Christmas Balls

From the Cynthia Rybakoff archives, here's an understated holiday look from 1989. I'm not going to exaggerate the time and effort that went into gluing each Swarovski crystal and vintage bugle bead, one piece at a time, with tweezers and delicate fingertips, to this 3 tiered neck piece with a zillion sparkling baubles. If made today, the piece would retail for about $18,000.

The necklace was part of a collection designed for the Fall/Winter Isaac Mizrahi runway show, and included a braided suede wrist wrap, that doubled as a necklace. The versatility of this piece is nicely demonstrated in this not at all provocative ad for Harvey Nichols.

Sustainable Chic

During New York fashion week, I had the pleasure of attending the C. Marchuska Fall/Winter 2010 show, where being green never means having to sacrifice sophistication or style. Created by Christine Marchuska and Brooke Bresnan, C. Marchuska is an eco-friendly clothing line, which provides chic and sustainable clothing at affordable prices.

Even the accessories were green, with animal friendly footwear by NeuAura and remixed jewels from my Estate Collection in oxidized silver with semi-precious stones and vintage components.

For a slinky noir evening look, the eco-conscious team selected a pair of my Swarovski crystal drops from the late 80's in Montana blue to go with this beautifully gathered blouse in soft black with glittery blue trim paired with slim black satin pj pants - an outfit I intend to add to my own wardrobe as soon as it's available!