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FeedDec 16, 2011 07:13 AM WV Living in Style
Find your West Virginia style
Dazzling New Year's Eve Ensembles
Some friends and I have been cooking up some plans for New Year's Eve. Despite the fact we've been discussing this event for weeks, we're still mostly undecided as to what we want to do. Actually, we've made some decisions, but I sincerely doubt the good city of Charleston will let us install disco balls on Kanawha Boulevard. My friend Jeannette left me a voicemail saying she really didn't care what we did, she just wants to sparkle. Since I share her love of sparkles, it's hard to disagree. While I'm still unsure of events that sparkle (minus glitterbombing), I can find some great dresses, and add some dazzle from local West Virginia jewelry designers.
From West Virginia Gems comes this show-stopping necklace made of Pink & Black Rhodanite, Lava, and Leopard Skin Jasper. Designed by Marty Schaerer Batarla in her studio in The Art Colony at The Greenbrier, this necklace brings drama in the best way. With such a necklace, it's best to keep the rest of your outfit from competing, so I paired it with a simple blush colored dress from Anthropologie. Simple, sweet, and stunning.
Depending on my mood, sometimes I just want something very simple and hassle-free, yet stylish. With sleek lines often seen in many mid-century designs, these earrings from Morgantown's CERCAjewelry can pack a punch with utmost simplicity. When paired with this poppy red Ann Taylor dress, there's enough detail for the outfit to remain interesting. Perfect for the jeans-loving woman who wants to dress up without all the fuss. (Many CERCAjewelry pieces are available at Tamarack in Beckley.)
While doing some research for this post, I came across one of the most unique materials I've ever seen in jewelry: caddisfly larvae cases. If you don't know much about the caddisfly, their larvae make themselves a case out of small stones and other debris in the bottoms of streams to keep themselves safe before they emerge. Kathy Kyle has been designing jewelry with these cases for the past 18 years, and she has her own tanks where she raises these little artisans. Since the caddisflies use what materials they have available, Kathy has added all sorts of decorative stones and bits of sparkly things to help the larvae build their cases, which truly makes each piece one of a kind.
However, I'll move on to the dress since this is a style blog and I've exhausted all of my knowledge on the caddisfly. I chose this dress from BCBGenerations (available at Macy's) to match the blue tones in the necklace. This surprisingly flattering dress will look good on many body types thanks to a graceful flow in the draping. With the details in the dress and necklace, keep accessories minimal and wear your hair in a messy updo. Visit Wildscape for more information on caddisflies, or the SMART Center market in Wheeling to see the caddisflies up close.
