Jewellery & Fashion

Blog

  • How to store your jewellery correctly

    Most women have a collection of jewellery whether it be a few necklaces, earrings and bracelets bought to accessorise particular outfits or jewellery that has been handed down from generation to generation and may be quite valuable but storing the jewellery pieces correctly means that they are easy to find when required and that they stay looking good for many years.

    A jewellery box of some sort is often the most popular receptacle for the pieces but needs to be suitable for the amount of jewellery you have. If you have a lot of necklaces it is a good idea to have some way of storing them where they are hanging down so that you can see your collection easily and so that they do not get tangled up with each other.

    Earrings can be quite fiddly to store but some jewellery boxes have sections where stud earrings can be put through a holder with the butterfly holding them firm from the back.

    Care needs to be taken with expensive gold and silver jewellery as if left out they can quickly become tarnished, so these particular pieces are probably better stored in small boxes. If the pieces do become dull and discoloured a cloth impregnated with silver or gold polish can be used to brighten them and restore the jewellery back to its former condition.

  • What age should your child get their ears pierced?

    Ear piercing is often one of those things that many children beg their parents to have for a number of years prior to them being allowed. Some parents are happy for their child to have their ears pierced any age, some even get it done from not long after birth. Other parents may have very different ideas on what age their child will be allowed to. Legally in England and Wales there is no age restriction on ear, nose or belly button piercing but in Scotland you need legal consent from a parent if you are under the age of 16. Although there is no lower age limit in England as long as the person agrees they want them done, many salons have their own rules, so for example, may not pierce the ears of a 10 year old that walks in without a parent.

    It is important to consider when your child gets them pierced as they will have to keep their studs in for 6 weeks when first done. For school they may have to take them out or put tape over them which you don’t really want to be doing too much in those early weeks.

  • Buying ethical clothes on a budget

    If you try to live your life as much as possible in an eco-friendly way you may not only want to buy and eat food that has been produce in an ethical manner but also buy clothing that has been produced in a responsible way and that in its production has not taken advantage of cheap labour or released damaging pollutants into the atmosphere.

    Shopping ethically is often believed to be more expensive as the brands who promote themselves as being conscious of their carbon footprint generally sell their goods at a higher price so how can we shop ethically whilst still saving money?

    A change in attitude towards the amount of clothing we buy is what is needed so that we buy less of the cheaper mass-produced clothing and buy fewer items of the responsibly made clothes even if they are more expensive initially. It is however encouraging to see that some of the larger supermarkets and department stores are listening to customers and are changing their wholesale buying policies to incorporate more eco friendly materials and assure customers of their concerns about factory workers rights and conditions.

    A simple way to reduce the impact on the environment when buying clothes is to buy second hand. Buying from charity shops and preloved websites is an excellent way to do this and often amazing bargains can be found.

  • Jewellery storage solutions at home

    Many women find that over the years the amount of jewellery that they accumulate is phenomenal and so feel the need to sort out and organise their collection periodically. Jewellery boxes alone do not address the problem of storage as some do not adequately keep necklaces from becoming tangled and do not allow you to view your collection of earrings sufficiently to be able to make a choice.

    One of the most useful ways of storing your assortment of necklaces is to have them hanging up either on a rotary unit or on a board attached to the wall. This can be made quite simply by buying a cork display board, covering it with fabric of your choice and using plastic pins to hold the necklaces in place.

    Earrings can be difficult to store as they are quite fiddly, but earring holders are an effective way of organising them in such a way as to be able to see your collection at a glance. The earring stem simply pushes through a small hole in the metal holder and the butterfly is attached to the back.

    If you have items of jewellery that are particularly precious or expensive it is a good idea to keep them boxed separately as they can become tarnished if stored with other items.

  • Choosing a wedding outfit that does not break the bank

    Although weddings have had to be postponed this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic you may still be thinking about the outfit you will wear for a wedding when the restrictions are lifted, and life can return to some form of normality.

    Online shopping has increased enormously in recent times but shopping for clothes online can be extremely frustrating as sizes vary such a lot from brand to brand and the fabric is sometimes not as expected. The cost of items bought from stores online can also increase due to delivery charges with some companies charging you if you need to return purchases.

    Some people might turn to charity shops to look for a bargain but as charity shops are not open at the present time, a worthwhile alternative to buying a new outfit is to look on social media marketplace and other sites that sell pre-owned items. Wedding outfits are often sold on these sites and it may be possible to pick up a bargain. The cost of buying your wedding clothes will be greatly reduced and accessories such as fascinators and handbags can be sourced in the same way.

    Another alternative is to ask friends and family if you could borrow an outfit as we tend not to wear the clothing that we have worn to a family wedding again. You could even swap outfits with friends that are the same size as you making a saving for you and your friends.