Is this really Vintage?

Art by Tascha

Back to writing after all that has transpired over Christmas and the New Year. It is all about starting afresh whilst continuing on the same lines as yester...year! Still, the extended meetings with family and friends went well and contributed to feeling refreshed and ready to start over, especially after sleeping for 10+ hours solid. My goodness!!

Quite often I receive questions from Fairyfiligree readers and today I am going to start by answering one such question....

Jessica Williams wrote to me saying....

"I started being interested in vintage jewellery after my friend gave me an authentic 1960s pendant for my birthday last October..... the pendant is made of enamel and is really beautiful .... since I love pendants, I have decided to start collecting older rather than newer ones. But I have a problem - I have already bought something from ebay and the seller promised it was a 1970s pendant. When it arrived I found it was quite stylish but when I showed it to my friend, she said it was not 1970s but probably made later on. How can I know if a jewellery item is really vintage?"

Well Jessica, this calls for a detailed post and I will try my best to answer your question.

Learning how to recognise true vintage is not something which happens overnight. If you are in your 20s, you probably recognise something that was fashionable five, 10 or 15 years ago because you grew up seeing it regularly. You remember the colours, the designs, the styles, and can refer back to your own memory for reference.

However you will probably feel lost when you need to recognise earlier jewellery simply because you weren't around when this was in vogue. The older you become, the more you can appreciate, however, in the meantime, you can educate yourself in many ways.

- Books are a treasure trove where vintage jewellery is concerned. One of the first books I have for my own reference is Judith Millers's  'Costume Jewellery'. The book is especially detailed where illustrations are involved. The images are so very clear and sharp and this, coupled by the information about individual jewellery designers is a great benefit. You will become acquainted with the more popular names, the quirkier designers and distinguish what you like most. You refer to 60s and 70s jewellery so you seem concentrated on these periods. You will enjoy reading about the Flower Power era and all that surrounded it. Don't go away thinking that you should only get books about this period in time. Whilst these are extremely useful, having different periods of jewellery to compare with will help you recognise the differences between the jewellery and the epochs it was born in. 

- Websites are also full of information and images. Be sure to click only on websites that are evidently professional so that you benefit from the best sources of information.

- Ebay is a great source of inspiration for jewellery collectors. Seek to find some established vintage jewellery sellers, especially the ones which add lots of pictures and information to each of their listed items. You learn a lot that way - brand names, style names, periods..... it can be great fun. It does take up a lot of time, but researching properly is a great help. Be sure to skip those items which are listed as 'vintage style' or '60s style' which may mean they are not authentic vintage but just styled to seem like something out of the 60s.

- Fashion sites are also of great help and if you concentrate on the 60s and 70s fashion you will understand just why pendants were so popular, why they fitted so well with the fashions of the time. You will come to recognise the designs synonymous with particular periods.

- Visit specialised vintage jewellery shops which can allow you to touch, observe and ask questions. Ultimately you can only learn to appreciate things by handling them. On the other hand, if you wish to consult on any jewellery item about which you are unsure, simply send me a picture & I will try my best to help you.

Good luck in your hunt!

Before ending off this post, I must remind you that amintaonline is still offering Fairyfiligree readers and followers a discount on shoe purchases. Click on the notice on the sidebar or read this post for more details. You have until January 15 to enjoy the discount.

And... thanks to Tascha whose art is the first to grace FairyFiligree in 2012.

How much is too much? - Part 2

In  my previous post I introduced Lynn Dell. 
Somebody asked me her age and I told them... she's a glorious 75+ and enjoying it.

She came to my blog curious to see what I wrote about Josephine Baker as she  had eaten at her restaurant as well as visited a museum in Mexico which is dedicated to Josephine Baker.

But off we went at a tangent, so we steered our long-distance conversation back to the topic at hand -

Jewellery - how much is too much?

Lynn Dell says,

"I consider myself an artist more than anything else. When I put together my experience in my shop Off Broadway Boutique which I've had for 42 years now here in Manhattan, apart from the six stores I've had along the way, I have learnt that the way things sell most is to put more of the same together in the window.

So if I'm focusing on brown, I will include lots of different shades of brown jewllery together. It is all about making a statement.
My advice tips are these:

- If your clothes are simple with beautiful lines, they are the perfect background. You can go ahead and add the sparkle with your jewellery.

- Choose a theme; balance colour and texture.

- Forget the busy background - the simpler the background created with your clothes, the better to show your jewellery.

- Nothing is 'wrong'. You are allowed to make a statment but....

- Some people cannot wear big jewellery yet...

- Too much can be wonderful.

-I break all the rules myself but ultimately...
 I don't believe in fashion... I believe in style.

- Fashion says ME TOO; Style says ONLY ME!

- As you grow older everything should go up to fight gravity and this includes earrings. 90% of the earrings I sell at my shop are clip-back earrings - so that's a hint for the older ladies.

-Dress for the theatre of your life."

Off Broadway Boutique also has a back-of-store collection of designer and vintage wear which you'd like to visit when you're in NY City. And if you're after fantastic jewellery - you'll see the biggest collection of jewellery in any one store in the whole of NY City at Lynn Dell's shop.

Unique 1950s gold-plated brooch with pearls, rubies & emeralds.

Charming Charm Bracelets

If you follow fashion assiduously you will know that the charm bracelet has come back in vogue and making a great noise about it too. The younger jewellery afficionados will unfailingly believe that charm bracelets are an invention of our times. Truth is that they started off in a most inconspicuous manner way back in the days of Victoriana. Back then it was the chain off a gentleman's fob watch which gave vent to the idea of dangling any unlikely object onto it and showing it off for posterity. Then came the locket on a chain, and Victorian belles could keep a lock off their beaux's head whilst he went traipsing off across continents with flag and bayonet whilst beseeching God to keep saving the Queen.

It was a fashion born in the simplest of manners until it landed in the land of plenty and took America by storm, reaching those far flung shores just in time to see the emergence of the Hollywood babes. These wore the charm bracelet as a fashion statement only until they discovered they could make a personal statement of it as well. Legend has it that one famous film star had a charm added onto her gold chain bracelet for each new boyfriend she had in tow and apparently ended with a too-heavy-to-wear bracelet after all her troubles.


Then the charm bracelet turned Lucky' and a fad started off whereby each college girl had to have her very own. The single or double strand chain would have a new charm added on for each new occasion worth a mention or remembrance. Then came the themed bracelets holding uniquely charms associated with the wearer's favourite pastimes, whether it was a collection of cats, holiday souvenirs, lovehearts, flowers, or musical instruments.

But why do vintage charm bracelets fetch such high prices? There is a marked difference between the vintage costume jewel and the fine jewel, between the sterling and gold. A lot depends on the bracelet's charm characters and weight. A bracelet holding three charms will be less likely to attract a collector's attention than one holding 40. Then again, some bracelets are virtual leaps into a girl's life, literally documenting a period in her existence which is unique to her and her only.

There is a special feeling to handling a bracelet keeping a charm marked 1967, a flag showing Texas, a remembrance for a first anniversary, an 18th birthday charm, a locket with a piece of hair/cloth/miniature picture, a dollar charm from a win at Vegas, an I Luv You' charm.. The all added one at a time, over weeks, months and probably years. The bracelet was once the diary keepsake of one special and unique lady. The reasons behind her parting with it may be many and varied - the more reasons to cherish it with care for the heirloom that it most certainly is.