The Great American Apparel Diet » rings

Another New Favorite Thing

Amy — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:15:21 +0000

Leakey Jewerly Strands

Hi all, sharing another new favorite eco-fabulous discovery (that’s a legal TGAAD purchase): the Leakey Jewelry Collection, created by Phillip and Katy Leakey, the youngest son, and his wife, of Drs. Louis and Mary Leakey.

Who were Drs. Louis and Mary Leakey? Glad you asked! Louis and Mary Leakey are famous paleo-anthropologists, perhaps best known for establishing the human evolutionary link in Africa, and their work at Olduvai. A young Jane Goodall (think chimps), a personal hero, got her start under the tutelage of Louis Leakey. Philip and Katy Leakey, who live in the Kenyan bush among the Maasai, wanted to provide work opportunities and help the environment while honoring the local culture.

Why I love the line:

1. The colorful strands are light-weight, beautiful and fun to wear (I like to pile them on and mix and match)

2. The ingenious beads are eco-friendly and made by Maasai women in Kenya using a special grass (read the much richer background here)

3. Harvesting the grass helps preserve wetlands (the Maasai are historically a herding culture, there was a drought and their cattle don’t like “old” hard bits of grass — who would? Previously, the grasslands were burned to make way for new sprouts, destroying wetlands in the process)

4. Making the beads provides income for Maasai women, funds local education and helps put and keep Maasai kids in school

5. Did I mention the beautiful designs?

How is this relevant to TGAAD? If you’re really, really tired of the same old same old (as I am) accessorize! and b) when the diet’s over, we can make a difference with the choices we make. Would love to hear about other eco-friendly and socially-conscious fashions. Please post your favorites here!

Sally, perhaps we can create a special page with sustainable fashion links?

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Recycled EcoGold

Kim — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:42:12 +0000

Made in US
“Crafted solely in recycled EcoGold and conflict-free stones, and donates a percentage of sales to Women for Women International.”

These bright gold pieces speak for themselves and will jump out at you. Maker Danielle’s attention to detail is apparent in the placing of every last stone. The jewelry isn’t garish and made for show, it is delicate and intentional. I loved her Constellations Collection, which offers new versions of the classic astrology necklace. The star patterns are also available on rings and earrings. It’s surprising that it was the first collection for this accomplished designer.

The Leo Constellations ring.

I would wait for an anniversary or Christmas to ask for these, with prices coming in at a minimum of $500.
Buy at the online shop found on the website.

http://ellapoe.com

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Learning to Accessorize

Elizabeth, Baltimore City — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:52:02 +0000

I’ve always been a bit of a minimalist. I never really took the time to coordinate accessories and I would rarely wear jewelry. The one thing that this diet has really taught me is the power of a good accessory. I have one cream colored cardigan to wear and ordinarily I would have run out and purchased several new cardigans to fill the void so that I wouldn’t be forced to wear the same vanilla sweater over and over again this Spring. That, however, would be a diet no-no. So…I purchased some really adorable accessories. I purchased several cute pins hand-made by Etsy Artisans to freshen up my wardrobe. A few even pull double duty as sweater pin or hair accessory depending on how I choose to wear it. I picked up a fun, casual pin, some bold and bright flowers, and a few more low-key, natural pins to give my sweater a little flair. I’ve also taken to wearing more of my jewelry that had been lazing about in my drawer, unloved and unappreciated. I’ve started wearing my hair in different ways so that I don’t feel as if I look like the same boring old me each day. In short, I haven’t added to my wardrobe by purchasing new clothes, but I have certainly introduced some new, fun and funky looks by working with a variety of accessories in different sizes, colors and textures…and it’s been fun.

Here are links to a few of the cute new pins that I’ve purchased and made myself that I’ve added to my collection of vintage, heirloom and gifted jewelry. I’ve included a few new headbands that I’ve purchsed as well because they really help me feel new and fresh.

Recycled Headband/Necklace

Recycled Necklace/Scarf

Petal Pin for Sweater/Hair

Owl Brooch

Lightweight Natural Pin

Colorful Hairbands

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Context is Everything

Sally Bjornsen — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:55:10 +0000

Last night I was out with a good friend I haven’t seen in a while—it’s a schedule issue really. My friend, she’s fabulous. She’s married, no kids, big corporate VP job with all the accolades, notoriety and wardrobe that go along with the job. She picked me up wearing a chic skirt, which later I learned she bought in London while on a four-city whirl wind business trip. She had on the latest laced knee high boots and a super snappy pancho that she could pull over her head when she felt a drop of rain.

Flash to me, older mom barely holding it together and deprived of a “new wardrobe.” For a living? Well, I manage to piece together a paycheck as I toggle from home to the office to school. I am not above taking conference calls from the bedroom closet, (lest my clients detect that I am home with kids and two rambunctious cats), or writing marketing plans in the doctor’s office or from the bleachers of a baseball game.

I greet my friend at the door wearing the same jeans I have been wearing for the last 5 days (and by the way they have gotten a little baggy from the wear which somehow makes me feel thin). Under last year’s black wrap-around sweater coat I wear a stained oatmeal colored crewneck sweater that has seen better days. On my feet I wear my favorite pair of black Dansko clogs because everything else just hurts. The good news is I have a fresh application of lipstick on . The bad news? it’s all the makeup I have on. Upstairs, before the doorbell rang, I gave myself a cursory glance in the floor length mirror that hangs behind the closet. I could have sworn I looked good, but once I see my friend on the doorstep it becomes painfully clear that I do not.

My friend smells good. She has her fancy rings on her fingers and the latest watch on her wrist. I notice her bling as I reach up to my ear and realize I forgot to put my earrings on all together. My friend says she had to “Escape from work.” In her words, “They will just have to move forward without me.” I long to be in such hot demand from someone taller than my shoulder. My friend told her people that she had a prior commitment and had to leave the office early. No corporate mukety muck would understand the point of going out with a girlfriend at 5:30pm on a Monday night. But my babysitter has a curfew and I have to be home by 10pm at the very latest. This is standard operating procedure for me and my mommy friends who are often buzzed by 7pm and in bed by 10pm.

When I am with my friend sans children and the big career I feel like The Great American Apparel Diet is stupid. Like I have set myself up for frumpsville. I feel like my career of juggling kids, a business and the occasional trip to the gym is just an excuse for a distracted and sometimes unattractive scattered existence. What I wear is a long way down the list of things I worry about these days, partially because I have taken up the new and brave effort to consciously consume or simply to not consume. Seeing my friend makes me want to go to Barneys and spend like Katie Holmes. I am moved to buy things that I know I will hate in a year, clothes that are conspicuously fashionable and expensive and well beyond my credit line. I want clothing that says “she’s a risk taker!” Clothes can do that you know.

My fashionable and important, high profile friend and I had a good time noshing on sushi and sipping saki. We skipped the movie in lieu of conversation and caramelized bananas. I eventually forgot what I was wearing and I stopped coveting my friend’s outfit. We discussed cancer, death and dying. We talked about her and her husband’s effort to adopt a child, about my ever changing career and the shifting sands of the advertising business.

After dinner my friend drove me home just in time to relieve Rachel the babysitter (before she morphed into a winter squash). We hugged in the car and promised to get together “sooner than later.”

Inside I chatted with Rachel and paid her in cash for watching my proidgy. As she loaded her backpack and put on her shoes she said, “Hey, I like your sweater, where’d you get it?” It made me laugh. “It’s from last year…Nordstrom,” I offered, knowing that she’d never find it this year and glad that someone was coveting my wardrobe.

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Crazy for Rings

Sally Bjornsen — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:47:34 +0000

I love big, bulbous, garish, oversized odd shaped rings. Rings are like glasses. You can wear all black but with a large excentric ring or a pair of Liz Claiborne white specs the entire outfit changes. It says something about the ring wearer–like neon pink underwear under a traditional suit. Last week while passing time on the stairmaster reading the latest O magazine I stumbled upon the new iconoic polka dot ring–a must have for the girl who wants to spice up her outfit without breaking the bank (each ring is $45 smackers).

Rebecca Kotch…these rings are for you! The company is called Murano Glass. The Designer is Hillary London. The next time you see me I will be sporting a new blue an green glass ring. You?

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