Available at Samantha Howard Vintage.
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Fashion, to me, is all about Self-Expression. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered these innovative, one-of-a-kind Waveform Necklaces by David Bizer.
Just like you have a distinctive fingerprint, you also have a distinctive voiceprint, and now you can wear it!
The hard part, of course, is deciding what you want to say.
Maybe your mantra.
Maybe a short affirmation.
Maybe “I love you (Special Someone)” or “You’re the best mom ever!” (Hint, hint, to my darling daughter, Lindsey)
Simply record your snippet of audio, send the file to David and let him know if you want your Waveform necklace in acrylic, wood or silver.
Or, if you’re a creative-and-crafty gal who enjoys a challenge, make it yourself with this DIY tutorial.
Question: What will YOUR Waveform necklace say?
(via Colossal)
Kate Winslet once wisely remarked that “There’s more to life than cheekbones.”
Don’t I know it!
Recently, I’ve become intimately familiar with one particular beauty among the other 205 bones in the human body: the scaphoid.
It’s one of 27 bones in the hand nestled between the thumb and the wrist and I unknowingly injured mine this past weekend.
I wish I had a good story to go along with the injury, but I don’t. It just happened. No big thing. It just felt like I jammed my thumb a bit while I was getting out of bed. And life goes on.
Until two days later when I noticed the hand swelling and started feeling pain.
In my right hand.
My dominant hand.
The hand I type with.
The hand with the thumb that hits the space bar between every word.
Aaargh!
Enter the doctor-prescribed wrist brace that has taken my right-hand out of commission.
It’s forced my left hand off the bench and into the game. Yes, the ol’ benchwarmer is being asked to jump in and save the day not only by typing but also by grasping, twisting, lifting and pinching, too.
And while it’s frustrating to see that she can’t do nearly as good a job as my Star Quarterback right hand can, it’s already very clear that this replacement player has the same ability to be an All-Star if she’s just given some time and the same amount of coaching, attention, and practice as her fellow teammate.
And isn’t it truly amazing how much quicker we adapt to change when we have no other choice?
We are definitely creatures of habit. For instance, try this:
Cross your arms in front of your chest.
Now switch’em so the other arm is on top.
How weird does that feel?!?
We all tend to cross our arms one way all the time and the other way just feels…unnatural.
But many books on creativity suggest the benefits in switching ordinary things like this up a bit.
They often recommend messing up your routine by using your less-dominant hand for activities like eating or brushing your teeth. And though I admit I tried it myself once or twice, I always got frustrated and never stuck with it for more than a minute or two.
Now, of course, I have no other choice.
After tomorrow’s MRI and next week’s doctor visit, I’ll know if surgery will give my left hand a spot in the starting line-up for the rest of the season. But I’m crossing my fingers — my left fingers! — that surgery won’t be necessary.
So, with bones on my mind, I present today’s VPODs. First, a vintage 1960s Louis Guisti skeleton fish modernist necklace which truly celebrates the beauty in bones.
And, for those of you who find skeletal bones a tad too macabre for your taste, a vintage chenille wrap sweater in a neutral bone shade that may be more your style.
They’re both fine finds for Vintage Crusaders!
Sweater available at Miso Vintage Supply. Necklace available at Orbiting Debris.
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In 2004, Ettore Sottsass, the Italian architect and designer, was asked to curate Cartier’s vaults of vintage jewels, clocks, watches, pens and other goodies and handpick items for an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
And in that exhibition’s catalog, Ettore Sottsass commented on the power of adornment:
“Tens of thousands of years ago, women and men already adorned their bodies with necklaces and markings of various kinds, in order to satisfy that subtle, obscure pleasure of declaring to others their ‘personal’ presence—indeed, their very identity or singularity. They adorned themselves to seduce or even terrify.”
To seduce or even terrify?
Those are two very different objectives, and high expectations, for something as simple as a necklace or a bracelet!
And yet it makes complete sense to me.
We all experience competing needs to both fit in and stand out at the same time. To both belong to our tribe and to set ourselves apart from it. To adhere to the status quo while simultaneously exploring its boundaries.
So it seems completely likely that I might want to be not just seductive or terrifying but seductively terrifying or terrifying seductive in the same exact moment.
Jewelry, of course, is just one weapon in my female arsenal used to accomplish this.
Now I must confess that I’ve worn the same pair of diamond stud earrings for over a decade. I don’t wear rings and I seldom wear bracelets. But oh, how I adore necklaces! They are definitely my Achilles Heel.
And today’s VPOD is no exception.
This vintage 1960s bronze necklace by the talented female designer, Unn Tangerud, appeals to both my primitive and modern sides.
It a beautiful way to wield the Power of Adornment for a Vintage Crusader!
Available from Hopea.
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Shiva is one of three major gods in the Hindu religion and his role is Destroyer of the Universe (but only so the universe can be recreated).
When he’s depicted as a man, he’s usually shown holding a trident, with three stripes of ash across his forehead to hide his third eye, and a cobra around his neck.
The cobra, which is able to shed its skin, represents Shiva’s powers of destruction and regeneration.
But snakes aren’t the only creatures capable of shedding their skin. We humans can metaphorically shed our skin, too.
Interestingly, snakes that are about to shed their skin are said to be “in the blue,” and it’s often that itchy feeling of having it all but still feeling unsatisfied or of being lost and needing to “find yourself” that are primary clues that it may be time to shed some skin of your own.
You may need to shed something tangible — a job you hate, a person who creates more pain than joy in your life, a miserable roommate — or you may need to shed something intangible — a bad habit, your constant need to be right, or an incorrect belief that’s holding you back.
But it won’t be easy. And it will take some time.
If you’ve ever witnessed a snake shedding it’s skin, you know that you can expect to be uncomfortable and writhing around and expending a lot of effort while the destructive part of the process is occurring. But, just as a snake slithers away afterward with glistening skin and newfound freedom, you’ll find yourself glowing and liberated when you’ve completed your hard work of shedding, too.
And that’s when the regeneration phase begins and the real magic can happen!
You see, the wonderful thing about being human is that we are all like Shiva.
We’re all born with the power to destroy and rebuild our lives in ways that better serve us and humanity.
We can all become exactly who we wish to be instead of being the person others compel us to be.
And one way to remind yourself of this incredible ability, which makes you just as powerful as Shiva, is to wear a beautiful vintage cobra necklace occasionally.
Today’s VPOD would be one fine choice. This vintage 1970s enamel necklace features a mosaic of bright colors and hypnotizing rhinestone eyes.
It’s a stylish and empowering reminder for an aware Vintage Crusader!
Available at Frock NYC.
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