How good are you to your good jewelry?

Some things are constants for me. For me, it tends to be some of the pieces of jewelry I wear.

I used to wear watches that weren't waterproof, so, being someone who likes to, oh, take baths at the end of the day, I'd take off my watch and forget to put it back on. Thus, waterproof watch. Always on. (I need to know when I need to be out of the shower by!) My mom sighs that I need a nicer one for when I dress up, and I probably do, but I haven't gotten around to really looking yet. Plus, said nice watch will need to cover my rockin' watch tan.

I also tend to cycle through pendant-and-chain necklaces that I'll wear 24/7 -- through showering, sleeping, the gym (well, I haven't been since April, so that doesn't count anyway), what have you. I have several Dogeared Jewelry necklaces that I've worn at different stages depending on what I've felt like (the single pearl, the silver circle, the amazonite drop, and then I just ordered the new Lovebug necklace). Right now I'm wearing this heart pendant from chocolateandsteel.etsy.com. However, I had to have it fixed twice -- the jump ring kept getting snagged on the chain and dropping off (which made my actual physical anatomical heart jump into my throat a couple of times), so I had a friend fix it with a sterling silver wire wrap (I also had the jump ring replaced, but it still fell off). While I'm relieved it's fixed, it's a terrible feeling when you're going about your normal day and all of a sudden your pendant is falling off your neck and onto the floor.

So that got me thinking: am I too hard on my jewelry? I have a silver ring with a dangling charm that swings and has completely eliminated some of the engraving from knocking against the ring itself. I'm not going to march my ring back to the store and demand they fix it -- I do know that there's going to be some wear and tear, especially if I'm wearing it every day.

Back in March, Wendy Brandes wrote about the fairy Prada bag and, in particular, taking care of your good jewelry. And while I'm not someone who pops off my jewelry as soon as I get home, it's extremely good advice, especially since when you make a true investment (both emotional and financial) in a piece like an engagement or wedding ring, you really do need to be taking care of it.

I'm definitely someone who errs on the side of "oh, that's my good jewelry, can't wear it". I'd think good jewelry would be able to stand up to more than cheaper costume jewelry, because of the higher quality of materials -- it won't turn my ears green, for one. But at the same time, I'm always worried about knocking a stone out (which is why I tend not to wear that kind of jewelry) or something falling off, which is why I tend to go with daily jewelry that doesn't have as high of a price point or sentimental value. And at the same time again, what's the point of having good jewelry that you can't wear?

Where do you fall on the spectrum? Do you have certain things you wear every day and some things that are for special occasions only? And for those every day pieces, do you wear them all day every day, or do they come off at certain times? Or are you not a jewelry person at all?

image from chocolateandsteel.etsy.com

Know Your Limitations

--in heel heights, that is. Alcohol is also important, but you should already know that if you're over age 21.
Jeanne and I met up with some old friends last night for a little dinner and frozen yogurt. Lo and behold, where should we find ourselves but peering into the windows of our local shoe boutique? As we oohed and aahed over the impossibly high but beautiful stiletto heels and kistchy-cute platform pumps, a couple of our sportier friends remarked that they couldn't even imagine shopping for shoes like those. I believe the actual quote was, "I can't think of any reason why I would have to wear shoes like that in my life." When I refer to them as "sportier," I mean these are our friends who go biking on weekends in 100-degree weather instead of sitting in front of the TV with a nice tall glass of lemonade, as I am wont to do. They are the Sporty Spices of our group, while Jeanne is probably Baby Spice (as she was for Halloween one year, I think? No?), and I'm this close to being Scary Spice all the time now, with all the black I wear.

Their apprehension over lady-shoes got me to thinking. I was once like them. I was trained by my mother to reject high heels as a symbol of male oppression of women (at least that's what I remember) from childhood, but I'll be damned if those gorgeous pumps and kitschy heels don't get my heart all a-flutter. Now that I wear skirts and blouses that show off my figure like a big girl, I know I have to wear shoes to match. I learn by example, and I've seen it all. Classmates who show up to professional presentations in unhemmed dress pants, wrinkled, gaping sort-of dress shirts, and Birkenstocks. Co-workers who stumble around in stilettos only to be professionally hobbled by their actual physical inability to keep up at the office. Women who, after years of foot-mangling torture at the hand of cheap shoes, have to wear orthopedic sneakers all day.

I fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. I am a conservative shoe-shopper. I love the retro, vintage-inspired shoes, and I demand quality for the price, not to mention ARCH SUPPORT. Over the years, I've learned that indeed, arch support is the ticket to a great pair of shoes--it's really just a system of exchanges. I'm willing to invest a little chafed heel to be able to walk to work in my work shoes with a nice cushioning under the arch of my foot. I'll take room to wiggle my toes over heel height any day. So, in this vein, I considered the price we pay as women for high heels. Corns? Bunions? Hammer toes? Damaged ankles, knees, and backs? Why do we put up with all of that?

Why? Because we love it, I'll put it out there. I love wearing heels now. I feel confident, professional, put-together, and dare I say it, sexy. I do wear low heels, and I've come to realize that 2.5 inches is my max, lest I fall down and break my ankle. Navigating flagstones and gravel is still a challenge, but walking on carpet is a dream! (There's a reason I love Mad Men and I'm known around the office as having a "sort of...retro-nerdy librarian-sexy charm," true story. I like to imagine I'm like Joan Holloway+one of the phone operator girls.)

Allow me to illustrate this spectrum of heel heights using all grey and silver shoes by my favorite, arch-supporting designer, Brazilian-Japanese Chie Mihara:

From the ground-skimming flat as flat can be to the sky-high platform, I love and desire them all. What does it take to go from top to bottom of the spectrum in heel height? Are those stories of women's calf tendons snapping after years of heels all true? I believe women's biggest enemy in shoedom is lack of support, I wish all pumps had a good bit of arch support to them, and we could all stomach it for just a bit past five o'clock every day.

So, beyond getting your shoes custom-made to the curvature of your feet, what's a girl to do? If you're absolutely lost in shoe store, like our friends often are, just be adventurous. Try, try again! Once upon a time, I tried on a green velvet three-inch Marc Jacobs pump that was fifty percent off and nearly cried when it was far too small. I wouldn't have known that the vamp was too low and showed too much toe cleavage if I hadn't tried them on, though, so lesson learned! You don't have to cop out and stick with sneakers for the rest of your life. Branch out, experiment--you'll know soon enough if they don't work.

Above all, make sure that there's good arch support, and the heel height is both comfortable and serves to enhance you. Here are some more tips on how to find your perfect, comfortable shoe. Have you made any shoe sacrifices in the name of fashion lately? I'm trying to cut back on the shoe-coveting, personally...damn you, Zappos!

Images courtesy of ChieMihara.com and PiperLime.com.

The things I do for you...

I do a lot of things "for the blog". Last week was the end of the second round of the Great Mascara Experiment -- that's right, from May 1st to July 31st, I wore my mascara every day for the sake of science. I still have to put the dishes together again, and hopefully this time I'll get some conclusive results.

Anyway, I got to thinking of what other sorts of things I could do -- what other sorts of beauty things are we all curious about but no one really wants to try? What other beauty product myths ought to be put to the test? Or what products have tall orders to fill, and can they really be true?

So I'm asking you: what do you want me to try so that you don't have to? I've already bought myself a little something to test out on my next Big Night Out -- there's been chatter about them, but I haven't seen photo evidence of someone actually using them (besides the marketing photos, naturally). That's why I'm going to do it -- and take pictures -- for all of you. (And because it will likely be hilarious and ridiculous, but we SHALL SEE.)

I'm open to hear your suggestions, your questions, whatever beauty-ish thought has been nagging you, and maybe I'll do it so you don't have to...

image from sephora.com

Science Fair for July 28th - August 3rd

Yay, weekend! Here's a brief little Science Fair for you with lots of movies and books!

- From Kat Dennings herself, here's the Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist trailer. I am SO. EXCITED. for this movie.

- I will also admit to being more and more excited for the Watchmen movie, even though I didn't really like the comic all that much. Still, looking at the Comic Con posters, I'm really impressed.

- Another Jezebel link: Pretty Is as Pretty Does: The Middle-School Moment.

- I've read the first three Twilight books, and, if you've read them, you know that Breaking Dawn came out this weekend. If you want to win a free copy of Breaking Dawn, you can enter the Beauty Horror Stories held by Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog.

- If you're intrigued by or a fan of Mad Men like Karen is, you should definitely be reading Glossed Over's Working Girl Wednesdays feature.

- And finally, for your next vacation, check out the destinations offered by these cool vintage-styled travel posters...

Have a great week!

Out and About: August 2nd and 3rd

Happy August! Can you believe July is over? It... was a really long month for me. We'll see how August goes!

Anyway, this weekend is my cousin S.'s hair show! I went in and got my blonde re-did so it's fresh and lovely for the show. It's going to be a really awesome show; while the emphasis is on the hair and not the fashion, S. has an amazing aesthetic and it'll definitely be some gorgeous eye candy. Plus you get the bonus of seeing me working the runway. Fierce? PERHAPS.

It's this Sunday at 8 pm at Space Gallery, which is on Polk.

And as a final plea: if you're an untreated blonde in the San Francisco area, S. needs you! Today! At 6 pm Pacific! (I know this is a shot in the dark, but it's worth a try!) You can get your hair done for FREE TODAY ONLY. S. needs an untreated blonde (or redhead!) to come into her salon today to go from naturally-blonde (or red!) to lighter-blonde (or red!). She can tint you back down to your natural color once she's done, but she needs you! Please email me at periodicstyle at gmail dot com ASAP if you're interested!

image from s.