Bawdy Bling at Burberry

There was something in the air last night at the Burberry party in Beverly Hills. And it had nothing to do with dazzling jewelry fashion. Maybe the ghost of fashion critic, Richard Blackwell, was haunting the red carpet, but we were shocked to see beauties like Kate Hudson and Maria Bello totally miss the mark.

Burberry's creative director Christopher Bailey and photographer Mario Testino, hosted the evening, which celebrated the British fashion icon’s new LA location.

"We're very excited about launching our brand in such an iconic city," said Bailey, who conceived the design. "This store has an entirely new concept that differs from our other locations. There are new materials, open spaces, fixtures, lighting, and an energy in the store that we think will really translate well to our customers."

And while you can’t go wrong with a Burberry trench coat, you can definitely shank it with that wacko headdress looking necklace thing, Maria Menoudos. And Maria Bello? The statement necklace should say ‘luxury’ not ‘lobster bib’. Same with you Perrey Reeves.

We will give it up for actress, Mena Suvari, who looked stunning in diamond hoops and a long black chain-link necklace. And there is something about that gold Scorpio pendant worn by Lady Victoria Hervey that works with her soft style.

But Kate Hudson’s green(ish) frock? Where is Richard Blackwell when you need him?

Paris Goes to London

Designer clothes, jewelry and a rock and roll circus – seems the perfect recipe to lure Hollywood ‘It’ girls out of their luxurious lairs. Edgy clothing label, Diesel xXx, came up with the winning combination by hosting what they called “the biggest international party the world has ever seen.” It's no surprise, then, that Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and other celebs took the bait.

The party started in Tokyo and continued on to Beijing, Dubai, Athens, Amsterdam, Milan, Zurich, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Oslo, Helsinki, London and Sao Paulo with a grand finale in New York City.

Whew! Even my head is spinning…

We found Paris in London of all places, doing her best Joan Jett impression with a goth-y necklace and a blonde bff as her two most prominent accessories.

Lindsay showed up in Brooklyn with a black and white diamond ring, layered diamond pendants and a series of gold bangles and cuffs. Former Destiny’s Child, Michelle Williams, rocked a vintage onyx statement necklace and Taylor Momsen and rock royalty, Zoe Kravitz, wore a series of beaded necklaces, gold chains, and bangles.

Inspired by the old European traveling circuses of yesteryear, the Diesel xXx "Rock and Roll Circus" featured theatrical circus elements including cabaret, fire eaters, trapeze artists, sword swallowing, female roller derby squads and a Mash Up-inspired concert featuring performances by T.I., Pharrell, M.I.A., Hot Chip and Chaka Khan.

Seems like a lot of work to get folks to buy your jeans.

Jewelry a No-Show in Paris

The runways in New York, London and Milan have spoiled us this season with big, bawdy jewelry statements that are downright gawk-worthy. Paris, on the other hand, is a ghost town in the bling department. To compensate, designers have apparently decided to put the gasp in headwear so spectacular any other accessory would be relegated to second-class citizen. And well, that’s just not where we want our jewelry now, is it?

Commes des Garcons models wore white wigs so large, Marie Antoinette herself would take a topple. Junya Watanabe’s line used cornucpia-sized head pieces to highlight his African prints and contrast his comfy criss-cross sandals. Icon Vivienne Westwood contributed her signature style to the beach hat genre and Yohji Yamamoto featured big black and white futuristic looks with his calm palettes.

Dior did come to our rescue with a line featuring statement necklaces, earrings and cuffs using what appears to be Buddha-inspired statues throughout. The clothes themselves didn’t hit high marks with the critics, but this jewelry hound was glad to see at least a little glitter where it belongs. This is the city of lights after all.

The week isn’t over yet, of course, so there are plenty more opportunities for designers to show us some diamonds, some gemstones, some gold - anything we can sink our teeth into. I can't imagine we'll see a complete dearth of the bling, but if these head strong Parisians don’t belly up?...I’ll eat my hat.

Fashion Week Reveals Bigger Is, Indeed, Better

Jewelry hounds, it’s been a busy weekend. With Fashion Week kicking off in New York on Friday, and MTV’s Video Music Awards tonight, we’re suffering from a serious case of whiplash. The good news is - the party circuit and the red carpet are buzzing with THE jewelry look we’ve been tracking for you already.

Delicate chains and tasteful studs – move over! Big, beefy, gaudy, and loud are making their mark. The must-have fall trend is (of course) the statement costume necklace, and we caught the look all over the place.

Elie Tahari featured it on the runway for his Spring 2009 collection (hint: the trend has legs for next season), Charlize Theron rocked it at the Fashion Rocks event at Radio City Music Hall, Rachel Hunter wore it to Justin Timberlake’s highly anticipated William Rast show, and Blake Lively used it to make her unfortunate green jumpsuit feel like it made sense somehow at Miss Sixty.

But where to find this must-have for fall if you don’t have a tent pass or a personal stylist? Easy. Vintage and thrift stores should get a lot of traffic this season. So should your grandmother’s jewelry box. But don’t forget to track down local jewelry designers, who are using everything from beads and plastic to crystals and precious gemstones to put their unique stamp on the look.

Sorry, Anna and Leon. It looks like jewelry’s fashion forward belongs to the people this year!

Stay tuned for more runway reports and a VMA fashion round up! She’s baaaaccckkk.