Van Cleef in action!

[BigAkoya]

Love love love this
I love striped shirts, thank you for the link! It’s difficult to find nice ones around here.
And of course all the jewelry is just perfect
I need some WG MOP in my collection next…

OMG... finally, a Striped Shirt Soul Sister!
Okay, so..aside from the obvious striped combos, here are two of my favorite that are unexpected, but they are among my most loved.

From Saint James...
This is a seasonal red stripe. The beige stripe is called Textured Beige. I hesitated to get it at first, but wow it is speckled with colors! Way cool. I have both these fits, but it also comes in other fits. This color combo is seasonal, and it's now on sale. I have multiples of this one as I love it so much.
Women's Breton Stripe Top, 3/4 Sleeve, GALATHEE, Saint James® (saint-james.com)
Women's French Striped Shirt | Long Sleeve | Saint James® (saint-james.com)

Another favorite that is the bomb for me... the French Tri-Color. This one came out several years ago, but I have never seen it on sale. I have multiples of this too, as I love this French Tri Color stripe. This also comes in several fits (e.g. women, unisex, men).
Women's Striped Long Sleeve T-Shirt, French Tri-Color, Cotton – Saint James (saint-james.com)

Last one I want to share that is a new favorite from Vince.
This is a super comfy linen sweater, so cool, summery, and relaxed. It is here on the Vince website, but NM, Nordstrom also carry Vince. This is a new favorite too, and I purchased two of them, one from Vince and the other from Nordsrom.
Breton Stripe Long Sleeve Boat Neck for Women | Vince

Happy Shopping! I am so excited to hear you like stripes!

 

[lolakitten]

OMG... finally, a Striped Shirt Soul Sister!
Okay, so..aside from the obvious striped combos, here are two of my favorite that are unexpected, but they are among my most loved.

From Saint James...
This is a seasonal red stripe. The beige stripe is called Textured Beige. I hesitated to get it at first, but wow it is speckled with colors! Way cool. I have both these fits, but it also comes in other fits. This color combo is seasonal, and it's now on sale. I have multiples of this one as I love it so much.
Women's Breton Stripe Top, 3/4 Sleeve, GALATHEE, Saint James® (saint-james.com)
Women's French Striped Shirt | Long Sleeve | Saint James® (saint-james.com)

Another favorite that is the bomb for me... the French Tri-Color. This one came out several years ago, but I have never seen it on sale. I have multiples of this too, as I love this French Tri Color stripe. This also comes in several fits (e.g. women, unisex, men).
Women's Striped Long Sleeve T-Shirt, French Tri-Color, Cotton – Saint James (saint-james.com)

Last one I want to share that is a new favorite from Vince.
This is a super comfy linen sweater, so cool, summery, and relaxed. It is here on the Vince website, but NM, Nordstrom also carry Vince. This is a new favorite too, and I purchased two of them, one from Vince and the other from Nordsrom.
Breton Stripe Long Sleeve Boat Neck for Women | Vince

Happy Shopping! I am so excited to hear you like stripes!

I love them all! I especially love the tri stripe for colour, but I’m such a sucker for 3/4 sleeve of the galathee.
I think this is my favourite , 3/4 sleeve with a boat neck.

PHARE - Boat Neck Striped Tunic with Slits | Stretch fabric with UV Protection (WHITE / NAVY)

Striped tunic with 'bateau' neckline and ¾ length sleeves in our exclusive Anti-UV viscose material to protect your body against harmful solar rays.

us.saint-james.com

The Vince is so my style too, I have some online shopping to do!!

 

[Notorious Pink]

OMG... finally, a Striped Shirt Soul Sister!
Okay, so..aside from the obvious striped combos, here are two of my favorite that are unexpected, but they are among my most loved.

From Saint James...
This is a seasonal red stripe. The beige stripe is called Textured Beige. I hesitated to get it at first, but wow it is speckled with colors! Way cool. I have both these fits, but it also comes in other fits. This color combo is seasonal, and it's now on sale. I have multiples of this one as I love it so much.
Women's Breton Stripe Top, 3/4 Sleeve, GALATHEE, Saint James® (saint-james.com)
Women's French Striped Shirt | Long Sleeve | Saint James® (saint-james.com)

Another favorite that is the bomb for me... the French Tri-Color. This one came out several years ago, but I have never seen it on sale. I have multiples of this too, as I love this French Tri Color stripe. This also comes in several fits (e.g. women, unisex, men).
Women's Striped Long Sleeve T-Shirt, French Tri-Color, Cotton – Saint James (saint-james.com)

Last one I want to share that is a new favorite from Vince.
This is a super comfy linen sweater, so cool, summery, and relaxed. It is here on the Vince website, but NM, Nordstrom also carry Vince. This is a new favorite too, and I purchased two of them, one from Vince and the other from Nordsrom.
Breton Stripe Long Sleeve Boat Neck for Women | Vince

Happy Shopping! I am so excited to hear you like stripes!

I also love stripes! As does my mom… anything “nautical”. Which of these fits do you recommend? I like a slim fit, but not too narrow.

 

[DS2006]

It's 87 degrees here today on the East Coast... stripes and shorts!
Here is one more shot of me in "casual with bling" and then I'll zip it....
I have spoken so much about striped tees with white skinny Bemurda shorts, so I thought I would post an example.
By the way, for any striped tee lovers, I love Saint James. They are my go to for striped tees. They are a French company founded in 1889, and one of the original Breton shirt makers. The boutique in NYC on Madison has closed , but you can order online. Their striped tees come in tons of colors, so they are easily collectible. Here is their website in case anyone might be interested:
Striped Breton Shirts and Nautical Style Knitwear | Saint James® (saint-james.com)
(Oooh... I see they have a sale now! Need to check it out and stock up on seasonal colors I like).

My "casual with bling" outfit today...
I'm in the car after finishing brunch. I'm giving Lotus a little love and also wearing my Alhambra WG MOP set (also wearing the MOP earrings, but not shown in photo). The tee is black & white striped. This morning, after I got dressed, I opened my jewelry box to decide what to jewelry to wear. My little panda saw my black & white striped tee and said "pick me, pick me, I match!". So he's hanging out with me too. I actually wore my little panda guy hanging on the side (a la "@nicole0612 -style", but for this photo, I moved him to the bottom so you could see him on my chain.

By thy way, I totally admire you ladies who take great photos. This one photo below was such drama and took me forever. Ugh. To all you ladies with the beautiful photos with your nice background, perfect lighting, gorgeous props... you are such creative artists!

So, please forgive the bad photo, but on the other hand, this is as casual and real as it gets.
I hope this inspires more casual with bling looks!

View attachment 5140577

You did a great job with the picture! It definitely confirmed that I need the wg MOP bracelet, etc., and I am another who likes striped shirts! In fact, I had on navy capris with a navy and white striped shirt today! I am definitely interested in some new ones. Do these shrink or keep their size?

 

[linda83]

The other day… using my 5 motif as a necklace! Gotta love when you can multipurpose things View attachment 5137577

Perfection! @eternallove4bag, may I ask what you use to extend your five motif? I haven't found an extender that's long enough that also blends in well. TIA!

 

[eternallove4bag]

It's 87 degrees here today on the East Coast... stripes and shorts!
Here is one more shot of me in "casual with bling" and then I'll zip it....
I have spoken so much about striped tees with white skinny Bemurda shorts, so I thought I would post an example.
By the way, for any striped tee lovers, I love Saint James. They are my go to for striped tees. They are a French company founded in 1889, and one of the original Breton shirt makers. The boutique in NYC on Madison has closed , but you can order online. Their striped tees come in tons of colors, so they are easily collectible. Here is their website in case anyone might be interested:
Striped Breton Shirts and Nautical Style Knitwear | Saint James® (saint-james.com)
(Oooh... I see they have a sale now! Need to check it out and stock up on seasonal colors I like).

My "casual with bling" outfit today...
I'm in the car after finishing brunch. I'm giving Lotus a little love and also wearing my Alhambra WG MOP set (also wearing the MOP earrings, but not shown in photo). The tee is black & white striped. This morning, after I got dressed, I opened my jewelry box to decide what to jewelry to wear. My little panda saw my black & white striped tee and said "pick me, pick me, I match!". So he's hanging out with me too. I actually wore my little panda guy hanging on the side (a la "@nicole0612 -style", but for this photo, I moved him to the bottom so you could see him on my chain.

By thy way, I totally admire you ladies who take great photos. This one photo below was such drama and took me forever. Ugh. To all you ladies with the beautiful photos with your nice background, perfect lighting, gorgeous props... you are such creative artists!

So, please forgive the bad photo, but on the other hand, this is as casual and real as it gets.
I hope this inspires more casual with bling looks!

View attachment 5140577

Loving your casual outfit and all the bling…black and white is such a perfect combination!

 

[eternallove4bag]

Perfection! @eternallove4bag, may I ask what you use to extend your five motif? I haven't found an extender that's long enough that also blends in well. TIA!

Hi, thank you so much! I am actually using a plain gold chain as an extender and then I ordered this necklace shortener from Etsy to clip the chain at a shorter length in the back. The shortener shows out of stock right now on the website but I am sure it will be restocked soon. Seems to be a popular item judging from all the positive reviews.

Infinity Clips Necklace Shortener, Chain Shortener, Clasp for Necklace, Small Classic Silver, Gold or Rose Gold Plated Crystal Accent Clip - Etsy

This Chains item by InfinityClips has 683 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Doylestown, PA. Listed on Aug 30, 2024

www.etsy.com

 

[eternallove4bag]

Sometimes a little restrained, sometimes over the top…I guess that’s my style?

 

[Lien]

Sometimes a little restrained, sometimes over the top…I guess that’s my style?
View attachment 5141066

Swwwwooooon!! I LOVE everything about this pic but particularly the Kelly. Chevre is prob my most fave leather. What colour is that? It's gorgeous!! H has so many pink shades, I lose track!

 

[eternallove4bag]

Swwwwooooon!! I LOVE everything about this pic but particularly the Kelly. Chevre is prob my most fave leather. What colour is that? It's gorgeous!! H has so many pink shades, I lose track!

Thank you so much! Gosh, chèvre is my favorite leather too and even though I am not a pink lover, rose lipstick in chèvre is probably my favorite shade of pink! This is rose lipstick btw. I can’t keep up with Hermès pinks myself

 

[911snowball]

Inspired by my beautiful SA who often wears her 20 motifs like this- I gave it a try! Wrapped 5 times and worn with the Socrates, it is a nice sparkly summer look.

 

[BigAkoya]

I also love stripes! As does my mom… anything “nautical”. Which of these fits do you recommend? I like a slim fit, but not too narrow.

I love the Galathee, and it is also the most popular. It is fitted, but not narrow, stick to your gut tight.

The company is French and their clothes are Made in France. Yippee!
This means sizing may be different to American eyes, so do not get hung up on the size number. I am sure you know this, but French sizing can run small.

For me, I also like Galathee a bit looser, hence I got up one size. When I first purchased this brand, I was not sure on sizing, but I wanted to be sure I got the correct size and not settle. I ordered the styles I liked, and ordered them in both sizes, my regular size, and one size up. That helped me a lot. Now, I know exactly what my size is.

Galathee is is super summery, and I love the 3/4 sleeves.
Striped tops in the summer just have this French chic to me, no matter if you wear short, jeans, skirt, etc.
Plus, to me... honestly, I think it makes a person look younger! More youthful!

 

[BigAkoya]

You did a great job with the picture! It definitely confirmed that I need the wg MOP bracelet, etc., and I am another who likes striped shirts! In fact, I had on navy capris with a navy and white striped shirt today! I am definitely interested in some new ones. Do these shrink or keep their size?

We have another thing in common... striped shirts!
The shirts stay true to size. I buy the size I like, put them in the washer and dryer and they come out fine.

I like the WG MOP bracelet, but truth be told, it feels kind of lonely or something. I have thought about getting second matching bracelet, but not sure. It might look like too much Alhambra since I usually wear my 20 motif and earrings. ODing on four leaf clovers... ugh! A second bracelet is on my list to try on though next time I go to VCA to see how it looks. These bracelets are out of stock, at least last time I went, so odd. And you can't really put a 20 on the wrist to compare because the motifs are spaced further apart, so it doesn't show a good comparison.

If you like red tops, I love love love that seasonal red/textured beige top. It has speckles in the beige, and one of the speckles is turquoise! I wear my Tiffany turquoise set with it, and it really pops... red and turquoise is super summery to me. You may want to think about red also as I recall you have some VCA turquoise pieces that would look great with it.

If you wear black & white, all you need to do in my photo above is replace my bling with your Magic oynx, oynx pave bracelet, and poof!

Your navy striped outfit sounds so chic! Such a classic summer look!

 

[Notorious Pink]

I was totally inspired by @eternallove4bag to bring out the rose lipstick!

 

[Deleted member 626500]

Large lotus

@BigAkoya I really do appreciate your opinion so I would like your perspecptive. Over the years I’ve gone back and forth on wg. Currently I’m swinging back toward it, but the truth is that I’ve always felt that it doesn’t look all that great near my face. I think my VCA journey would have been SOOO much easier if I really liked wg on me. I love the look on others, and yet here I go through of this rigamarole of having to find or special order particular pieces. Why can’t I just suck it up and get wg/onyx? Did I HAVE to find the magic pave pendant and earrings in YG? Similarly, I am looking for neutrals but I don’t think MOP (either shade) is the most flattering on me. I’ve tried them on countless times trying to convince myself they look just as good on me. (by the way I do love wearing wg with pg and my love bracelet has both, so I’m always wearing something wg/pg even when I wear my YG pieces).

@eternallove4bag i love allllll of your photos!!! Your pieces and style are gorgeou.

@jenaywins im always thrilled to see your photos too! You know I die over that bag combo too, lol.

@surfer my style sister!!! Those clips!!!! You have totally inspired me to look into twinning with you…yet again!

Thank you so much for taking the time!!!

I definitely want the Frivole BTF ring, but it's not a matter of one or the other. I am a bit OCD so I have put together a list (complete with prices and photos) of what I would like to own and when I plan to purchase it. The order at the top is actually the pink sapphire frivole earrings and necklace, then the onyx SO set, then the ring. I really do like sets.

Next year is a big birthday, so that's what the SO set would commemorate. I do love bling, but one of my issues is that I tend to purchase all bling and then nothing for every day. The pink sapphire frivoles would be the most "everyday" pieces I own. I'm not all in on everything bling though - just the right amount. I don't love most of the high jewelry pieces for me except the Liane and the Ludo. Maybe the Flowerlace. And for regular jewelry, I'm not into the Cosmos, Lotus, Socrate, Fleurette - I prefer some of the Bouton d'Or line, Rose de Noel (and of course the Frivole). Even the Two Butterfly - when I put it on, it's kind of "meh" on me.

As far as what I have - you'd be surprised. I let go of a lot of things to consolidate. I have to live with something for a while before I know whether it's something I will keep. The majority of my VCA collection, at this point, is the yellow gold Magic pieces and the guilloche/pave SO. A few other things (perlee clover, etc), not much.

I am passionate about the appearance of onyx with pg. Maybe 10 years ago I saw an SA wearing the 20 motif Letterwood which had darkened quite a lot, and my heart stopped - I thought it was onyx. It's why I bought the Letterwood, which I didn't keep, because it just wasn't dark enough (and I couldn't get the matching earrings...the whole look was like, SooooooCloseButNoDarnnnnn). The SO would be a combo of bling and everyday: 20 motif PG/onyx, alternating (onyx/pave) 3 motif earrings, alternating 5 motif bracelet. There is no question that when I think about these pieces, I feel that tightness in my chest that says: "MUST!!!!!"

I think my question is maybe not necessarily related to what I am ordering. I mean - I love mop, but maaaayybeeee my heart does not skip a beat when I see it. I can appreciate the elegance of it, but maybe I wish my tastes were more simple. And a lot of this is wrapped up in my appearance. I agree with "These ladies do not think 'oh, white metal does not look good on me'. Rather, it is the piece that is worn and admired, the metal is secondary." but that's just not me. It's the whole look. I joke that sometimes I am performance art, lol. It all has to work together. One piece too much (DH and I amusingly recall one outfit where bag, dress, and shoes all matched my hair and we call it "the day the circus came to town") and it's OTT, which I'm not, but for me, it's not just the metal, the stone, or the design, but the whole look and how it integrates with my style.

SOOOO maybe I am just frustrated with myself for not being "easier"?

Thank you thank you THANK YOU SO MUCH for your input. I am going to try to be perhaps kinder to myself when trying on wg. But it just seems to me, when I am putting together a look, some metals just pop and tie it all together for me and some just don't.

@Notorious Pink-If I may add my two cents . . . until recently, all my VCA has been yellow gold w the exception of the letterwood. Suddenly the WG/onyx looked so fresh, while the YG/onyx looked very 70's (remember all the Chanel accessories w the leather woven through the gold chains?). I never liked WG on me, and now I do for which @BigAkoya is to blame!
The WG, whether WG/onyx, WG/MOP or all WG, has an appeal it never had before. So my thoughts--you might want to revisit this as part of your collection.