Wholesale Fashion Jewelry & Accessories Blog

THE POWER COLOR:  When it comes to fashion, you just can’t go wrong with black.  And never has black been so right as it is now. Put on a black turtle neck sweater for an imposing 1950s French couture look.  Use black jewelry to quietly enhance a Bostonian black power suit.  Glitz up an all-black outfit with black sequins and crystals, embroidery and beads.  Black makes everything a little better. A little richer.  A little more intense.  Black sets the tone for many fashion stories this year, from jeans to evening gowns, necklaces to evening bags. Black is everywhere! 

For example, Punk or Grunge is back, and isn’t it fitting for a season of black extravagance?  Think black belts with silver buckles, silver watches with black straps, high black boots, black tights or black lace stockings, long shimmery black tanks over black and red plaid pants.  Play up the Brits, with remembrance of the Queen of Punk, Vivienne Westwood, and all her wild and incorrigible street ensembles.

You see, the look is multi-faceted, but always black.  You can go Punk, or Biker, or you can go elegant and classic.  Maybe you want to play up the Batman modality, with black ties, black sequined jackets, black crystal evening bags and - absolutely! -black stone bracelets galore.  Don’t forget to add on pointy spindly low black booties and a shortie jacket to mimic a black cape.  Fast and dangerous! Very IN, but not for everyone.

Not all black is solid and uncompromising.  Black is also effective as a base color with brights (or smoldering darks) worked into it.  Think about a black T with an eye-stopping orange-red skull design on the front.  Or black and red shortie boots.  Black sunglasses are an absolute with this look, along with black-based scarves with multi-colored designs.  Black jazzed up with silver studs also makes it big this season, especially on sharp Italian leather jackets.  Don’t miss out on the fingerless black gloves here.

SILVER SCREEN STYLE:  Feathers filled the runways for spring and they are still there now, for fall and winter, only this time they are mostly sexy, old Hollywood black.  Whew…!  This is really some look!  Add on shoes and clothes with discrete cutouts that suggest…! We’re talking about black feathers around the neck, used on short skirts, on hats and purses, you name it!

Even though this is basically black refined and not black scary, there are some dark points in the present black infusion into fashion.  Black spider pins, for example, are hot, hot, hot!! (Think of Armani’s marvelous black spider pin with emerald green head.)  Black crosses and crucifixes are also big, especially worn in multiples and hung off long, swingy silver or gold chains.  And black stone spiked rings.  Surprisingly, there isn’t much bondage out there, even though the look has designer Helmut Lang influences.

The basic fashion lines used for much of the black rush for fall are spiked, too, and sharp, like long, skinny triangles or diamonds. — Watch it!  You could get hurt here.

TOP OF THE LINE:  For both ladylike, refined black (the black of the International Set, the classic black of New York) and the wilder, almost blacker (if that’s possible) black, one jewelry item is KING now: 

 BLACK DIAMONDS

Think money and intrigue. Think James Bond. This is what swash-buckling pirate movies and exciting novels about aristocratic jewel thieves are all about. Drama. Fascination.  Riches.  Millionaire matters. Red diamonds, yellow diamonds, clear diamonds:  None of them quite make it when compared to black. That’s probably why Swarovski calls its top level black crystal stone black diamond.

But black crystal is just one form of black jewelry hitting high notes on the fashion circuit.  Also think black rhinestones.  And Onyx.  Even black stone jewelry or man-made beads.  Black crystal brooches are elegant and can be riveting on a little black dress. Multiple strand black glass seed beads make a dynamite fashion statement now. Dangling black bow earrings are charming.

TIME MACHINE:  Black crosses time lines with ease. Consider the use of black to make things look old: vintage or even ancient.  And all black materials are particularly hot when shined up to a slithery wet very modern look. Beyond that, black crosses over markets, young and old.  For example, even playful jewelry has been commandeered by the black brigade this year. Designer Giles Deacon, a Brit with a sense of humor, uses black to glorify childhood television characters - Orville the Duck, Nookie Bear - in wonderful Swarovski crystal bracelets and necklaces.  His Swarovski crystal choice: you guessed it,  black diamond!

Mixing color with black is a big item now.  Julstin Giunta is an outstanding modern jewelry designer accredited with almost changing the face of jewelry design with layers of chains, old beads, charms, and the like.  Now he is working with an intense color palette of black and winter green for what he calls a “new macabre edge.”  Giunta uses Swarovski crystals to create jewelry that looks at home in a ballroom or at a rock concert. His long chandelier earrings in black and green with black crystal hang-offs are beauties.                                      

A variant of black, and one that makes for extremely handsome jewelry is hematite, in a deep, dark graphite color.  Genuine hematite necklaces with black gemstones accessorize black and other colors in a very updated fashion manner this year.  Look for them in a mirror finish for even greater trendy effect.  Black hematite balls, chips, and tubular beads are all stunning.  Important now:  Hematite crosses, earrings, and charms, such as little hearts.  Also look for popular themes in hematite, like dolphins and butterflies.

In Milan, in Paris,

In New York: 

Scarves enliven runways! 

Even though necklaces dominate at the neckline this fall, scarves are coming in a fast second, picking up designer attention with gusto.  Other accessories are what the word means-they accessorize clothing.  Only the artful scarf can actually integrate with, say, a dress, and impress a whole new personality on the basic dress design.

And that is exactly what scarves are doing this season:  giving clothes a fabulous and feminine new look.   Remember this when dealing with customers, who can not only benefit from a new scarf in general, but they can often bypass the cost of an entirely new outfit by updating an existing one with a good scarf.

HOT TRENDS:  This season, it is important for retailers to theme their choices to incoming fashion trends:  Animal prints are bigger than ever.  Stripes and geometrics are particularly in demand for fall and winter, in black and white as well as in bright, exciting colors.  Artful florals may suit your customer base; think Georgia O’Keefe flowers here - big, brilliant, dramatic. And paisleys are back in a big way, with all their classic elegance. Bling continues: silver or gold thread and satiny looks keep glamour, and customer demand, high. 

Designer Ralph Lauren has long been an advocate of scarves, starting with his signature ascot, gracing the shirt collar of his equestrian-style sportswear ensembles.  This season he imaginatively wrapped a wispy scarf around the neck several times, creating the look of a bulky, soft choker.  It set off a full-length evening dress magnificently, and showed just how much can be done with scarves when you put your mind to it!  In another example, Lauren used an ultra-long scarlet tissue wool scarf to circle the neck and then drape down, as a gorgeous red column, right to the floor. Running the full length of a strapless metallic evening dress, the scarf was bold and imposing.

BUYING CHOICES:  An important point about this year’s scarves is that every length is popular. Dolce & Gabbana, for example, used a subtle, soft grey/white/charcoal/gold, short neckerchief as the focal point atop a luxurious cream dress at their recent “Seventies” show. It looked terrific! 

Almost every material and weight is also IN for scarves this year. Think about that stunning black, wide floral crochet scarf set almost like a mantilla on Alexander McQueen’s beguiling model! Wool is a hot scarf choice, but so, too, is polyester, often the Number One choice material for scarves. Polyester is generally moderate in price, and it takes dyes well for beautifully clear designs.  But don’t ignore silk, either.  It has traditionally been the premium choice for designer scarf wear.

One of the truly knockout scarves for fall is a silvery metal mesh short scarf, given special runway attention by designer Paul Gaultier. This great looking scarf was encrusted with a low border of cream pearls set in multiple horizontal lines.  Dynamite!  Gaultier placed this stunner on his severely tailored, grey woman-executive skirted suit.  Wow. 

GOOD LESSONS:  Helping customers learn new ways to use scarves will unquestionably help increase your sales.  It will also make for many happy buyers.  Working with any of the fresh concepts the top designers come up with is an easy way to expand the design flexibility and even basic functionality of your scarf inventory.  But of course, while you play with new ideas, it is good to remember that some of them will take hold and some will not.

Actually, the tried-and-true, simple scarf, worn in the traditional manner, continues as a winner and probably will stay that way for many years to come. And while newness sells, what woman does not have a wardrobe of scarves in chosen colors, chosen fabrics, to suit different moods?  But the new scarves, the latest designs…they entice!  A new scarf can give a splash of vibrant IN color to enliven any outfit.  And nothing so easily transforms a dress from yesterday office proper to this-moment evening sizzle as the addition of a wonderful new scarf.

                                                  *            *            *

WHAT’S SELLING:  Sandra Wilson, accessories fashion director for Neiman Marcus, says her firm has done very well with clutches with unique styling and color. She also thinks it is important to offer great trend choices for well-priced exotics.

NOT AGAIN!!! Well, we’ve said it before but we still can’t say it enough. The color purple is hot, hot, hot this year.  From amethyst to violet and every shade in between purple is taking honors as the super stand-alone color on the designers’ circuit.  This is a strong statement color, but don’t be afraid to move away from safer looks (like purple with tan or black) to wilder combinations.  Among the dynamite looks now:  Purple pitted against gold, or paired with bright green.

RUNNING FOR OFFICE:  The race for the White House has been in full frenzy for months now. Obama and McCain will soon be anointed official presidential candidates and then the fight and fury will really break out, complete with buttons and pins, bumper stickers and T-shirts, hats, ties, scarves, and more. Their purpose:  to advertise political points of view with names and slogans, sneers and bravado. This is the big Campaign 2008, and it is going to be different from every other campaign that has gone before it.

To start with, expect souvenirs and memorabilia to be in hot demand this year.  Not that that is something new, campaign memorabilia has long been the motivation for the start- up and expansion of numerous retail businesses. But this year, interest is expected to soar as the nation considers the possibility of electing its first black President less than 150 years after the repeal of slavery. 

Buttons are the most popular and most collectible electoral paraphernalia. People wear the buttons to show which candidate they plan to vote for. Historically, the most popular was the Eisenhower “I Like Ike” button from 1952.  Going back further, we find that the first buttons to surface in the United States commemorated George Washington’s inauguration and carried the initials GW, with the statement, Long Live The President. Today, these other-era collectibles are much in demand, with an average value of about $1,000. The buyers, like former President Bill Clinton, are usually people who love history.

ELEPHANTS AND DONKEYS:  Collectors of election memorabilia usually focus on specific subject matter.  Some collect pins representing the two different political parties, such as elephant and donkey pins.  These can be extremely well crafted and full of personality.  If you are looking for 2008 buyers for these captivating pieces, think about more than just individuals.  Clubs and other organizations often purchase political party pins in bulk! There are also buyers who choose memorabilia about specific presidents.  The most popular are Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.   Once this year’s election is over, you can expect to see a major uptick in demand for buttons promoting whoever is the winning candidate!

Slogans are always hot for electioneering.  This year, the word CHANGE outruns all others, so look for it on buttons, pins, you name it. Obama started the concept up, Hillary latched on to it, and now even McCain is proclaiming his candidacy in those terms.

Patriotic motifs like swords or eagles represent another highly collectible area. Certainly the biggest of these (since 9/11 especially) is the American Flag and wow! Is Campaign 2008 ever big for this pin.  Big and, we might add, wildly controversial. McCain has always worn a flag pin, using it, among other things, as an anti-terrorist symbol. But Obama has only worn the pin on and off.

FLAG PIN FRENZY:  Back in April of this year, a voter asked Obama why he wasn’t wearing a flag pin on his lapel and he said that he had noticed “people wearing lapel pins but not acting very patriotic.”  It was a response that didn’t go down well. Republicans lambasted him, and right-wing voters across the country called him unpatriotic   The upshot of it all:  Obama now wears a flag pin on his lapel every day.

In 1991 the US was in a recession and Estee Lauder made an interesting observation.  When high ticket sales fell off in department stores, lipstick sales increased.  The observation became known as “the lipstick effect” and the logic behind it is women don’t quit buying; they just buy lower priced items. 

There’s a “feel good” experience about buying something new and the right items at reasonable cost become irresistible.  Is this bad?  Hardly! A little happiness comes from buying small things as well as gift giving.  Even The Great Depression couldn’t stop this.  Anyone remember O. Henry’s Gift of the Magi?

Well this is al good news for retailers and here are some trendy items that bring happiness with a retail price under $10.00.  First consider Murano style necklaces with pendants of striking beauty on trendy shear ribbon and waxed cord.  Wholesaling at $3.50, this fashion jewelry is irresistible as an impulse item.  The appeal extends to all age groups and the “feel good” experience comes from the customer buying something new for themselves or the happiness of buying a gift for another.   

Something else new in Murano style glass jewelry is rings.  Gals love to pick through rings trying them on, and when the retail price is $5.00 or under, they’re hard to pass up.  A dozen rings with a tray is $24.00 wholesale and you have an instant display ready for business.   Everything you expect from Murano style glass including vibrant hues, suspended color, and sparkling islands of metallic particles is in these rings. 

Anyone that frequents outdoor events like flea markets has seen booths full of hematite.  Many believe hematite has a healing quality (including my wife) that relieves pain, especially arthritic pain.  Hematite has something for everyone.  Trendy hematite necklaces with pendants appeal to young trade while healing quality appeals to mature shoppers.  Nearly everything in hematite wholesales for $2.50 and under-which means impulse sales with a healthy profit margin.   

Next, who would believe gemstone necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that retail under $10.00?  Most of these semi precious stones rank 7 on the Mohs scale (glass is about 5.5) so they are hard to cut and drill.  Yet numerous necklaces, bracelets, and earrings have wholesale prices that allow you to retail them with an unbelievably low price tag.  Tiger’s eye, rose quartz, carnelian, crystal quartz, and even reconstituted turquoise are among them.  What a value for customers!

Finally theme pendants and earrings tug at customers’ hearts with an appeal they can’t resist.  “Best Brand” creates most in our line-this company is a leader in fashion jewelry quality.  Imagine this kind of work going into fashion jewelry-themes are stamped from thin sheets of metal and the backs are sealed for hollow, light weight fashion jewelry with impeccable detail.  Next they are plated, and sometimes antiqued and two-toned.  Wow! And most retail under $10.00.  Some shrewd retailers have used this fashion jewelry to make a healthy living every summer.  How can they provide this kind of quality at such a low price?

Relax! Provide some “feel good” fashion jewelry that will help others relax.  Turn off the nightly news and rest confidently knowing that fashion jewelry and accessories sailed through every recession for the last 25 years unscathed.  For blow by blow details see Fashion Jewelry, Fuel, and the Economy.

Most retailers are open to way to improve profits.  Well here’s a needed item that has a wide open market just waiting for you–reading glasses.

 The population is aging not only in the US, but globally.  More people need reading glasses and more people want them stylish.  Apparently retailers are realizing how big this market is because Wordtracker reports 1,418 searches in its database for wholesale reading glasses.  Compare that to 429 for wholesale jewelry or 380 for wholesale handbags. 

 Once consumers reach the point of needing readers, they don’t want the nerdy version of years past.  Style in reading glasses is sweeping demand and most readers in discount stores simply don’t have style and still retail for $12.00 and up. 

That’s why there is a wide open market for you.  Reading glasses are making rapid advances and you can present quality with style for a reasonable price that is still very profitable.  A new development is aspheric lenses.  These lenses came on the scene in 1990 and offer a thinner, flatter lens that looks better while reducing distortion.  Wholesale reading glasses are available today as low as $3.00 with these lenses.  There’s mark-up room for you here!

Optical quality frames provide reading glasses with a small screw that opens to change lenses.  Prescription or sunglass lenses can be added to these readers that wholesale under $10.00.  Malls retail optical quality frames for $50.00 and up.  More room to improve profits!

The favorite shape in eyewear for men is aviators.  This style seems timeless whether reading glasses or sunglasses.  Aviators are a must if you have men shopping in your location.  A quality weight with spring loaded arms has an unbelievable low wholesale price of $2.50.  Customers that shop quality will jump on these readers even at a 4 or 5 time mark-up. 

The understated look of half frames that appeal to men and women alike has a classic look with the sophistication that builds sales.  This is style is also comfortable to wear and easy to carry.  Again spring loaded arms spell quality.  These readers are too important to leave out of your selection.

Today’s shoppers are definitely more discerning.  They demand certain style and a level of quality in every product.   Wholesale reading glasses are in the infancy of development as far as meeting the style and quality demands.  Here is an opportunity that you may not have thought of in the fashion business.

LOOKING AHEAD:  Autumn in the fashion world, 2008, is a blinding orchestration of color as a seemingly endless array of tints and shades, intensities and saturations wash across clothing and accessories with unstoppable zest and enthusiasm.  Has color ever been so dramatic?  What color is not in?  This is every choice, every taste OPEN, and it offers both the consumer and the manufacturer remarkable choices and difficult decisions.

 Should you go with green or blue?  Light or dark?  Pastel or jewel tones?  Youthful or sophisticated?  Yes, the seasons play some part in weighing one color a bit more important than the other.  But time moves fast, especially this year, when summer colors are hanging in there, adding their fun and lightness to the fall fashion atmosphere. And overall, it is one big playground   where everything goes.

 Still, you ask, don’t colors always get deeper, more saturated, once the cool weather edges in?

 Our answer:  Usually.

 In many ways, this year is no different.  Warming colors can be expected to top out as extremely popular when the temperature drops.  It is just that cool colors like blue and green are poised to take on new assertiveness, extending the summer color rush into autumn. What this means to you is all good, because this year, unlike other years, leftover summer inventories will still be viable and salable even as we move toward the Christmas holidays.

TREND REPORT:  One of the industry’s leading color predictors is Pantone, an Institute that boasts remarkable forecasting completeness as well as a record of unbeatable accuracy.  The Pantone Fashion Color Report calls autumn 2008 a season of change.  “Fall ‘08 is defined by rich, elegant hues that offer a vibrant selection.” 

The Report goes on to note that New York’s fashion designers emphasize cooler blues (this is a maverick for fall!) and greens (another fall rebel), and purples in the top five tones used in their collections, followed by variations of warm red, orange and yellow.      

OTHER VIEWS:   Michael Fink, Saks Fifth Avenue women’s fashion director sees more intense jewel tones coming into the fashion field this fall, with flashes of fuchsia and marigold yellow, purple, deep forest and hunter green.  In clothing, he predicts a continuation of a polished and poised look, but with more relaxed tailoring.  He also expects a return of the bohemian spirit to fashion.

Helen Job, a trend forecaster with Worth Global Style Network, expects lots of iridescent fabrics this fall.  In color, she sees lipstick reds, warm yellows, intense violet blues, heathery purples, and tonal browns all in the top demand list.

Constance White, eBay style director, expects to see lots of gray and red tones along with Russian-style-influenced elements.  And Ken Downing, women’s fashion director for Neiman Marcus, looks to florals and animal prints in deep fall colors. 

BLACK IS BACK:  Black is frequently left off trend charts, probably because it is assumed that everyone knows black is the aristocrat of colors, it never really goes out and it is always IN.  But, sometimes it is more IN than at other times.  That time of IN-ness is NOW.  Granted, black is sparked up with bright colors this year, and seen alone only in rare instances, such as terribly sophisticated New York City society gatherings. Or funerals.    

A pop of color is what makes black really come alive.  Like a little purple handbag.  Or green patent leather shoes.  Or a wonderfully designed graphic-print scarf.  Remember, however, that while a whole outfit of black may look great, it has to be the same black, otherwise, the effect is destroyed.  Even the best black tends to fade out. This can work well for retailing.  Remind your customers that the easiest way to assume black continuity is to buy all new pieces, all matched. 

But…jewelry doesn’t fall under this category.  Black jewelry is black jewelry.  A great onyx pin.  A jet bracelet.  A necklace of black pearls.  They all look fabulous, urban, classy, and there’s no matching involved!

DID YOU KNOW?  Color has only become democratized in modern times. In the distant past, many dyes were too expensive for the average person to afford.  Black was one of the most costly colors. Deep-black dyes involved double or triple dyeing of cloth so, as a result, only the rich wore black.  Today, the fashion world still identifies black with aristocracy. That little black dress, for example, is always sooo correct!

What accessory is small but spectacular?      

On view, but always discreetly safeguarded?

Elaborate, but essentially functional?

No formal ensemble is complete without today’s premier accessory, the handbag.

And evening bags now have special cachet, lots of wow! Fashion power.  They sparkle as the finishing touch for all dress-up occasions…whether day or night.

TOP AMONG DESIGNERS in this category is, of course, Judith Lieber, who has dominated the field since the 1960s.  Over the years, her strictly handmade bags have evolved from craft to the level of fine art, with collections of her beaded, jeweled, sequined, rhinestoned art bags touring U.S. art museums to rave reviews.  The story goes that on her first effort, the  metal bag’s plating arrived sub-standard, so she overlaid rhinestones on all the marred areas, and voila!  Her signature style was born…entrepreneur Lieber had rescued a lemon and turned it into sweet lemonade.

Most sales stem from the special look of an evening bag, but there is a secondary buyer consideration.   For convenience and comfort, evening bags are ordinarily small in size, but they have serious functions to perform for the user.  Ideally, the interior is spacious enough to hold the essential go-out items every woman brings:  ID, key(s), comb, mirror, some money…plus that go-everywhere cell phone or blackberry.  A zippered rear wall pocket plus a slide pocket or two on the front wall is ideal.    But if the outer design is dazzling enough, there can always be compromise.

DANCING AND TABLE-HOPPING: Partytime activities call for bag design that is convenient for the wearer.  Today the primary design is the minaudiere (me’no dyer’), a very small dress bag, made of luxe material and often intricately decorated.  The fall fashion shows featured a good array of minaudieres, such as the black beaded, hard-bodied and very small bag by Bottega Veneta, its size fitted snugly to the hand.   Or the feathered, f lat small clutch by Burberry Prosum. — If you are going to merchandise evening bags, get to know the word minaudiere.  It’s French, it’s unusually awkward for that beautiful language, but it is an important term to know.

From exotic python leather to gold lame, the selections are wide enough to match your stock to your customer base.  Satin clutches have pleated, swirled and jeweled detailing.

Totally black beaded, hard-bodied, very small bags may have jewelry-like shoulder chains attached, chains which can be easily removed or tucked away inside the bag, giving it a modern clutch design. Kenneth Jay Lane’s white clutch for fall 2008 features a large, glittering detachable dragonfly pin down the flap. This is a great idea for multiple sales - just add a rhinestone brooch to a plain evening bag for a glamorous duo.  Kenneth Cole offers a glazed leather clutch, complete with a kiss-lock closure and studded wristlet strap.  Plenty of desirable shine!

Popular choices are metal-framed boxes, purse frames, and slightly elongated but narrow rectangular clutch bags.  Black, white, gold, silver and current bright colors make for enticing store displays.  And don’t forget to look for magnetic snap closures, jeweled clasps, glazed leather, lots of bead or stone embellishments.  There’s a delicacy, a glamour to evening bags that belies their planned security for all that lies within.      

                                                     #   #   #   #

 POLITICAL POW!  Michelle Obama turned up at a New York fashion fund-raiser in her honor elegantly outfitted all in black with very fashionable multi-strands of white costume pearls around her neck. The beads had a classic look, not as formal as those the first Mrs. Bush used to wear, instead looser and with a more modern, fluid movement.   “She has impeccable taste, so she is not going to need help from anybody else,” declared fashion designer Peter Som, obviously implying she will one day be First Lady.   The following morning, Mrs. Obama made a relaxed and graceful appearance on “The View,” saying “It’s fun to be pretty.”  She had adorned a black and white dress with a black flower pin on the left shoulder for the shooting.  ‘You put a little pin on it,” she declared, speaking of the simple dress, “and you’ve got something going on.”

—And what about Mrs. John McCain?  She is a real fashion-forward lady, with exquisite taste that is sure to be copied by more than just her political adherents.  Stay tuned over the next few months, and we’ll keep you fashionably up on both of these very special people!

BIG, BOLD, BRAZEN AND BOISTEROUS:  this season’s new signature necklaces literally shout out their presence and force everything else in fashion to take a back-seat.  These wildly strong necklaces are growing in popularity, even as they give handbags hot competition for Number One placement on the accessories popularity list. . When you look at someone wearing one of these signature pieces, your eye is immediately pulled toward the jewelry. That is what you see!  What are we talking about specifically? Top level fashion jewelry, with all the excitement and beauty necklaces have to offer, in all of many different materials and designs.

But…before we get started on the marketable, let’s take a look at the runway jewelry, over-the-top, admittedly, but signature pieces that quickly explain what this new trend is all about.  Take, for example, the huge triple gold strand necklace from Phillip Lim, with its massive blue and red/black disks that bring attention to the entire bodice, neckline almost to waist.  Or, a Gucci necklace of antiqued, gold, black, and orange/brass coins on chain that drops down the center of the bodice in double strands. Or, a massive necklace filling in the space from the shoulders to the waist and flaunting big diamond-shaped silver slivers on a black dress from Emilio Pucci.

HOW ASSERTIVE CAN JEWELRY GET?  Take big, heavy, multiple silver chains rolled together and worn as a single, huge necklace statement, falling almost to the waist. Sounds wild?  Well, it’s on the runways! And Givenchy takes the idea a step further with a dramatic necklace assortment of chains…maybe 30 silver and gold chains connected into a single jewelry piece at the back of the neck, with lots of little silver charms (like crosses, circles and hearts) hanging off. Whew!  It is exhausting just looking at this concoction, much less contemplating the weight of wearing it! 

But…this is the style, extreme as it may be, and fashionistas bent on taking ideas to the limit will want the look. For such, there is still more.  Prada, for example, presents a very big, very black, very incomprehensible, geometric “U” shaped sculpture hanging off a heavy black chain.  It takes up the entire bodice of a suit or blouse. Crazy?  You bet!

But most signature necklaces are very attractive and not at all so extreme.  Some factors to think about for signature necklaces:

• COLOR:  It can make the jewelry piece, giving it styling pizzazz. Glass is just one of many different materials that offer wonderful color: green, blue, crimson.  Think about Murano glass for a really classy, upscale effect. Black, of course, always gets major emphasis in jewelry, especially this season when black is so popular. Jet black faceted glass beads give a very intense look, especially in large signature pieces.

• TRIBAL IMAGES: Africana impressions are especially fitting to the signature necklace look, since tribal pieces are almost always bold.  These effects can be total, as in a tribal necklace that is almost totally taken from the Dark Continent.  Or, they can be partial; i.e., using some African designs along with more Western-oriented styles.  Like slivers of silver hanging down from a silver choker.  Or big handmade-looking natural beads in simulated or real wood.  

• PENDANTS:  Many signature necklaces use pendants as part of their overall design.  Often, the pendants as big and artsy, with animal print designs, abstract line, or special materials, such as mother-of-pearl.  Handmade-looking pendants are important here, as are one-of-kind looking pieces.  The more unique or different the piece, the more likely it will sell big!

• MEDIEVAL SIGNS: Europe circa 1400.  That’s the hot idea.  After all, just think about those ecclesiastical necklaces worn by the clergy way back then. A take-off on these ideas, complete with gemstone embellishments, real or faux, is perfect for the trendy 2008/9 style. Practically any large interpretation of rosary beads, Christian or Asian, fits the bill, too. 

LASTING POWER:  The latest runway shows gave physical assurance that the signature necklace trend is not about to go away soon.  Louis Vuitton, for example, put forth a big silver artsy necklace with a circular pendant hanging down from thin sheets of ribbed silver. A particularly wild and yet fun signature necklace from Dries Van Noten was done in multi-bright-colored bakelite rings.  It looked like 20 or more bracelets strung together and worn hanging down under a black fox neck ring.

Balenciaga dropped a peacock-like center pendant of black metal and dark blue stones off a large matched stone chain for real runway excitement.  And Salvatore Ferragamo worked with a carved chunk of dark stone hanging long on a thin metal chain. –Some of these pieces admittedly looked like they belong more in a museum than on a model’s neck.    

Even if you are inclined toward the more conservative or conventional, don’t dismiss signature necklaces out-of-hand.  They work well with the present glitzy movement, and often give it a new sense of class and even refinement with their art-form shapes and designs. And interestingly, the more you get used to things big and bigger, the more just-the-right-size these oversized pieces seem to be!

In the fashion industry we always need to keep an eye on what’s coming, but we also have to take advantage of what’s happening now.  Sales statistics show wholesale casual hats are hitting their annual peak and it’s no wonder with the blistering hot temperatures of July.  We know that casual hats can add personality to a look, but the importance of hats intensifies when you add the summer heat.  So customers need casual hats NOW and we don’t want to miss any opportunities this summer.

The wholesale casual hats shipping in highest volume are cowboy hats and wide brims.  That doesn’t mean that fedoras and newsboys aren’t good-it only means these casual hats are most important.  The distressed look in cowboys continues to be the dominant style everywhere except in the Northeast.  Distressed hats go through a process to achieve that well-worn look and distressed is selling well in both pinch front and pinch top (cattlemen) cowboy hats, with pinch front having a slight edge. 

Colors are also very good, although not as good as last year.  Dance teams, cheerleader squads, marching bands, and other groups prefer cowboy hats in colors.  An excellent purchase recently made that offers some wholesale cowboy hats at $5.50 and under is also spurring sales of colored cowboy hats.  For individual sales in your shop, black, white, and pink are the leading colors, but don’t forget red for the ladies in the society that loves their red hats.

Now for wide brims-the swinger hats that women can pop on their heads for instant personality, not to mention sun protection.  The wider the brim, the better with this season’s fashion trends.  Super widebrims bring back that Gone-with-the-Wind look with all its nostalgic romanticism.  Floppy widebrims provide the sassy celebrity look that J-Lo reinvented.  Inexpensive swinger hats deliver headwear for impulse sales in beach and tourist locations while more classy causal hats make a strong fashion statement. 

Like cowboy hats, natural color is the first preference in wholesale wide brim hats.  Still white and ivory are so strong that every season it’s a challenge to keep inventory through the summer. 

Don’t forget wide brim red hats because these ladies are a huge market and they often like plain red straw hats that they can decorate themselves.  The hat shown is number one-braid and sewn straw with good body, durable construction, and best of all an inexpensive price. 

Finally there are the humble straw hats that almost seem boring-that is, until you consider the huge volume these wholesale hats rack up every year.  Most wholesale for $5.00 and under in tough rush straw and bamboo.  These are the workhorses of the summer hat business.  Whether you are a hardware store, fishing resort, convenience store, garden shop, or tourist location these tough hats are an easy sale for inexpensive sun protection.  They are definitely not a boutique item and won’t be found in fine department stores, but this is the inexpensive headwear with high sales volume that grabs the attention of tourists, fishermen, outdoor workers, or gardeners.  This is simply inexpensive sun protection.

Every retailer needs items to keep the cash register ringing, so don’t overlook what’s peaking right now-hats.

Fashion jewelry is a parade of surprises with one gorgeous item after another.  These breath-taking items are the main characters steal the show.  But behind them is a supporting cast of basics that are frankly rather boring.  So boring that most retailers overlook them, but these basics in fashion jewelry drive customers to your shop because they’re needed items.  The boredom ends when you add the dollar signs to basics.

•1)      Hoop Earrings:  Maybe retailers have seen so many hoop earrings that they are fed up with them, but consumers can’t get enough of these ear bobs.  Designers are doing everything imaginable with hoops in both gold and silver plating and the earrings are everywhere in fashion and celebrity magazines.  This fashion jewelry is probably the first item scoffed up from your earring display so don’t fall victim to boredom-keep hoops stocked in both gold and silver plating. 

•2)      Chokers:  How are customers going to wear a pendant without chokers or chains?  Pendants are major in fashion jewelry displays, but boring chokers rarely show up.  Capture your clientele and your competitions’ with a great selection of chokers.  Show customers all the fashion looks that changing chokers can create.  Then let them be the designer by experimenting themselves.  You will be the hero they return to for basics and for innovation. 

•3)      CZ Stud Earrings:  Yes, the look of diamonds-they don’t blow the roof off, but this basic look is timeless.  This is fashion jewelry with simplicity that is nearest of kin to diamond studs, yet is too lackluster for most of your competition to consider.  Present cubic zirconia studs to your clientele in nice packaging and they have earrings that go with any outfit when they dress up.  Even shopping channels overlook this basic.  You gain a customer and your customers have the look of diamonds that keeps onlookers guessing. 

•4)      Single Strand Faux Pearls:  Hand knotted glass pearls are the Cadillac in 6mm and 8mm faux pearls that provide realistic quality.  Add an enhancer, wear them simple, or make an understated statement for bridal-they provide basic simplicity that is always elegant.  Not only retailers overlook this absolute necessity in fashion jewelry, but even manufacturers.  Basic faux pearl necklaces have never faltered over our 23 years in business.  The biggest problem has always been keeping a manufacture excited about making them.  Hand-knotted glass pearls in lengths from 16 inch to 20 inch have timeless popularity, especially in 6mm and 8mm sizes. 

Keep basics in your line and build your business quietly on “must have” items that even the majors overlook.