Vintage Bijoux Exoticism - Glamorous Girls & Costume Jewels

Back from scouring the world for treasures, quite like a Bohemian pirate with his (her) booty. There was, in fact, a pirate in the family tree. His name was Valentine and he succumbed to an untimely death in the New World. The treasures I have unearthed have an air of the exotic and are perfumed with mystery.

I have been collecting vintage jewelry for as long as I can remember. As a young goth girl, I gravitated towards Victorian and Edwardian pieces, as dark and spooky as possible. Mourning jewelry, hair lockets and anything with a spiderweb was suitably macabre. I would try to simulate the effect of a spiderweb by draping long strands of deep black faceted French jet beads across my chest, the sparkles simulating morning dew. 

One piece I cherish is a tremendous Whitby Jet cameo ring I inheirited from my Irish great-grandmother. It is a massive piece, almost too big to wear. You can see the depth of time in the cameo's wizened carved features and endless black abyss of the stone. It is one of those pieces of jewelry which dictate the type of outfit you would wear with it, generally a black velvet dress and a Victorian beaded capelet. 

Below is a very unusual Victorian necklace featuring lizards surrounding a mythical horse. In Victorian and Art Nouveau art and design, the salamander or lizard represents passionate love and a flaming heart. It was believed that these animals could survive fire. The horse at the center most likely represents strength.

                                                                                          available here

Below is a very exotic image of Greta Garbo wearing a superb headdress.

As far as I am concerned, when it comes to jewels, bigger is better. I love large, sculptural, very dramatic pieces that veer toward the surreal. 

I grew up in a very Bohemian atmosphere in California with yearly European forays. I tend to gravitate toward pieces that have a sense of history and seem to be from distant lands. I like to find pieces that were stylistically inspired by the cultures and artistic traditions of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. 

I have always been obsessed by pattern and balance and I think the pieces I collect and sell reflect this passion and are almost always richly detailed. 

Below is an amazing neck piece made by Accessocraft in the 1960s.

                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                           
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Below is a photograph of Brigitte Bardot looking every bit the Bohemian goddess in Vogue from 1970.

 
Every era in the history of costume jewelry has produced masterpieces. Lately, I have been collecting a great deal of pieces from the early 1960s to the beginning of the 1970s. I love the ethnic influence that was in vogue during this era. I feel like this particular time was a modern renaissance. The costume jewelry had a medieval or Renaissance revival influence crossed with Ottoman jewelry and the lyrical abandon of the surrealists. 

Below is a favorite photo of Kenneth Lane from his book "Faking It".

Kenneth Lane is someone who participated in this Bohemian Zeitgeist and brought costume jewelry to the ultimate level of high fashion. Lane's love of art history, travel and world cultures inspired wonderful pieces that are prized for their original, often bizarre designs, high quality and for their lasting brilliance. Here is a selection of Kenneth Lane's work that I absolutely adore.

Below is an Asian style coin collar necklace that is incredibly dramatic and sexy. 

                                                                                   available here

Below is one of my favorite Kenneth Lane brooches from the Mughal series of the early 1960s. 

 

The brooch pictured beneath is another fantastic paisley piece in the Mughal style.

                                                                             

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The bracelet below, according to the writings of Kenneth Lane, was one of the great style doyenne Diana Vreeland's personal favorites.  

Below is a beautiful coral colored carved resin moth necklace that was inspired by ancient Chinese symbolism. 

                                                                                   available here

In closing, here is a very beautiful photo of a young Yvette Mimieux wearing costume jewelry in a very fresh way.

Paper Dolls In Paradise

As a young fashion obsessed girl growing up in a small California enclave, I took my fashion where I could get it. 

Raised by a single working mother, I entertained myself after school at the library, pulling great stacks of photography books, books on fashion photography such as "Scavullo's Women" and books by Irving Penn, David Bailey, Horst, et cetera. I read every art book I could get my hands on. I even read whole sets of encyclopedias from Brittanica to the How-To library. I have always been almost pathologically image obsessed. 

In a need to overcome adolescent boredom, I one day adventured into a sewing supply store, and walking past the spools of technicolor thread and endless skeins of yarn, I discovered a new library. On a large wooden table, there was one massive volume after another, laid out with names like "Butterick", "Simplicity", "Vogue", "McCalls"... a pattern book revelation!

In these volumes, there were drawings of cute, button nosed girls with dark eyes and high ponytails wearing frilly, fun dresses in crazy patterns and bell bottoms with t-shirts sporting slogan patches. All of the girls had tan skin, the color of butterscotch. 

The Vogue pattern books were so elegant, with sophisticated ladies dressed in sharp looking suits and glittering gowns. They wore wild hats and big jewelry and had expressions on their faces of haughty dissatisfaction, as if they were thinking that they would rather be drinking champagne on a yacht. 

These pattern books were full of endless fashion possibilities. One could look like a Disney princess or a hippie chick in a patchwork poncho and leather short-shorts. The illustrations for the most part were very accessible, not the flamboyant fantasies of a couturier designing dresses for only the gilded few. These were drawings of girls one could actually look like, a feat, of course much more easily accompished if your mother could sew.

 

Below is a fun Pop-Art romper that was made in Miami in the 1960s.

                                                                                                                                         available here

Below is a fantastic lime green sundress designed by Oleg Cassini in the 1960s.

a                                                                                                                                        available here

Below is an adorable pink gingham party dress from the 1960s.

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If you have any early fashion memories that you would like to share with us, please do!

Collecting Hats Is Serious Business - Mr. John

Mr. John was born John P. Harberger in Germany around 1902. He was as famous in the world of hats as Christian Dior was in the realm of haute couture.

Mr. John's hats were worn by the Duchess of Windsor, Gloria Swanson, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Gloria Vanderbilt, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell. Mr. John created hats (astonishingly) for over one thousand classic films. His hats were worn by such film icons as Marlene Dietrich in "Shanghai Express" and "The Scarlet Empress", Greta Garbo in "The Painted Veil", Vivian Leigh in "Gone With The Wind" as well as Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". 

His work was featured on the covers of countless fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, photographed by Irving Penn and Horst P. Horst. Mr. John was a wildly creative genius milliner and a fabulously eccentric gentleman.

 

 

Here at Pearl Modern, we are always on the hunt for exciting hats. We have developed a deep appreciation for the creations of Mr. John. We tend to choose hats that have a certain "attitude", hats that a movie star on the lam might choose, worn with ridiculously large dark sunglasses. We love real glamour and think that one can look glamorous any time of the day and in any situation, from walking the dog to sipping cocktails. Hats are a brilliant way to up the ante with one's wardrobe, either giving your look an edge or softening it with a giant pouf of tulle sitting just so...

Below is an attention grabbing 1960's Mr. John woven raffia checkerboard hat with a daring black vinyl feather.

                                                                                                                                          available here



Below is a wildly sexy 1960's Mr. John leopard print faux fur hat. Rawr!

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Below is a 1960's Mr. John mod Carnaby Street bubble hat.

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Below is a 1960's Mr. John chic bohemian floppy hat.

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For a more in depth look at the incredibly interesting life of Mr. John, please read this excellent article from Framework.