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I received this necklace as a gift last Christmas from my mother-in-law, and it has quickly become a staple in my wardrobe — both for when I'm wearing all black, as well as when I'm wearing a color that I want a bit of contrast with (such as the coral AK Anne Klein jacket I'm wearing here). The amazing thing to me is how many compliments I get on it, from people in all walks of life — I've received at least a dozen on this specific piece. I finally tracked down where it came from and thought I'd post — it's available for $59 from Acorn Online. Glass Beads Necklace
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Anonymous
I like that. It reminds me of the work of Genevieve Hunt, an artist who makes custom woven silver jewelry–with gorgeous colors woven in. Her work is more refined than the AK piece but still bold.
I have a few of her pieces and find they add the perfect statement to an otherwise simple outfit–especially for dressy events.
Examples of her work are on on her website:
http://www.genevievehunt.com/index.html
dcm58
I am so bad with jewelry.
I absolutely adore this necklace, but what earrings would I wear with it? I always feel that if I buy “statement” jewelry, I can’t mix them in with the jewelry I already have. I could wear this necklace and my simple wedding band and go without earrings? is that odd?
help!
I am so pathetic . . . :)
Eponine
I think simple pearl studs go with everything. I also have a pair of silver Paloma Picasso X earrings that go with everything. Just something really basic like that would be fine. If you are dressing up and want more dramatic earrings, glass bead earrings in a color that’s also found in the necklace would look good.
Shayna
I love pearl studs! They’re my must-have-always-travel-with go-to jewelry :-)
Also, always have a set of silver ball earrings and gold ball earrings (I have double pierced ears – to holes on each lobe – so I like to put a larger set in the first pair, with a smaller set – the stud earrings – in the second)
B
I was thinking the same thing. Kat’s dangly earrings look nice in the photo, but I’m never comfortable pairing noticeable earrings with a necklace like this. I’d probably go with a plain gold or silver stud.
Cess
I don’t think you need to wear earrings, the necklace is enough on itw own.
dcm58
Thank you, everyone!
that’s a great idea – I have some very plain gold studs and silver studs. I’m glad that they will work with it. I just didn’t know if they “matched.”
Like I said, I’m a bit pathetic on jewelry . . .
Cess, I agree with you and have tried to go without earrings a few times, but something about it makes me feel like I’m not completely dressed or put together without earrings!
M
Janis Provisor makes great necklaces, too.
http://www.janisprovisorjewelry.com/couture.html
C2
I love it, and I love the braided garnet necklace on the same site.
What do you think of this dress for a “black tie optional” evening wedding held at a very fancy Los Angeles home? It’s going to be hot so I’m trying to avoid gown-length if possible.
http://www.smartbargains.com/go.sb?pagename=prod&sp=All%2BProducts%252f%252f%252f%252fUserSearch%253dcarmen%2Bmarc%252f%252f%252f%252f&dk=carmen%2520marc&deptid=9&catid=1408&prodid=1411596613&t=Search…prod.1
Any shoes/jewelry suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Anon
To be honest, not a huge fan of the dress. Though I think it’s the color combo + the burnt out/see-through material; the shape/cut looks like it would be fairly flattering.
For shoes, I would wear simple strappy black heels. Maybe gold heels.
A different anon
Anon – I like your style. You didn’t really like the dress and explained why (politely) but still offered some positive thoughts and advice about shoes. I wish everyone on this site approached commenting this way!!
C2
Totally agree — thanks Anon and RR for your polite & helpful feedback. I am going through a weird addiction to yellow accents so this was right in my wheelhouse. I also have an itchy online shopping trigger finger, so I guess I’ll see how it works in person.
RR
Totally agree — thanks Anon and RR for your polite & helpful feedback. I am going through a weird addiction to yellow accents so this was right in my wheelhouse. I also have an itchy online shopping trigger finger, so I guess I’ll see how it works in person.
Elle
I like the dress and think that it would be fun with black dressy peeptoe shoes and then some relatively large red bracelets and earings. Not fire engine red, but more of a brown-tinged red (depending on the shade of yellow of course – it’s coming across as a warm mustardish color on my computer screen). I would pass on a necklace and do larger earings instead since the neckline is quite lovely.
AN
I would wear it with black shoes and clutch + dangly gold earrings. You might add gold bangles if you liked. But no necklace IMO.
B
I like it. I’d wear it with black or gold strappy heels. For jewelry, I’d skip the necklace, and go with interesting dangly gold earrings and a gold cuff bracelet. I’d also bring a black pashmina along, just in case there is unexpected air conditioning.
Delta Sierra
Nice dress. In LA, you could take this as an opportunity to go for flashier accessories.
Ru
Definitely gold jewelry – if you’re into gemstones, yellow/amber citrine or topaz would go nicely.
Eponine
I don’t think this is appropriate for black tie optional, although that may mean something different in California than it does on the East Coast. I think it’s OK to go tea length if you prefer that, but IMO the patterned skirt with a solid top makes the dress look more casual. Evening weddings are usually more formal than day weddings, so I’d err on the side of too dressy rather than too casual.
anon - chi
Ditto. If you really don’t want a floor length gown (which is probably what many other guests will be wearing), I would at least go for a strapless single-color dress in a fancy fabric like chiffon. This dress seems inappropriate for a black tie optional event in part because of the pattern and in part because of the tank top straps. It’s really cute for date night, but anything you could conceivably wear with sandals to dinner and a movie probably isn’t what the host/hostess is going for.
MelD
I’m not on the East Coast, but this dress would be fine for the black tie optional weddings I’ve attended in other locations. I disagree that you should wear strapless to be dressy. Not every woman can pull it off or feels comfortable in that style. I avoid strapless like the plague because it’s not a style that fits me very well.
What do people wear on date nights out there? This is way dressier than anything I’d ever wear!
v
Yeah, this would fit in fine at even the “fancy” evening West Coast weddings I’ve been to, not that I run in particularly rarefied circles or anything.
Eponine
If the date involved dancing and a nice restaurant, I’d wear something like this with a cardigan, heels and a chunky bracelet.
Abby
Nobody at a “black tie optional” wedding in LA will be wearing a floor length gown. Or strapless. Or chiffon.
C2
Thanks so much everyone for the input! It doesn’t matter how many posts I read on black tie vs. black tie optional, I just cannot master it. I was hoping the beaded skirt might tip this into acceptable territory, but I’ll have to try it on to see.
MM
At the black-tie optional weddings I’ve been to, it’s been a lot of guys with tuxes and very few — if any — women in gowns. That’s the Northeast Corridor.
That said, this does seem on the casual side of cocktail, I think due to the fact that only part of it is printed. You might be better off in a solid color for this occasion — and keep the dress for another wedding. There are always so many!
Eponine
A good rule of thumb is that black tie means formal gown, while black tie optional means you won’t be overdressed in a formal gown, but you can go tea-length or cocktail, still sticking with elegant fabrics, patterns and styles. I’m sure style mavens will vary this rule, but I stick to it and have never felt out of place.
MelD
I don’t think that’s the case anymore. Most black tie optional events I’ve been to don’t seem to have many women wearing full-length gowns anymore. It’s more cocktail dresses than anything else.
Eponine
Where are you from?
Last time I went to a black tie optional event, I didn’t see a single man who opted not to wear a tux. There were definitely more women in floor length than tea length dresses. I didn’t see anything I’d describe as a cocktail dress. I live in DC.
N
DC is just a good bit more conservative than even the rest of the east coast – though I agree with you and share your experience Eponine.
Chicago K
If you are going with a date, I’d be in synch with what the man is wearing.
My fiancee and I attended a black tie optional wedding last May…he wore his tux, so I wore a floor length gown. The gown was a simple navy chiffon dress with a wrap top and spagetti straps. There were no sequins, no train, nothing that would make it look over the top for the “gown style.”
There were lots of women wearing prom style short dresses which I thought looked totally inappropriate…but that’s just me.
btw…i can’t see this link, so I can’t comment on the dress.
anon
IMHO, its pretty casual. I have no idea what Los Angeles dress norms are. However, a very fancy evening wedding with “black tie optional” would mean, at a minimum, a cocktail-dress type of thing.
If you want a shorter, patterned dress, maybe something like these (dressed up with shoes/bag/jewelry?):
http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446359534&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574492704746&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395222441&bmUID=1273612048281&ev19=1:45
http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446255409&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574491208767&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395222441&bmUID=1273612297957&ev19=5:73
You can’t go wrong with a classic style like this: http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446240550&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574491979411&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395222441&bmUID=1273612243891&ev19=5:62
MelD
To me, all of the dresses selected seem to be more casual than C2’s selected dress. The first two are very youthful styles I’d expect to see on someone in HS/college going for a trendier look, while the last is like some bad bridesmaid dress I wouldn’t want to be caught dead wearing. YMMV, but I can’t see wearing any of these to a black tie wedding.
B
Agree with MelD 100%.
Abby
Me too. Stick with something that’s a little edgy and definitely cocktail, not floor-length or traditional, and definitely nothing that is remotely pastel or floral in nature. I actually think the dress posted by the OP is fine.
Cover Girl Lipstain Question
I love the last dress! I guess to each their own :)
Lynette
As an LA native. The dress that you’ve chosen is perfectly fine. I like the suggestion that one of the posters made about citrine or topaz jewelry wear with.
s-k-s
Midwesterner here, so I don’t know if this applies in L.A. but I’ve been too many “black tie optional” events and most people opted out. Anything in the little black dress/cocktail dress category would work perfectly for a fairly dressy nighttime wedding.
Most “in-home” weddings I’ve been too are also far more casual than their country-club/ballroom counterparts, but again, that might not apply to a fancy L.A. house party.
C. Z.
I like this necklace, but I don’t know if I’d wear it in a conservative professional setting. I make a lot of my own jewelry, most of which is brightly colored and beaded like this, and I get a lot of compliments on it, but when I’m trying to look professional, I tend to stick to pearls and simple jewelry.
Lawgirl
I think we’ve crashed the site! :O/
AIMS
It’s been crashing my computer for a while now.
I’ve taken to clicking “copy” on my comments before posting t0 avoid the inevitable frustration of writing something only to have be wiped out.
ERP
Two comments: 1. Most people would not embrace a gift from their mother-in-law, so way to work it Kat; and,
2. One should never underestimate the power of a marvelous accessory (such as this statement necklace). I would wear it to the office.
Abby
Really? Your first point seems like a drastically overgeneralized statement. Seriously, is it true that “most people” would not embrace a gift from their mother-in-law? I’m divorced, but my ex-mother-in-law always gave me really cool gifts.
I agree as to your second statement.
K
The only gift that I have liked from my mother-in-law is the necklace that I picked out! :) Otherwise it is some hideous purse from TJ Maxx or Marshall’s (no insult to the stores, but just to give you an idea of the price point), or similarly hideous PJ’s from some Ohio store that I’ve never heard of. ;)
Anon
Does the price point matter? I guess it only matters if you don’t think she spent enough on you – and then, really?
mk
My mother-in-law buys me the best gifts ever. The first gift (before she had met me) was a bit off, but after meeting me, she has never gone wrong (with scarves, jewelry, books, art work etc). In fact, her gifts are 10 times better than the gifts my own mother gives me.
I guess some of us are lucky enough to hit the mother-in-law jack pot!
AIMS
I think that it’s absolutely absurd to make that statement about mother-in-law gifts.
Mothers-in-law — just like all gifters — vary: some have good taste, some have bad; some know just what to get you; some miss the mark.
It has nothing to do with them being mothers-in-law. (And, yes, there certainly may be cases where there is a very tense relationship & every gift given is a kind of not-too-subtle ‘screw you,’ but to assume that is the case with every relationship is to assume far too much).
ERP
Jeesh Ladies – I was just teasing! I was playing on the *traditional* adversarial relationship that exists between daugther and mother-in-laws (for lack of a better example think: Everybody Loves Raymond).
I love my mother-in-law [to be, I’m engaged so it is not official yet], and generally love presents she picks out for me. In fact, I wore a pair of blue earrings that she gave me as a gift for Christmas about five years ago to the office today!
Midori
I got the joke, ERP, and it made me giggle. :-) Even though my MIL’s pretty good at gifts.
Louise
My mother-in-law gave me a necklace similar to this one, but turquoise and a reddish stone. Different stones, but same vibe: chunky, fairly short. It isn’t my style, so I’m actually selling it in my etsy shop right now. (I decided to purge a bunch of my older jewelry and joined etsy just for that reason. It’s been an interesting distraction!)
Jewelry is so subjective. Both of my mothers-in-law have/had good taste. Just not MY taste…
MelM
I love this necklace! and I actually have the perfect earrings to go w/ it – clear glass w/ little specks of color. I’m going to bookmark the site for when I have a little extra cash.
I actually like C2’s dress above – I think the beading makes it dressy. I don’t know what any dress code means any more because no one seems to follow it. I went to what was supposed to be a black-tie event for my firm a couple of years ago. My boss insisted everyone would be in long dresses. So I haul myself to Loehmann’s to buy a long dress since I haven’t owned one since my prom 1000 years ago. I get there and almost NO ONE has on a long dress! and yes, that dress is still hanging in my closet, worn ONCE. Glad I didn’t spend too much on it.
MelM
meant to add that I’m in Atlanta and this was not an “old South” type event.
75
I love this necklace. I bought it last year at Target. But I think it goes with very few outfits. I kind of like it with white and off-white.
Chicago K
I also purchased the same necklace recently at a discount store – it was something like $4 on clearence, I believe, and it came with a matching bracelet.
I don’t wear them together, but both I get tons of compliments on!