How to wear vintage jewelry
Lo these many moons ago, the absolutely adorable Chilihead e-mailed to ask about vintage jewelry. And I read her e-mail and thought, oooh good question, and then completely forgot about it.
Until today, that is, when I was putting on my watch (vintage) and a bracelet that my friend Leslie gave me (not vintage)and I though there's a post in this ...
Let's start with the tie.
I have to be honest with you -- I am not a fan of the men's-tie-as-women's-accessory look. I am also not a fan of men in skirts*, though; I think that there are some looks that are really gender-specific and should stay that way.
Ties are great on the gentlemen, but not so much on the ladies. And a tie made of any sort of jewelry is a little too costume party for me. Sorry, Chili. I'm afraid I have to go with "look like a dork" on this one.
Are we still friends?
Chili also wants to know what to do about vintage pieces that make her itch. While I am NOT A DOCTOR (consider that the legal disclaimer) my extensive Googling leads me to think that Chili's reaction is contact dermatitis, and that she is allergic to something in the jewelry, possible nickel, which is often used in costume jewelry.
She has two choices: she can wear her necklaces with tops that keep them from touching her skin (a turtleneck, for example, or a collared shirt with the necklace under the collar) or she can treat her neck with an OTC .5 percent hydrocortisone cream before and after she wears them. If she chooses this, I would recommend that she do three things:
1. Wear the necklaces a couple of times WITHOUT pretreating her skin, to test how bad the reaction is and when it starts. If she gets itchy as soon as she puts the necklace on, then she definitely wants to wear a layer between it and her skin; if the rash doesn't come on until the next day, she can wear the necklace and then treat with hyrdrocortisone as soon as she takes it off.
2. Skip a day (or days) between wearings, to keep her skin from being constantly irritated. Contact dermatitis can easily turn into a yeast infection if it's not controlled, according to Dr. Google. (Please consult a REAL DOCTOR if you have questions.)
3. Clean her necklaces after each wearing to get the hydrocortisone cream off them. Target and WalMart carry inexpensive jewelry cleaner; dunk the necklace in, let it sit for fifteen seconds, rinse in cool water and you're done. HOWEVER -- test a small section to be sure that the cleaner won't cause the necklace to peel or stain, and don't EVER leave vintage or costume jewelry in the cleaner longer than necessary. I will drop my rings or earrings or whatever in the cleaner, brush my teeth, and then take them out. That's usually enough time to melt all the lotion that gets caught in my ring setting but not enough time to do any damage.
One last thing about wearing vintage: often women hesitate to wear vintage pieces because they think they should save them for a special occasion. If you've got great vintage jewelry, wear it! Pair vintage pieces with tees and jeans or with your work wear; mix it with newer pieces. I have a nice little collection of vintage watches which I wear every day; today, I'm wearing a 1960-something white gold Bulova with a faux diamond stretchy bracelet. Make your vintage pieces part of your look; it adds polish and interest without looking trendy.
*While I disapprove of men in skirts, I think a man in a kilt is dead sexy. Go figure.
Until today, that is, when I was putting on my watch (vintage) and a bracelet that my friend Leslie gave me (not vintage)and I though there's a post in this ...
I love vintage jewelry. When my husband's grandmother died last summer, my MIL invited me to take a few pieces of her jewelry. I chose a brooch and matching earrings and a pearl tie (picture attached). I love the funkiness of the tie, but I have no idea what to wear it with! So my question is really a) will I look like a complete dork wearing it and b) if I won't look like a dork, what should I wear it with?
Finally, I have a number of vintage necklaces that I love. However, I don't wear them often because when I do my neck reacts with a very itchy rash. Is there anything I can treat the necklaces or my neck with to avoid the reaction?
Let's start with the tie.
I have to be honest with you -- I am not a fan of the men's-tie-as-women's-accessory look. I am also not a fan of men in skirts*, though; I think that there are some looks that are really gender-specific and should stay that way.
Ties are great on the gentlemen, but not so much on the ladies. And a tie made of any sort of jewelry is a little too costume party for me. Sorry, Chili. I'm afraid I have to go with "look like a dork" on this one.
Are we still friends?
Chili also wants to know what to do about vintage pieces that make her itch. While I am NOT A DOCTOR (consider that the legal disclaimer) my extensive Googling leads me to think that Chili's reaction is contact dermatitis, and that she is allergic to something in the jewelry, possible nickel, which is often used in costume jewelry.
She has two choices: she can wear her necklaces with tops that keep them from touching her skin (a turtleneck, for example, or a collared shirt with the necklace under the collar) or she can treat her neck with an OTC .5 percent hydrocortisone cream before and after she wears them. If she chooses this, I would recommend that she do three things:
1. Wear the necklaces a couple of times WITHOUT pretreating her skin, to test how bad the reaction is and when it starts. If she gets itchy as soon as she puts the necklace on, then she definitely wants to wear a layer between it and her skin; if the rash doesn't come on until the next day, she can wear the necklace and then treat with hyrdrocortisone as soon as she takes it off.
2. Skip a day (or days) between wearings, to keep her skin from being constantly irritated. Contact dermatitis can easily turn into a yeast infection if it's not controlled, according to Dr. Google. (Please consult a REAL DOCTOR if you have questions.)
3. Clean her necklaces after each wearing to get the hydrocortisone cream off them. Target and WalMart carry inexpensive jewelry cleaner; dunk the necklace in, let it sit for fifteen seconds, rinse in cool water and you're done. HOWEVER -- test a small section to be sure that the cleaner won't cause the necklace to peel or stain, and don't EVER leave vintage or costume jewelry in the cleaner longer than necessary. I will drop my rings or earrings or whatever in the cleaner, brush my teeth, and then take them out. That's usually enough time to melt all the lotion that gets caught in my ring setting but not enough time to do any damage.
One last thing about wearing vintage: often women hesitate to wear vintage pieces because they think they should save them for a special occasion. If you've got great vintage jewelry, wear it! Pair vintage pieces with tees and jeans or with your work wear; mix it with newer pieces. I have a nice little collection of vintage watches which I wear every day; today, I'm wearing a 1960-something white gold Bulova with a faux diamond stretchy bracelet. Make your vintage pieces part of your look; it adds polish and interest without looking trendy.
*While I disapprove of men in skirts, I think a man in a kilt is dead sexy. Go figure.
11 Comments:
Depending on how attached you are to your jewelry, you can also cover it in clear nail polish and that sometimes helps.
You can also take dated vintage jewelry, and find a jeweler to remake it into something more modern. We have a woman here in Chicago who does that: Rach B.
She took my Grandma's old earrings, cut off the posts, and mounted one each on a beautiful, large red jade, creating matching necklaces for me and my mom.
We are most definitely still friends. I knew you'd be straight with me! ;D Thanks for the info. You rock!
I have a friend who wears kilts.
I think the tie would be great as something you maybe stitched onto a bag you carry - not necessarily a purse, but if you have a tote specifically for say, your library books, I think the tie would look awesome stitched onto it (especially if it's a black tote)
I also have a jewelry question! What is your opinion of wearing matching earrings and necklace? I recently bought the "faceted coin cluster necklace" from Ann Taylor (on sale!) and they also offer matching earrings. I thought maybe I should buy the earrings because it's the sort of necklace that might be hard to find earrings to "go with."
Do you think it's just too matchy-matchy to wear things like this together? Is just the necklace alone enough? Or are there times when a set might be nice - like a real statement?
Thanks!
I just want to step in for a minute to say that tho I don't care much for the tie, it MIGHT be okay UNDER the open collar of a shirt, just hidden and falling under the placket.
The alternative is to put it in a shadow box with a black background and a vintage men's hanky.
Because it takes a very masculine man to pull off the kilt look. And there's just someting about Scots...
There is nothing, NOTHING sexier than a man in a kilt. It's the look that says "I am so manly that I can make a skirt look masculine. And check out my calves."
(fans self)
If the guys only knew, they'd never wear anything else.
Donna
My boyfriend wears a kilt, and it looks so damn great on him. He does wear skirts, for a fighting group he is in(I've never quite clarified why, other then it looks more 'right' than jeans?), but, somehow, he pulls it off really well. They are funky, printed skirts, so that may be why they don't look as wrong as it would if he were to wear something more 'girly.'
That a great piece of masculine jewelry..loved to see such exclusive design..i have a jewelry site too that may be of some interest ceck out at Diamond Jewelry
Nail polish really doesn't work that well on jewelry. Please try polyeurethane. You can find it at the hardware store as a spray or brush on. Be sure to clean the jewelry first, as it will now have an impenetrable clear plastic coating. For earrings, just change the hooks for sterling ones.
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