What pulls an outfit better than a coordinated look? Don’t go running away – it is easier than it sounds. You can wear matching jewelry or you can wear coordinated jewelry. I love to coordinate instead of match. It is more fun and more personal. I’ll explain.

This is a matched set or demi parure in poured white glass and gold tone or plated metal.

Milk White Poured Glass Vintage Necklace and Earrings

It was designed and produced as an exact matching set. It is not signed but it has the feel of an early Coro or Trifari piece. Easy and looks great, but not really fun as you are wearing something another person decided would look great together and had it produced that way.

18k Gold Coral Necklace, Pre-ban Ivory and Coral 14k Gold Huggie Earrings and Pre-ban Ivory Antique Bangle.

Now look at how these three pieces look together.  In this group are 18k Gold Coral Necklace, Pre-ban Ivory and Coral 14k Gold Huggie Earrings and Pre-ban Ivory Antique Bangle.  Isn’t that much more fun?

The secret is in the earrings – they are the key piece that holds the look together, they tie in the bracelet and the necklace together. It’s Pret-a-Porter or separates for jewelry. It works the same way. The best is you can wear each of them with something else or by themselves as each piece holds it’s own. So pick a favorite piece, match color or style or shape. Find something in common with something else. Find something that looks good and most importantly, looks good on you. After all style is all about how it makes you feel, you need to be comfortable in it and it looks great.

18k Gold Large Round Coral Beads Necklace and 14k Gold and Pre Ban Ivory Huggie Hoop Earrings

Go look in you jewelry box – you probably have some coordinates already. It works for Costume Jewelry and works for Fine State Jewelry too. And you can be your own stylist!

There is an enormous amount of credit due Michele Obama for her accomplishments prior to becoming America’s First Lady. After that, the most talked about is her style.  Well, I will jump on this band wagon. It is a bit late but not too late.  I tried to avoid it.

As a vintage jewelry dealer and collector I have noticed on the past year or so a trend growing towards large flower brooches.  Even I was attracted to them!  Maybe it  started when the 60s were revived recently.  At any rate,  I had noticed that before the Obamas trip to Italy, where the First Lady wore a sunny yellow dress and a large green flower brooch.  She looked beautiful, as always, I love her independent sense of style.   Wonder if she knows those are the Brazilian flag colors – I was flattered!

Our store has a beautiful collection of those brooches.  My favorites are:

Vintage Lisner Red Enamel Flower Brooch

Pink Enamel on Copper Dimensional Flower Brooch

Faux Pearls and Turquoise Enamel Kramer Flower Pin or Brooch

The center rhinestones tremble when you move!

We have many different ones, you can use this link to see all our vintage flower brooches.

Prices range from $20.00 to $225.00 for my own  Biwa Pearl and Branch Coral flower.

Lariat is one of the most versatile style of necklace. Generally speaking is a long strand, chain or rope with adorned ends and no clasp. There are several ways to wear this style:

This is a finely beaded, almost woven Lariat Necklace from the 1920s.

Fold in half, wrap it around the neck and pass the ends through the loop. It will look like this.

Wrap around the neck twice, then knot it in the front. You can knot the loop too and will look like this image. If you just knot it, it will have one short plain strand higher in the neck and one longer one where the knot is. Doing it as seen on the image avoids the weight of the end making it too tight around your neck.

Here is another way, just let the ends fall in the front or for a Summer evening out, bring your hair up and let it fall down a low cut back.

In this style, you knot it as high as it is comfortable to wear, then leave the long ends which can be both worn to the front, the back or one in the fron and one in the back if you place the knot on the side.

The weight of the beads at the ends is what keeps a lariat in place. These are Italian Murano beads and this style is called "wedding cake".

The best way to figure out how to wear a lariat necklace is to think of it as a scarf. How many different ways can you wear a scarf?  It really depends on the occasion, your style, how daring you are.  You can make a fashion statement that steals the show or a demure and classic finishing touch to your outfit.

Other ways not pictured are as a belt, a wrap bracelet and even braided in your hair if it is long enough. Feeling like a Flower Child today? Wrap around your forehead.  Wearing a Menswear inspired suit?  Replace the tie with a lariat.  The only limitation is your imagination and how daring you are!

If you have an idea not mentioned here, please post your comment.

If you have any questions and would like more instructions, please post and I’ll try to help.

The gorgeous vintage 1920s Flapper Lariat featured in this article is available at Vintage Jewelry, Fashion Magazines and Fine Collectibles plus Jewelry by Vera Battemarco.