Are you TRENDY or TIMELESS?

What type of jewelry person are you? Are you a Britney or an Audrey? A Ke$ha or a Coco? Is it trendy or timeless?

I run into this dilemma all the time when I am designing and making my jewelry.
One of my good friends (she is a jewelry designer too) went on some store visits in the North Dallas area over the weekend. I was left scratching my head and wondering about the state of women's jewelry morals.

The Britney
The first store we went to was in a really $$ high-end part of town. Very "here and now" clothing. It was nice and moderately priced. They had paired most of the displayed clothing with necklaces and other accessories. The jewelry was cheap but priced accordingly. You get what you pay for in this store. Or at least, you know what you are getting in this store.

The Ke$ha
Then we went next door. I'm not sure exactly who their customer was - the clothing seemed to be the newest styles but the price tags were crazy. $300 for a tanktop? Who has that kind of disposable income in this economy? The jewelry was even worse - it was about the same quality as we had found at the first store, but the prices were 3x as much. I suppose this type of store is selling image rather than items. If I'm paying $270 for earrings, they aren't coming from a boutique that is selling air.

The next stop was very interesting to me. It is the "in"store right now in Dallas. They sell it fast and cheap and don't pretend it is anything other than that. Charming Charlies. Wow.  The store is set up to be shopped by color. Not by style or sustainability, just by how closely you can match the color of your shoes.  The place was packed and the women were crazed.
I  really don't have any problem with this type of a store.  It serves it's purpose in the grand scheme of things. Designers design and overseas factories recreate the styles as cheaply as possible and put it on a freighter and get it to our US shores as fast as possible. In this store a woman purchases and knows that it is good for one wear. It is either too recognizable to wear again in similar company or it will break before last call. It is what it is.

Audrey & Coco

It makes me wonder where the modern woman can turn these days to find quality jewelry that isn't going to break the bank. These days the Tiffany's and Harry Winston's are for a very select group of household incomes.  What to do, what to do??
My self-serving opinion is - go outside, get some air and go to some of the local handmade craft shows. Now - not just any show, you have to do your research. Try and find shows in your area that are juried and require the items to be made by the person standing right there in the booth selling the jewelry.  There are absolute treasures at these shows without all the additional mark up needed to cover overhead at a Brick and mortar store in the mall.

What else can you do? Try Etsy.com. There are amazing items here as well. These pieces are made by designers that utilize the Etsy engine and its millions of subscribers to promote and sell their creations online. I will warn you, this site can get a bit overwhelming because of just how much selection you have. If you are looking for a "Silver Ring" you have 88,000 items to choose from. Be very specific with your search parameters and the site will narrow it down pretty fast for you so you don't get crazy-head.

I guess it all comes down to personal style in the end. Is it important to you not to have a green ring around your wrist at the end of the day? Maybe, maybe not. And that's ok. I think every woman should have a little of both in her closet. If you have quality, quality, quality - maybe its not so bad to put on some dark shades and a big hat and head into Charming Charlies for some feather earrings.  Same goes for you trendsetters out there. Every girl should have some "good stuff" tucked away for the important events in your life.  Do you want to meet his parents in pearls from Claire's or Mikimotos? Your choice - but I'd go for the Mikis every time.