Important, Special Note to Tiffany & Co.

Pretty Headquarters

10 Malevolent Manor
Principality of Monaco, via Austin, Texas


February 10, 2009

Tiffany & Co.
456 Stop Catering to the Teenagers St.
New York, NY 10666

Dear Tiffany:

It pains us to direct our Icy Glare in your direction, old friend. Truly. So much so that we're bringing out the Royal We* for support.
*And lots of Capital Letters!! Wacky!

However, when you inundate our virtual and actual mailbox with this sort of thing, We are forced to set aside any Little Blue Box loyalties and say . . .

. . . DUDE.

In all seriousness, T, we realize that Valentine's Day is Upon Us and all, but this selling sterling silver advertisements of yourself must stop. When you as a brand cease making me desire to breakfast iconically in front of your store, and instead inspire me to nearly lose that same meal, something has gone horribly, disturbingly awry. Let's take a look, shall we?

It's 2009 now, T. Even Elle Woods - that Pretty Heroine who inspired countless professional, independent yet feminine women everywhere to run out and buy the exact same Tiffany heart necklace** as one another - would be the first to admit when a certain blinged-out, It Bag, logo-crazy zeitgeist has passed. That time, we fear, is now.
**S'OK, everyone did it. I have some of it too. No need to hide. XOXO!

Because, at this very moment in time, many of us might not choose to be Returned to Tiffany***; returning to an actual job tomorrow sounds rather nice, actually. Health insurance, buying a car, worrying about my - ahem, Our - active military brother possibly being sent to Iraq - these are things I'd like to advertise on behalf of at the moment.
***If, however, this showed up at Pretty HQ, I might be willing to reconsider . . .

To conclude, T, we're not asking for a breakup as we did with our former flame, Coach**. Quite the opposite, actually - we wear a number of your more - what's the word for it - subtle pieces daily, and have enthusiastically encouraged others to do the same here. It's just that . . . Tiffany, at this be-logoed moment . . . We're Just Not That Into You.

Mournfully Yours,

Miss Pretty,
Pretty HQ, February 2009

Ask the Pretty, i.e. Fun with Cartier and Tiffany

Today's post allows us the opportunity to engage in one of the Pretty's favorite pastimes - telling other people what to wear - which is second only to feeling smugly superior
on le beloved hobbies list. Perusing Tiffany and Cartier goodies is also high on the list, naturally. Besides, in perhaps my one selfless (mostly) move of the week, I wanted to send you off to your weekend on a fun note, so imagine my delight upon spotting this reader question:

" . . . any thoughts on Tiffany's latest creations? I'm particularly interested in your insight on the Tiffany Blue enamel & sterling silver bangle. For a mere Tiffany pittance ($450), you can wear the Blue... Will it recreate that superficial thrill I admittedly get every time I see the blue box and what treasure it will hold? Will it clash with my gold Cartier Love bracelet (that thing never comes off come hell or high water)? Oh, Pretty, Witty, Blonde goddess, what's a girl with a Christmas list in the making to do?" - courtesy of that yummy mummy and dear friend, Esquire Mommy, who I didn't even have to harass to write in with this question.*
*I pay well.

EM, let me first say what a delightful dilemma this is to have! Knowing how reliably wonderful your Ralph Lauren-style husband is with the Good Jewelry, I have every confidence that Santa will do the right blue-and-white thing here. So as to guide his sleigh in the proper direction, however, let's take a look at the hard facts, shall we?

For the sake of giving myself an excuse to spend hours toodling around Cartier's website other readers' visual reference, I include the gold Cartier "Love" bracelet and necklace you already own here (all photos credit Cartier):

Many of us have seen the recent Cartier ads for this collection, and I'm happy to report these pieces are exquisitely elegant and feminine in person. And I'm not just saying that because I am fervently willing Cartier to send me all of the above and perhaps just one teensy weensy Tank Francaise watch. However, as these Love pieces have already been purchased, we are not here to debate their merits, gentle readers, so moving right along . . .

As for the T & Co. bauble in question, I see this as a three part analysis - you know how us Legally Blonde types favor numbered lists & colons (the latter referring to the grammar weapon, not the gastrointestinal goody) - to wearing it with the Love bracelet:

(1) Can we mix this sterling silver with that yellow gold? In general, I think mixing metals can work, but I like a visual link between the two;
(2) I regret that this is necessary, T & Co., but is the item in question too Logo-ed?; and
(3) What Tiffany baubles hints must be funnelled to my own Anonymous Husband for my own Christmas List? What's that, this isn't about me? Dolls, when it comes to Good Jewelry, it's an official Pretty Stance to make it about yourself, all in demure and feminine manner, of course . . . ahem . . .

(credit: Tiffany)

Mmm, indeed there is some magical Madison Avenue mojo with that shade of blue, isn't there? It renders a girl positively Holly Golightly despite ourselves, no? And the shape of this does match the gold bangle, and is just simple and delightful on its own merits. However, strictly applying our 2 Part Test:**
**knew our professional school exam strategy would come in handy eventually - thanks, student loans!

(1) as far as the gold-silver color combinations go, I think the silver here might not be the best match with the ever-present Cartier. Although the blue & gold would be really striking, I'd prefer a gold border with the blue vs. this sterling;
(2) On the Logo-Scale, the American judge gives this a 5 out of 10; there's definitely logo presence atop & perhaps below the bangle, which we generally stand against. On the other hand, the logos are smallish & located such that I suspect no one would notice it at all when the bracelet on the arm.

Overall, I genuinely do like the Tiffany bracelet & would particularly love it bunched up in a stack of other silver baubles like this. Here, however, the silver/gold mismatch with your Cartier is of more of a concern than the logos or, say, who's up to be nominated as Secretary of State. How about these T & Co. ideas for a more seamless silver-gold matchup . . .

(credit: Tiffany)

This one is a Tiffany classic, and integrates the silver-gold combo beautifully. Nary a logo in sight, and its elegant shape would complement the Love bracelet & its pattern nicely. Plus, at only $325, I'm saving Mr. EM a whopping $125 he can devote to yet another present for you! Or you, know, I accept PayPay payments or cashiers checks.

If that last one isn't to your liking, how about this?

(Credit: Tiffany - dumb internet connection preventing my posting the specific link. Harrumph.)

Again, this ties the silver and gold together nicely, and the circular pattern matches the beautiful Love circles pattern. This isn't a firm bangle, so it may move around the wrist more, but I like the contrast in form.

Readers, what say you? Thinking I'm even more brilliant than you did before? Any other Christmas list crises for which I can be of service?

A Charming Trend . . .

. . . post in which we discuss charm bracelets. Get it - "A Charming Trend"? Ha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

But seriously, if you're still reading after that obnoxiously unforgivable wordplay . . . we've noticed an uptick in what we've always considered a classic. Charm bracelets at once strike us as personal and like something we'd run across while furtively pawing through our Grandmother's jewelry box - simultaneously modern and retro. The jewelry, that is, not the sneaking through the family jewels.

Moving right along, upon moving to Texas a while back, we saw more than we were used to, mostly from local silversmiths like this. Now it appears that as though the fashion world at large has caught on. Let's take a look:

(credit: Juicy Couture via InStyle)

Yes, it's from that Juicy Couture, they of the velour pantsuit national nightmare that we addressed not so long ago. We're forced to admit that we like this little bauble too! It's got this fabulously faux-horsey name - "Country Estate" - it's almost entirely logo free, and it even has fun little details like an acorn for Blue-Eyed Bride. At $178, we're hoping it will magically appear in our Christmas stockings vs. actually purchasing it ourselves, but nonetheless - Juicy, as much as it pains us to say, well done again on turning things in a considerably more tasteful direction.

Our friends with the magical blue boxes have a few we fancy as well:

(credit: Tiffany)

This one has champagne flutes AND a cupcake - it's like a miniature silver tribute to everything we hold dear! And:

(credit: Tiffany)

This one is directly up our equestrian alley. It also costs nearly as much as an actual horse, unfortunately, but we'll put it a close second to a live pony on our Christmas list.

And over at Ruby Lane, which always has delectable-looking antique goodies, we found some adorable vintage ones here and there.

Girls, let's keep this classic as much to ourselves here on the, um, internet as "In Style" will allow, lest the charm bracelet go the way of the Birkin and be seen on every tragic starlet's arm. Speaking of, Heidi Montag - you're on the snark deck, sweets - stay tuned . . .

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Speaking of charming, and removing my Third Person Tiara for just a sec, tonight I had the pleasure of meeting the brilliant blogette SLynnRo in person. She was just as nice, funny, and fashionable as I'd feared. Of course, this unfortunately means that someone in the Blog World can now confirm that I *might* not quite so closely resemble Grace Kelly as I like to maintain, but I think the price of meeting a lovely person in "the real world" is worth the risk.

Little Blue Box . . .

aka, Signs You ARE Still in That Romantical, Goofy Dating Stage

. . . yes, THAT little blue box with the white bow tied just so, is one of those clever marketing ploys fabulous details of life that activates all of our excitement buttons. Whenever we've been lucky enough to receive or give myself a T & Co. gift, and I say this despite some of my ideological differences with the company as of late (nothing on scale with our objections to Coach, which we'll address another day, but along the same taste-change lines) we admittedly and unashamedly launch into skip-a-hearbeat, catching breath, lightheaded, fill-in-the-cliche behaviors.

(credit: Minxlj @ Flickr)

So imagine our delirium when, upon arriving home from work last Friday, merely looking forward to a dinner our with the Anonymous Husband in celebration of one of those anniversaries Hallmark forgot about, and receiving a Little Blue Box containing something we've been coveting for months:

(credit: As Seen on TV. And you can find them at Tiffany here)

We like our sunglasses as we like our diamonds - large.

We mention this gift not to brag about the fabulousness of AH, and of our BF-EM in passing along a hint to him - well, just a little bit - but also to mention what glorious sunglasses these are in real life. If you're blind as le bat like I am in the sun, you may also be given to wearing geriatric-style sunglasses whenever possible - and why shouldn't those glasses be sassied up with some sparkles on each side, to distinguish us from those kind elderly driving their Buicks down the sidewalk? In addition to the aesthetics, these are also the most comfortable pair of glasses I've ever worn - as well they should be for the price, but still impressive. My favorable opinion may well be due to my penchant for buying eyewear at Target, but no matter - these are light as a feather despite their size, and don't do that pinch-the-sides-of-the-head thing that others do. T & Co, you've won me over again despite myself.