Paris Haute Couture Shows Bring the Bling

 

The Fall/Winter 2011 Paris Haute Couture shows just wrapped in the city of lights, and - as we all know - where there is Haute Couture? There is bling. And wacky hats.

Here are some of my favorite looks from the event - most from Dior (sans their brilliant wretch, John Galliano) and Armani Prive (house of Oscar, royal weddings and all things Gaga).

Dior

Leprechan's Rejoice! We've got a rainbow of oversized statement necklaces and cocktail rings to gawk at this go round!

Armani Prive

Dior

Dior

I also spotted a return of the gold leaf silhouette at the stunning Giambattista Valli show.

Giambattista Valli

Giambattista Valli

Giambattista Valli

(P.S. Guess who else is into gold leaf looks these days????)

And no Haute Couture Show would be complete without the chapeau showdown, right?

So there you have it, bling hounds. Colorful, oversized gems, yellow gold, leaf silhouettes and 'hold-on-to your-hair-follicles' headwear are the take-away trends from Paris.


Want the look? I'm thinkin' Jewelry.com's "Bijoux de Chloe" designer collection is the perfect expression of that sentiment - at prices that are frugalista fabulous! Here's a few of their high-fashion looks for less, jewelry hounds. You like?

Jewelry Sparkles at Dior and Bulgari Bashes

When two of the most celebrity-friendly fashion houses celebrate themselves, they usually have plenty of A-list wattage on-hand to turn up the star power.

Case in point? The Dior Store re-opening in New York City last night, that featured the likes of Amy Adams and Natalie Portman in black and white with minimal sparkle and Liv Tyler in a feathery frock with a funky statement necklace.

The 57th Street flagship store was closed for the past five months for a complete makeover, WWD reports. Architect Peter Marino aimed to bring the spirit of the Parisian flagship on Avenue Montaigne to New York with a look inspired by the residential feel of a Paris hotel.

The jewelry jaw-drop award, though, had to be the chunky emerald earrings worn by Wendi Murdoch (yup, wife of Rupert). With a household income like theirs, you can bet your assets those puppies are real. Wow.

Alas, my favorite Dior girl, Charlize Theron, was nowhere to be found. Maybe because Natalie Portman is the new face for their new perfume, Miss Dior Cherie? Hmmm...

Across the pond in Paris, the venerable Italian jewelry house, Bulgari, continued to celebrate their 125th year with the opening of '125 Years of Italian Magnificence Bulgari au Grand Palais.'

 

On display until mid January will be some 600 shiny baubles, including famous jewelry worn by the biggest movie stars of the century, including the stunning diamond and emerald brooch Elizabeth Taylor wore at her first wedding to Richard Burton, alongside sparklers worn by style icons Sophia Loren and Grace Kelly.

Bulgari's A-list spokesmodel, Julianne Moore, was there to celebrate in what appear to be peacock-inspired gemstone earrings, along with celebs Juliette Binoche, Lenny Kravitz and Clive Owen.

 

Dear, Santa: All I want for Christmas is a jewelry spokesmodel contract. Love, Laura

Paris Haute Couture Fall/Winter - A Jewelry Recap

As promised, jewelry hounds, here is a recap of all the jewelry worth drooling over from the 2010 Fall/Winter Paris Haute Couture shows.

Today, Haute Joaillierie lit up the Place Vendome - including Chanel's feathery diamond collection (remember Diane Kruger rocking this look at Cannes?):

Dior's Bollywood-inspired jewels:


and Van Cleef & Arpels' Les Voyages Extraordinaires collection:

Catwalk carats included these crazy cuffs from Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel show:



Armani's sculptural styles made from metal and wood:


And these mirrored fairy tale creations from Jean Paul Gaultier's collection:


But this is just a small sampling of the sparkle. You can find a complete gallery of Paris Fashion Week finds on the Jewelry.com Facebook Page. In the meantime, how amazing is that Dior serpent ring? I gotta say it again: ' J'adore Dior!

Weigh in with your favs!

Floral Fashion Explodes in Paris

The Paris Fall/Winter Haute Couture shows are kicking off this week with a wild display of flower power from one of my favorite designers, John Galliano for Dior.

Jewelry was a no-show on the runway, but once you get a glimpse of the cornucopia of color, you'll see why it would be a useless afterthought.

The eccentric British designer explained to the press that he wanted to do something bold and fresh with flowers, "allowing their color, texture and structure to inspire a new, modern beauty."

According to a report from France24, "The floral influence was palpable in the cut of skirts which looked as if they were composed of petals, and bustiers, sprouting fragile filaments in silk chiffon like pistils. Organza frocks appeared to have been constructed from hundreds of buds sewn together."

And the models had their heads covered in a veil of cellophane, like a bouquet fresh from the florist. J'adore Dior!

While I love the Alice In Wonderland whimsy of these frocks, I'm drooling over what appears to be the only black and white number in the collection - this perfectly petaled gown I could see any number of A-listers work on the awards show circuit (Maggie Gyllenhaal would be at the top of my list).

Stay tuned for more couture coverage - and hopefully some creative new jewelry statements to gawk at! In the meantime, weigh in with some of your favorite Dior designs!

Diamonds and Dial Tones - The Dior Phone Rules

Jewelry hounds, you all know that I J'adore Dior. So like any Charlize Theron wannabe, I'm falling in love with their latest round of blingy phone products due out just in time for the holidays.

Last year, Dior blew all the other designer phone brands out of the water with their Dior Phone Diamonds (Glorious Black) set with a whopping 641 diamonds, weighing in at 3.251 carats. Not enough bling for you? They threw in 34 black sapphire crystals for good measure for a pricetag of a mere $28 grand (yup, that's three zeroes).


This year, the recession must be affecting their price points since the new diamond phone offerings run from $7900 (red Zelie model) to $13, 400 ((white Zenaide model). No word yet on the carat count, but if you'd rather not have a diamond blingtone, there's a sapphire and gold-plated clamshell option covered in black PVD for $6500.

See? They're being reasonable.

I've already added this little ditty to my Christmas list - but one can apparently only get ones hands on the Dior dazzler by special order - so sharpen those claws and start praying to the fashion gods now. Santa doesn't have quite the pull in this arena.

Jewelry Fit for Kings and Queens

Jewelry hounds, you may be the only folks who really understand this next sentiment. You know that moment when the jewelry stars align, and you see a piece of jewelry so perfectly designed - so beautifully crafted - so YOU - that you know it will be forever ingrained on the fashion-obsessed part of your cerebral cortex?

I just had that moment when reviewing the new Dior Joaillerie line - their royal ‘Kings & Queens’ collection by Victoire de Castellane. The jewels feature one of my favorite trends – skulls – in an adorable brooch and ring pair. Yes, you’re meant to buy them as a royal couple! Adorable!


Just look at these little beauties. Can you imagine the gasps as you wear the skull ring to your next big event? Or better yet? Imagine the skulls' shine as you reach for that orange chicken Lean Cuisine during your next trip down the frozen food aisle. Glamour, people. Glamour.




The collection is made out of diamonds, opal, jade, quartz and obsidian, which along with the skulls symbolizes “eternity”, according to Dior. I’ve not been able to track down price points - which I’m thinking is just as well.

The King and Queen pieces even have cute little names: Queen of Jadélénie and King Opal to name a few.

Sigh.


So have you ever had a jewelry epiphany that rivals my new Dior skull obsession? If so, share the wealth! And what do you think about the royals? You die? Or not your style?