LOOK-ALIKES: Dolce & Gabbana Jewel and Pearl Embellished Clutch

Hello everyone! I thought since it is the first day of December (and the madness known as "Shopping for the Perfect Holdiay Outfit" has officially begun - or if you're me...began several weeks ago...) I thought I'd do a Look-Alikes post on a fun and glamorous accessory that is essential to any party wardrobe: the embellished clutch. 

Now, this first - and exorbitantly priced - bag is curtesy of Dolce & Gabbana, one of my personally favored designers. I've been following this design house religiously since they released their Spring/Summer magazine ads last year. D&G manages to somehow effortlessly capture the spirit and soul of Italy in their prints ads as well as in its runway shows. I love their over-embellished jewelry, and as I later came across, their clutches as well! See below:

Dolce & Gabbana Jewel and Pearl Embellished Clutch, Saks Fifth Avenue, $3,500

I tried finding a live link, but this bag proved somewhat difficult to find online. I'm guessing it's either sold out or one of those things that you can only buy in a brick and mortar store. Anyway, as it usually works with these types of posts, I found the less-expensive version first which reminded me of the more-expensive version. 

In this case, it was a clutch found on ASOS by the company River Island (I like their stuff a lot). It is not the cheapest lower-end version I've ever found, but if you compare it to the higher end...I'd say that's a pretty darn good alternative! See below for River Island's clutch:

River Island Gold Embellished Box Clutch, ASOS, $72.60

Even though it's not colorful like the actual D&B clutch, my memory of the D&G print campaign was immediately triggered - the luxe quality of the embellishments with the contrast of geometric and fluid lines. I happen to think this bag alone would take an okay outfit to an amazing one. Definitely a conversation-starter! (P.S - ASOS is having a BIG online sale through monday!)

Well, that's all for now. Hope your Thanksgiving break was amazing and have a great rest of the week!

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DIY FRIDAY: Dolce & Gabbana Earrings

The inspiration for these earrings is the Dolce and Gabbana Summer 2013 runway shows (as seen on the left). I've been so into D&G ads lately. The feeling I get from them is so....it's hard to describe. Luxury, yet laid back like a vacation. I don't know, I just LOVE 'em. Anyway, I follow http://psimadethis.com/ and a few days ago they had this DIY project and I was immediately intrigued.

I had a pair of earrings I bought at Forever21 ages ago but never wore because they were so heavy. In the inspo pic, I saw the black filigree and tried looking for something similar but couldn't find anything. Then I realized I had the F21 pair which were close in shape and a brand-spankin' new can of matte black paint. It really couldn't have been more perfect! (A similar pair from ASOS can be found here) I wish I had taken a "before" picture so you guys could see the earrings before. They had pearl drops where the tassels are and the filigree was gold.

Anyway, I detached the pearls (which will be reused in a DIY project next week!) and spray painted those suckers. While I waited for them to dry, I began work on hand-tying all the tassels you see. I used the colors suggested on the PSIMadeThis website (goldenrod, yellow, navy blue, and red) but instead of using colored raffia (I was too lazy to go look for some at the craft store and too cheap to want to buy it, haha) I used sewing thread (for cross stitch). I folded the thread group in half through a jump ring and then tied a single string around the lot to make a very simple tassel (You might want to go to the PSIMadeThis link to better understand my lame instructions). Then I cut the individual strings into different lengths for some texture. As I was working with the thread it began to fray a bit, but I actually liked it so much I started fraying them all zealously myself. 

Last but not least, I used an ancient bottle of pearlized blue paint to paint the stud part of the earring to make it more authentic to my inspiration. All in all, the project took about an hour and a half - most of which was devoted to making the tassels. The earrings are still a bit heavy, but I have an idea to fix that.

I plan on wearing these this summer with a crop top and high waist skirt a la D&G ad girl in the coral ensemble below!

photo curtesy of www.designscene.net

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