Paris Haute Couture Shows Bring the Bling

 

The Fall/Winter 2011 Paris Haute Couture shows just wrapped in the city of lights, and - as we all know - where there is Haute Couture? There is bling. And wacky hats.

Here are some of my favorite looks from the event - most from Dior (sans their brilliant wretch, John Galliano) and Armani Prive (house of Oscar, royal weddings and all things Gaga).

Dior

Leprechan's Rejoice! We've got a rainbow of oversized statement necklaces and cocktail rings to gawk at this go round!

Armani Prive

Dior

Dior

I also spotted a return of the gold leaf silhouette at the stunning Giambattista Valli show.

Giambattista Valli

Giambattista Valli

Giambattista Valli

(P.S. Guess who else is into gold leaf looks these days????)

And no Haute Couture Show would be complete without the chapeau showdown, right?

So there you have it, bling hounds. Colorful, oversized gems, yellow gold, leaf silhouettes and 'hold-on-to your-hair-follicles' headwear are the take-away trends from Paris.


Want the look? I'm thinkin' Jewelry.com's "Bijoux de Chloe" designer collection is the perfect expression of that sentiment - at prices that are frugalista fabulous! Here's a few of their high-fashion looks for less, jewelry hounds. You like?

Paris Haute Couture Shows Bring the Bling

 

The Fall/Winter 2011 Paris Haute Couture shows just wrapped in the city of lights, and - as we all know - where there is Haute Couture? There is bling. And wacky hats.

Here are some of my favorite looks from the event - most from Dior (sans their brilliant wretch, John Galliano) and Armani Prive (house of Oscar, royal weddings and all things Gaga).

Dior

Leprechan's Rejoice! We've got a rainbow of oversized statement necklaces and cocktail rings to gawk at this go round!

Armani Prive

Dior

Dior

I also spotted a return of the gold leaf silhouette at the stunning Giambattista Valli show.

Giambattista Valli

Giambattista Valli

Giambattista Valli

(P.S. Guess who else is into gold leaf looks these days????)

And no Haute Couture Show would be complete without the chapeau showdown, right?

So there you have it, bling hounds. Colorful, oversized gems, yellow gold, leaf silhouettes and 'hold-on-to your-hair-follicles' headwear are the take-away trends from Paris.


Want the look? I'm thinkin' Jewelry.com's "Bijoux de Chloe" designer collection is the perfect expression of that sentiment - at prices that are frugalista fabulous! Here's a few of their high-fashion looks for less, jewelry hounds. You like?

Mona Lisa's Mega-Gem Makeover

What do you do with a 30-year collection of precious gemstones? If you're an anonymous Chinese collector with an affinity for Da Vinci, you create a 100,000-carat replica of the Mona Lisa and put it on display in a local shopping mall.

And you thought The Real Housewives had too much leisure time?

The carat-heavy creation is thought to be the most expensive replica of the masterwork and perhaps the most expensive artwork ever made - taking five years to complete.

While many strange materials have been utilized in the past as the basis for Mona Lisa duplicates - including coffee cups, pieces of toast, motherboard components and even burger grease - jewels and gems are apparently a first.

So what's the price tag for macked-out Mona? The secretive designer won't reveal the final number - which is sure to be hefty one if it goes on the auction block later this year.

In the meantime, mall rats can marvel at Mona in between stops at the Shenyang shopping center food court and accessory splurges at Claire's.

Mona Lisa's Mega-Gem Makeover

What do you do with a 30-year collection of precious gemstones? If you're an anonymous Chinese collector with an affinity for Da Vinci, you create a 100,000-carat replica of the Mona Lisa and put it on display in a local shopping mall.

And you thought The Real Housewives had too much leisure time?

The carat-heavy creation is thought to be the most expensive replica of the masterwork and perhaps the most expensive artwork ever made - taking five years to complete.

While many strange materials have been utilized in the past as the basis for Mona Lisa duplicates - including coffee cups, pieces of toast, motherboard components and even burger grease - jewels and gems are apparently a first.

So what's the price tag for macked-out Mona? The secretive designer won't reveal the final number - which is sure to be hefty one if it goes on the auction block later this year.

In the meantime, mall rats can marvel at Mona in between stops at the Shenyang shopping center food court and accessory splurges at Claire's.

Gemstones Jolt the Paris Runways

It's been a lackluster year for runway jewelry so far - with the less-is-more trend influencing practically all of the Spring/Summer Ready-To-Wear collections.

So I was holding out hope that the Spring/Summer Paris Couture Shows for 2011 - known for their Alice In Wonderland-esque bauble displays - would deliver some jewelry looks worth squaking about. Chanel was characteristically bauble barren. As was Dior (a surprise). But...

Enter Giorgio Armani, who didn't just litter his looks with gorgeous gems - he used colored gemstones as the inspiration for his entire line, according to Style.com.

Huzzah!

"Inspired, he said, by the gleam of gemstones, Armani produced clothes that came from another planet, the same one that Pierre Cardin and Thierry Mugler might have touched down on once. (It's already been suggested its name could be Gaga.)"

From ruby reds to gorgeous greens, the luminous fabrics looked like they came straight from the Tron wardrobe department.

Chandelier earring silhouettes, chunky bangles (they're baaaack - or did they ever leave?) and a bib necklace made out of gemstone shapes lit up the line like a Christmas tree on crack.

And while the wearability of the collection left some scratching their heads (Gaga excluded, of course), there was no denying the fun Mr. Armani must have had in his futuristic fantasy land.

The dude has no one left to impress, right? Whatever floats your gemstone-encrusted boat, sir, as far as I'm concerned. And even though I am a reluctant fan of toning things down when it comes to jewelry fashion this year - it's kinda nice to see the bigger bolder look from season's past on display again.

Right? Wrong? Thoughts, jewelry hounds?

Duchess of Windsor's Jewelry Sells Big!

Update: Royal jewelry is all the rage these days. Sotheby's got WAY more than the expected $4.5 million for this highly anticipated sale. How does $12.5 million strike you?  And that stunning panther bracelet went for a whopping $7 million all by itself. Meow!


When it comes to the world of purchasing uber-jewelry, there are jewelry auctions ...and there are Jewelry Auctions.

Sotheby's is holding an event in the latter category this fall when the world can bid on 20 pieces from The Duchess of Windsor's haute couture jewelry collection.

The Duchess, formerly American socialite Wallace Simpson, was the woman behind King Edward the VIII abdicating the British throne back in 1936, creating a royal scandal so huge, Fergie's cornucopia of connundrums looks like chump change.

Thankfully for jewelry lovers, the Duke lavished his beloved with beautiful baubles throughout their lives (he abdicated the throne, not the royal bank account) and commissioned some of the world's most talented jewelry designers to do his bidding.

Here is just a sampling of the stash that Sotheby's expects will bring in upwards of $4.5 million.

This Cartier diamond bracelet is expected to garner a $350,000-450,000 pound pay day.


According to Luxist, Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier's High Jewelry Director, created this realistic onyx and diamond panther bracelet designed in 1952. It's considered one of the best of her "three dimensional "great cat jewels.


Jeanne Toussaint also created this flamingo brooch, decorated with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, citrines, and diamonds. It is listed with an estimate of 1,000,000-1,500,000 pounds ($1,520,000- $2,300,000) - and it's my personal favorite, in case you're doing some early Christmas shopping.


To celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, The Duke commissioned this emerald, ruby and diamond brooch by Cartier that incorporated their initials. This piece is expected to realize 100,000-150,000 pounds ($152,000- $230,000).


The full auction, which includes 16 additional gems from the Windsor collection will take place in London on November 30th.

Which one of the Windsor wonders would you like to take home to your jewelry box?