion; and I’ll bet that more than a few skulls and grills found their way into ‘cash for gold’ shops. As a more experienced jewelry buyer, you now may want to keep an eye out for more enduring fashions - even though it may sometimes be hard to sort out the ‘durable’ from the fad.

Internet video (OMG!) and super popular TV series may arouse your interest in a particular fashion; or if you’re a ‘senior citizen’ you may be inspired by television gem sales. Strangely enough, I’ve seen the latter generate a sudden demand for a particular gem in a matter of a few weeks. Do you begin to see a pattern here? Regardless of one’s age group, contemporary Americans tend to take their fashion cues from what they see on the internet and on television. For this reason I will be watching “trend setter central” (the show business awards) over the next few months. Of course, this takes us back to our original question, “How and where do fashions (in our case, jewelry fashions) get started.

A few years ago I went to a breakfast lecture in which a fashion analyst attempted to answer that question; and after analyzing the analyst's observations since then, I’ve come to consider them accurate. As with trends in clothing fashions, jewelry fashions very often have had their origins in the preceding autumn’s couture fash- ion shows. While most eyes are on the clothes themselves, some are always on jewelry worn by models for houses, such as Channel, that sell both clothing and jewelry. By way of illustration, let’s look at earrings.

Earrings are ‘basics’ so the notion of fashion significance may seem odd; but in late 2002 “chandelier” earrings appeared on several runway models. In size and motion they were a big enough fashion departure from what had previously been seen that those in the know watched closely to see if they appeared at the Grammy’s, the Golden Globes and on the “Red Carpet” at the Academy Awards. When they did, jewelry fashion leaders knew that the “look” had gained the sup- port of Hollywood’s “fashionistas”; so they had prototypes of their versions of them ready to show the jewelry trade at the end of May. Bold jewelry retailers picked up on them; but most jewelers held back to see if the fashion carried over into sales throughout the following autumn. It did, but whether chandeliers were a fad or a trend was something only time would reveal. At the following year’s Golden Globes, Grammies and on the “Red Carpet” they were still “in”; not only that, they were somewhat more “extravagant” in size and shape than they have been over the last year! Interesting; and in fact chandelier earrings have since become a trend and a basic part of most jewelry collections. This leaves open the question of whether or not it’s a durable fashion; but the evidence is that chandeliers, or at least larger drop earrings, will be with us for a bit longer. In jewelry the strength of a fashion always comes down to wearability; and this has an obvious aspect, versatility, and a somewhat less obvious aspect, acceptability.

If went to the Art Institute’s recent exhibit of ancient Greek, Roman and Byzan- tine art (I would have stayed longer; but after nearly five hours I was ‘burned out’), you'd have see that earrings have been a constant in fashion over the last two millennia and more. It’s attributable to their wearability. Unlike rings, they’re not dependent on a specific size and they’re much more ‘friendly’ to different clothing items than necklaces which can be ‘too short’ to wear with some clothes and ‘too long’ to wear with others. The style of particular earrings is a different question, however, since it brings us back to fashion; but this time not in clothing so much as in what society in general sees as ‘acceptable’. In general, this has meant that less extreme versions of stud earrings, hoops and modest drops are (unless ears go out of fashion) always going to be worn; while bigger versions of any of the basics will always be statements of self.  Back now to the chandelier. It’s popularity seems, in part, to stem from the longer hair styles favored by most contemporary women. Small earrings just aren’t seen; so the chandelier, as a result of both size and motion, offers wearability that will make them valued fashion accessories until women cut their hair - a lot.

Here at Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers we’re proud of the range of sizes, styles, materi- als and prices we have to offer in our earring collection. So check us out on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the perfect gift. We’re not an ordinary jeweler.

P.S. If you have diamonds or broken or unworn pieces of jewelry that you would like to sell, come in and we’ll help you establish their market value; and perhaps, we’ll make the best offer to buy them.