Sweater Weather: Style Tips for Fall Layering

Above: Amazing sweater by Farm Rio

Here in our neck of the woods, the trees have gone fully technicolor, with so many leaves on the ground you hear nothing but crunching when you walk outside. Temperatures have dropped, too, and though I’m not a fan of the cold I am, ironically, a huge fan of sweaters. Give me a shaggy sleeve, a complicated fisherman’s cable knit, or a brightly colored yarn any day.

I also still insist on going full jewelry in the colder, months and have found that with a slight strategy shift, you can keep wearing jewelry along with those extra layers. Here are my top tips for transitioning into fall:

1.

Wear sweaters with necklaces that have extender chains — thicker knits tend to make necklaces sit higher than normal, so wear your necklaces on their longest settings to make up for it. Most of my necklaces have extenders already, but you can also purchase extenders that can be attached to any necklace.

Wear this Halcott Necklace with…

…over this Sezane sweater.

2.

Show off an intricately patterned sweater with clean, all metal earrings — a necklace would get in the way of that great pattern, while earrings will compliment it.

Pair this gloriously 80s-style Farm Rio sweater…

…with these brass Halo Hoops.

3.

Pair larger scale necklaces with really chunky, solid-colored sweaters. The chunkiness and texture already make a statement, and need jewelry that can keep up.

Wear this Cosmos Necklace…

…with this Line & Dot cable knit sweater.

4.

Slip a cuff or bangle over your sweater sleeve, with the sleeve helping keep it in place.

Get cozy in this Madewell sweater…

…and this silver Asp Bangle.

5.

Try your rings on different fingers — lower temps mean rings will fit a little more loosely, so move them around to find a better fit.

Some wider rings, like this Hathor Ring, will fit differently if you switch their direction on your finger, too.

A wide, chunky Hathor Ring.

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Happy layering!

Drown me in this perfume, please

What’s it like floating through space, making your way towards new worlds with the stars as your map?

Wondering that for ourselves, Kelly + Jones’ founder and perfumer, Kelly Jones, and I started gathering ingredients and experimenting. After lots of testing and tweaking, she ended up mixing us a custom scent that feels like being in deep space: Space Cadet. 

It’s slightly metallic and expansive, with notes of solar musks and sparkling bergamot, and whispers of amber resin. It’s a little unexpected, but beautiful to wear and crafted with luxurious, high end ingredients.

Left: The final product, Space Cadet; Right: Jean Shrimpton in Harper’s Bazaar, 1965

Kelly mixed a small, limited edition batch of this perfume oil, and as a holiday gift I’m sneaking a complimentary Space Cadet roll-on in with every order over $200 this month. I’m so excited for you to smell it, and hope you love it as much as I do!

Find out more about Kelly + Jones here, or find some special gifts for the holidays here.

Style Hacks for Last-Minute Plans

Sometimes life throws a change of plans at you, like impromptu drinks with friends after work, or a surprise dinner-date with your in-laws. You don’t have time for a full outfit change, but a few quick updates can totally change your look. Here are my favorite hacks for dressing an outfit up or down in an instant:

1

A white tee and jeans feel casual, but pair them with heels and long, sparkling earrings (like the Ridgeline Drops in crystal) to dress them up.

Images, clockwise from top left: James Perse tee; Ridgeline Drops; Isabel Marant heeled sandals; vintage Levi’s

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2

Wearing a dress automatically feels like more of an occasion, but make it more casual with modern, all-metal accessories (like these Nova Earrings or Undercurrent Bracelet) and sneakers.

Images, clockwise from top left: Nova Clip-On Earrings; Michelle Mason wrap dress; Undercurrent Bracelet; Golden Goose sneakers

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3

A button down and pencil skirt are great for the office, but throw on a slouchy sweatshirt and oversized metal hoops (like these Halo Hoops) for after-work drinks.

Images, left to right: Madewell sweatshirt; Black Halo skirt; Halo Hoops

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Give these a shot and let me know how it goes! Have other quick tricks that have worked for you before? Share the love and leave them in the comments below!

Cleopatra's Emeralds

Left: Still from Cleopatra (1963), 20th Century Fox/Photofest; Right: Emerald specimen, photo by Klaus-Peter Kelber.

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I’ve always been fascinated by powerful women in history, and Cleopatra has to be top 3 on that list. She took Egypt from her younger brother and made herself queen; she had affairs with some of the most famous men in history (Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, no big deal); and she had an impressive collection of gems and jewels. (It’s entirely possible she was reincarnated as Elizabeth Taylor!)

But one of the stones most synonymous with Cleopatra is the emerald. She figured out way before anyone else that in order to command fear and respect, she had to look look the part of an impressive, heaven-sent ruler.  And she did that by owning all the gems and constantly showing them off. 

She scooped up all of Egypt’s mines for herself, using emeralds as her royal calling card, wearing and giving them as diplomatic gifts. The Roman author Lucanus wrote that her home was littered with emerald-encrusted objects, and that she adorned herself with so many that he wondered how she didn’t “faint beneath the weight of gems and gold” (#goals). She had so many that during her time, when you thought of Egypt you simultaneously thought of emeralds. 

If you’re feeling as inspired as I am by this queen of Egypt, I highly recommend watching Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra (buckle up, though, it’s a 4 hour movie). Or, dive into more gemstone lore with Victoria Finlay’s “Jewels: A Secret History” where a lot of this incredible information came from.