obsession : bracelets

I've always been a bracelet girl when it comes to jewelry.  I tend to regard my hair as an "accessory" - since it is curly, it kind of counts as a visual texture/element, or at least that's how my mind seems to work when I'm getting dressed in the morning.  I love earrings, but they get lost in my hair.  Necklaces blend in.  Bracelets I find absolutely fascinating.

Not only are wrists interesting and beautiful parts of the body, but once upon a time when modesty was more popular they were a slightly erotic zone, like ankles, peeking out of long hems of sleeves and skirts and showing a tiny bit of pale, untouched skin.

Since I got two new bracelets for Christmas, my obsession has grown.  Now I want every bracelet!  And I've noticed a lot of my recent inspiration from images I've pulled have been just that: outfit shots, zeroed in on bracelets.  So, I share.

Sources: various years-old folders and Tumblr

designer : alexis bittar

I received an Alexis Bittar bracelet for Christmas, the jewelry designer known for his exquisite brushed lucite pieces.  For those who are unfamiliar with his work, I thought I would post a little bit about him.

Bittar first became interested in jewelry when his parents gave him an antique piece as a gift.  After attending design school, he was asked to design a stainless steel and lucite furniture collection for the Cooper Hewitt Museum in 1996.  Thus began the lucite love affair, leading him to his contemporary line for which he is most known.  He has since then won the CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year award.  While he designs with metals and gems as well, his lucite pieces are my favorite.

My new bracelet above!

 

Fascinating, no?  The brushed lucite (which has an incredible texture like the fake ice inside the glacier/ice age section of a natural history museum) has a beautiful "fogged glass" effect.  When held up from the side, the lucite appears clear.  Yet at any angle, from the color painted on the inside of the bracelet, the lucite "glows" in that shade.  It is very intriguing.  I love the mix of soft lucite with hard metals and stones.

This is a designer I will be keeping my eye on.  His unique designs

obsession : lanyard jewelry

The friendship bracelet trend has brought back embroidery floss (traditional bracelet material) but also camping/hiking cord and ... plastic lanyard.  The result is a punchy, bright bracelet that feels modern.

 

DIY for a cool mix of leather and plastic (click image for instructions)

 More DIY (click image for instructions)

This blogger wears these in a color blocked look

I think I will be trying my hand at making one once I'm back in Cincinnati.  What an easy trend to do yourself!

obsession : bracelets piled on

Friendship bracelets have been getting more and more attention lately - but rather than looking crafty or too reminiscent of scout camping trips, they look modern, edgy and cool.  They add a pop of color and a hint of nostalgia intermixed with metal bracelets. 

 

  

Time to put on my LOFT bracelet my mom got me, mix it with the friendship bracelet my boyfriend made me, and rock the trend.