So spring is here. That means the weather is finally warming up. For us in Washington, it was a long time coming.
With the more frequent appearances of the sun, shorter sleeves are becoming the fashion, as they do every year at this time. With shorter sleeves comes the need for accessories. Specifically bracelets.
In my opinion, there is nothing that presents a more graceful wrist or hand than a flattering bracelet. A piece that represents your personality and style, by color, shape, stone, and design, can perhaps best be found in the charm bracelet. When selecting beads for a charm bracelet for yourself, make sure the colors and stone/mineral types are becoming to your skin tone. No matter how much citrine makes you swoon for its sunny clarity or new jade makes you sigh over its leafy hue, if you have yellow undertones to your skin, these are not the colors for you. Just no. Though not for you, someone else may be able to wear these.
When designing a charm bracelet for someone else and there are few if any specifications to follow, its best to fall back to your own good judgment (the same good judgment that refuses to wear colors that make you look flu-like), if I would/could wear it, then they'll wear it. You'd think this would be common sense, wouldn't you? Well surprisingly, when shopping around, I find that many designers are followers of the "Bigger is Better" religion. It's an awful cult where the believers create jewelry (specifically bracelets) that are busy with expensive beads, gaudy beads, and popular colors. And all this over-effort to appeal to their audience results in a waste of time, energy, and worse, money.
I can't say how many times I've run into charm bracelets that look as if they have small children hanging off them along with a bowling ball or two. A charm bracelet is supposed to dangle with elegance, not atrocity. So to avoid this constant pitfall, choose beads and design bracelets that you would wear or that at least appear attractive to your eye. Consider the time of year and the weight when choosing color and stones.
If your judgment is in doubt (we all have our weaknesses), ask the opinion of someone with good fashion sense, watch TV, or read magazines. You can research while you read People to see what Penelope and Halle are wearing or watch the Bachelor to find out what the contestants are sporting. Take advantage of all the resources at your disposal so you can create a little piece of heaven for someone's lucky wrist. Aquilla.
All beads from charm bracelet photoed provided by: www.SilverRoseBeads.com Jewelry instructionals, Stone Energy pages, Online Beading Help can be found at: www.SilverRose.net View this article and many other fashion beading design articles at: www.SilverRose.net/articles.htm
