I Feel Pretty

 By the time you read this I should have. been flying home from a cruise in the Caribbean. This was the same cruise that I had booked in March 2020, then tried March 2021, then March 2022 and now finally hoped to take it, only to be struck down with a horrible respiratory virus two days before..

When I caught the virus I was in the middle of packing. I received a list of packing recommendations that said 3-4 pairs of shorts, 2-3 sundresses, 2 evening outfits….. This is a seven day cruise, folks. How can one get through three to four pairs of shorts in seven days? Do people really worry that other passengers are going to whisper “Oh look, she’s wearing the same shorts she wore yesterday?” At very worst there is a laundry on board.  So my packing is always minimal. Things I can wash out in the sink if necessary. One fancy jacket for formal occasions. 

But when I was packing I suddenly thought JEWELRY! I should take jewelry to wear at dinner. Now I have to confess that I love jewelry. John loves buying me jewelry. I actually love buying jewelry when I’m traveling. I like looking at it in the jewelry case and thinking “oh this is so pretty!” But wearing it? Not so much. I had a friend (now passed away) who wore matching jewelry with every outfit. Every time I saw her she had earrings, necklace, bracelet, ring all in coordinating colors with the outfit she was wearing.  (And my mother had a closet full of handbags that she changed with her outfit).  Me? I wear the same gold necklace, the same little diamond earrings and gold bracelet for several months before I change them for similar items. If I have to attend the Edgars I wear a statement piece and enjoy it, but it never occurs to me, when I get up in the morning, to think what piece of jewelry goes with what I’m wearing today. Okay, it’s normally sweats. But I did think what a slouch I was when I was meeting a writer friend for lunch and realized I could have worn a nice necklace.

I suppose it’s because I don’t go out that much these days. Since Covid I’m out of the habit. We’ve entertained several friends and I haven’t dressed up. I did put on a good outfit for Debs’s launch at the Poisoned Pen, but apart from that it’s writer’s uniform. sweats. 

So I’m interested to hear from other Reds: do you wear much jewelry? Change your earrings regularly? Should I be enjoying mine more? Making an effort to wear those pieces sitting in my jewelry box?

JENN McKINLAY: I love this post, Rhys! I am the exact same way. I think I like looking at jewelry more than I like wearing it. And I do love looking at it but, yes, I work in jeans and T-shirts so not really jewelry worthy. It is a dilemma! Also, your post now has the song “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story (Hank fixed my first guess at the musical) playing in my head. 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: At some point during this interminable pandemic, I realized I hadn’t put on anything but earrings for well over a year, and decided to change that. So now I frequently add a necklace to my look, even if (usually) I’m the only person who will see me. I like looking in the mirror and thinking, “Sharp!”

I still only wear bracelets and rings when I’m going out, and even then rarely. It’s way too fiddly to work with anything attached to my hands. I also have way too many pieces, as I got the bulk of my mom’s jewelry (she had the same New England style as I, while my sister is New York and my sister in law is sporty.) I have no idea what’s going to happen to most of my stuff, since neither of my daughters had pierced ears. In fact, the Millennials and Gen Z kids that I know are not at all into jewelry, which means there will be a lot of good pieces hitting second hand stores in another few decades!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Ah, I wear the same rings all the time, I cannot imagine changing. And I don’t have pierced ears, so I have to be really careful about losing earrings.  For when I am on the road,  I have actually purchased several pairs of the same ones because I’m destined to lose them and might as well have backups. Necklaces have become more important on Zoom..I always have an eye out for zoom necklaces, because I always (as you may have noticed) we one of my billion black Petit Bateau t-shirts on Zoom because they always look nice and safe, and different necklaces make them, um, different.  

My darling husband always wants to give me jewelry, but I usually say no. I don’t really need it,  I’m happy with what I have, and how much can anyone actually use? I guess–I know the right thing when I see it.

RHYS: Hank, John always wants to buy me jewelry but I say "I only have one neck. How many necklaces can I wear?  I think he'd like me to be like Indian woman and wear my wealth in gold bangles!

HALLIE: Most of my jewelry was somebody else’s- my mother’s earrings or my grandmother’s wedding band… or stuff I picked up at yard sales. And I cherish my opal engagement ring but rarely wear it. I do love nice jewelry… just not for me.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I like good artsy jewelry but I don't wear anything but my wedding ring at home, and I went so long without wearing earrings in the pandemic that my pierced ears half closed up. Add that to my metal allergies and putting in earrings even for an event is a challenge, but I did give in to temptation and bought a beautiful pair of silver hoops from my favorite jewelry stall at Sky Harbor Airport on my trip to Phoenix! 

RHYS: Debs, my ears closed up during the pandemic but I suffered agonies to re-open them and now keep my earrings in all the time.

So what about you, ladies? Who actually changes her jewelry with every outfit? Who loves to buy jewelry?

It's the Bling, Dahlings!

RHYS BOWEN:  As many of you know, I just returned home from six weeks in Europe. During that time I taught a workshop in Tuscany, did research in the South of France and was feted by my Amazon team in London. As I unpacked a small cloth bag tumbled onto the floor. It was the jewelry that I had taken with me on the trip. And I realized, to my mortification, that I HADN'T WORN IT ONCE. Not even changed my earrings. I always travel wearing a simple ring that can't get caught handling luggage, a gold chain around my neck and a tennis bracelet my mother gave me. But I hadn't touched anything else.  We had gone out for fancy dinners in Tuscany. I had dressed up to meet the Amazon crowd. We had taken my sister and brother-in-law out to dinner. Yet no jewelry!



It's not that I don't like jewelry. I love looking at it in my jewelry case, trying it on sometimes. And I like to look good. I'm sure I wore nice outfits and maybe a scarf on all those occasions. It's just that I never think of jewelry unless it's a fancy evening affair. I did buy a new necklace and bracelet for the Edgars this year! So I'm a failure in the jewelry department. I guess I'm actually an all around failure in the accessory department. My mother loved purses. She had purses to match every outfit and she changed them regularly. I change my about twice a year--a dark purse for winter, a bright purse for summer. I had an elderly friend who wore matching jewelry with every outfit--earrings, necklace, bracelet, the lot!

I tell myself it's because I'm always in a hurry, with three million things to do that I don't take time to go through my jewelry box. But it reality I have to confess that I'm just not a blingy sort of person. So I'm intrigued to know about my fellow Reds (who always look so put-together when I see them). Do you wear jewelry all the time? On special occasions? Jewelry to match your outfit? And how about purses? Do you change to match what you are wearing? Am I the only boring Red?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I am evermore not a blingy person. A combination of natural tendencies, being raised by a mom who was of the "Take one thing off before you leave the house" persuasion, and thirty years of living in Maine. Maine is not a blingy place. We won't say it where you can hear us, but if you're wearing jewelry on the beach, we make fun of you.

I am the queen of handbags, though. I have dozens and dozens, none of which I've been carrying this year as I am in mourning. But when I'm NOT shrouded in black, I love to switch up purses every day to match my outfit. Unfortunately, that doesn't fly when I travel (pun intended) so if you only ever see me at Bcon or Malice or some other conference, you won't be able to appreciate the splendour of my bag coordination.


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: One of my favorite stories. Two days after I met Jonathan, we were walking down the street in Nantucket. And he said, unbidden, "What kind of jewelry do you like?" I stopped in my tracks.
"Excuse me," I said. "I have to call my mom."
That said, I wear the same jewelry every day, essentially.  Pearls, almost every day to work. And bracelets, and rings.  I don't have pierced ears, but I wear clip ons, which I am always losing, so sometimes they don't match. But, whatever. I have other bling, very nice, but sometimes I forget, even though I love it.
Handbags. I call them purses. I have too many, but I carry the same one all the time. And every time I make myself switch them up, change, I forget to move something, and I regret it.
Let's not talk about shoes.   (RHYS: My husband John has been known to take pictures of Hank's shoes, because he is so fascinated with them. I'm trying to put my hands on one of those pictures!_

LUCY BURDETTE: Not a wink of bling here either. I have one purse, it's a Baggalini and I use it with everything. (thoough this is the bag I was carrying when my passport disappeared, eek.) I became allergic to my pierced ears some years back, so I can no longer wear my favorite earrings. I will wear a necklace for dress-up but I don't like the feel of watches or necklaces. I had to remind myself of this last week at a craft show when I was very tempted by a bracelet made out of a spoon. So Cute! I remembered at the last minute that I wouldn't wear it, so saved myself forty bucks:)

INGRID THOFT:: I’m going to buck the JRW trend!  I love jewelry and wear it every day.  I favor small, delicate necklaces, but I’m rarely without some kind of necklace in addition to my wedding and anniversary rings, and earrings.  I love hoop earrings since they go with everything, but I also have things like glass studs from Pike Place Market and a dangly pair from El Rastro street market in Madrid.  One of my favorite necklaces was a gift from my mom upon the release of LOYALTY.  She had a necklace made with some glass beads in my favorite colors and a tiny book cover engraved with LOYALTY on the front and my name on the back.  She even had matching earrings made! The only jewelry I don’t like is bracelets, not because they aren’t lovely, but they get in the way when I type!

JENN McKINLAY: I firmly believe diamonds really are a girl’s best friend. I love jewelry and have too much and wear it all the time. I have three holes in each ear just so I can wear more. It’s ridiculous.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I am allergic to nickel, the alloy in gold jewelry, so my bling options have always been limited That rules out most really expensive jewelry right off the bat. My only diamonds are the little chips in my white gold wedding band, which I can wear, thank goodness. My ears have been pierced since I was fourteen, and I adore earrings. I can wear sterling silver, titanium, and some very good hypoallergenic costume things. (Chico's is the best I've ever found for hypoallergenic jewelry, if anyone else has these issues.)  I love bracelets, too, when I can find them to fit my little wrist, and a couple of years ago Rick found me a titanium watch--the first nice watch I've ever owned, because bands and buckles always made me break out!

I do not have the purse gene, or the shoe gene, as my daughter and my more fashionista friends will be happy to confirm.

RHYS: I have been going through my pictures and find that I do occasionally dress up and wear jewelry!

But more often if I have to look smart I wear a scarf. I do have an awful lot of scarves... so I guess we all have our secret vices, be it shoes, handbags, or bling!

How about you, dear readers? Who wears matching jewelry with every outfit? Who changes their purse to match their shoes? Who loves bling?

Charmed

LUCY BURDETTE: John and I are trying to make a commitment to cleaning out some of our "stuff." Drawers crammed full of stuff. Closets filled with things I'll never wear--you get the picture. So when our daughter was last home, I had her go through my tangle of jewelry to see if there was anything she'd like now or later, and also identify things she'd never, ever wear. Those I could turn over to the church white elephant sale.

Then I came across this and just had to share.




I must have gotten the charm bracelet at some point in my teens (note the sweet sixteen.) After that, my mother would give me a new charm for birthdays and Christmas. Multiple cats of course, since she and I were obsessed with a giant yellow tiger named Tigger, plus a German shepherd representing our dogs. You'll see lots of gifts from the sea because we spent every summer either at the Jersey Shore or the Outer Banks, along with charms of places we'd lived. 

I especially love the grand piano, though I was a dud as a student--the top lifts open, can you see? And if you can't make it out, the one with the telephone says "if you're ever in trouble, here's the price of a call." And a dime fits in the slot! That'll date you...

Did you ever do the charm bracelet thing? What special treasure still lives in your jewelry drawer?