Belated Birthday Baubles

While wasting away visiting my childhood home in Baltimore over the Christmas season, I, naturally, did some shopping for myself, blaming my birthday as proper justification. My mother and I nearly always spend at least one morning during my visits scouring the wares of peddlers of bygone memorabilia at an antiques market, weaving between now familiar patrons, quirky characters also interested in ornate oyster dishes or classic crystal champagne sets or decrepit dolls from an earlier era. The predominance of my time is spent scanning the many trays and shelves devoted to costume jewelry, hoping to find that gem that is unique from the hordes of pieces already cramming my bedroom. After more than a decade of amassing huge quantities of costume jewelry, at this point, it is no easy feat to find a truly unique gem.

This visit, thankfully, the search was rather seamless. Amidst a tray of silver and rhinestones, I found these very sleek, very modern Art Deco-like earrings. Featuring mixed metals, sharp angles, and dark onyx stones, these earrings, unlike most in my collection, appear as though they could have been a contemporary creation. Since purchasing these beauties back at the end of December, I have worn them at least once a week. They are an ideal complement to the thick chunky knit cream sweaters I have donned all winter in an attempt to stay warm, and are an equally appropriate and sophisticated companion to the ever-timeless little black dress ensemble.