Blinged-Out Watches for Spring
Combining Luxe Touches With the Common for Fashionable Timepieces
Layered fabric and leather bracelets are very hot for Spring/Summer 2008. To be totally up-to-the-minute use a blinged-out or oversized watch as one of the layering pieces. Sandwich the watch between two leather-wrap bracelets for a eye catching wrist profile.
For those that have the ability and desire to spend a lot of money on a watch getting blinged out is easy work. Just about any upscale watch manufacturer has fabulous watches with diamond-crusted cases and elaborate exotic skin or precious metal bands. The hard part will be choosing which one to buy.
What about if one is on a budget? There are many cash -onscious alternatives. Follow the guidelines below when shopping for watches in the under $150 price range.
Top Wrist Watch Picks This Season:
- Oversized - in the recent past during the "boyfriend wear" fashion craze, many women accompanied the oversized man cut shirt by wearing men's watches. It's a good casual look. The oversized men's watch made the female wrist look even smaller proportionately than it is.This illusion gave every woman, regardless of size, a wrist that appeared to be a tiny size 0. The new twist on the old trend is that deliberately oversized woman's watches are being manufactured. Made for the woman's wrist – but exaggerated – these watches have a better fit. Suggestion: Fossil has three lines of woman's watches: petite, medium and oversized.
- Wide, Clear Lucite Watch Bands - Popular for jewelry in the 1940s, Lucite (a strong, plastic material that can be molded into detailed shapes) has been making its way back into mainstream jewelry for the last few years. Combining the Lucite band with an ornate watch face is key for this season. Suggestion: eBay has a nice selection of vintage Lucite banded watches with very interesting faces. Remember to always proceed with caution when purchasing jewelry in an auction setting.
- Rubber Watch Bands - This goes for the rubber banded watches as well. For example, choose Lucite or rubber banded watches with cases and bezels encrusted with Swarovski crystals or with mother-of pearl faces. This juxtaposition of elegance with materials that are not commonly used in traditional jewelry construction makes for a very compelling wrist profile. Want it all? Go for the Tommy Hilfiger watch. It's got a stainless steel case with a mother-of-pearl dial, Swarovski crystal bezel and either a baby blue or pink rubber watch band.
Finally, for those that really want to go over the top – check out the Guess ladies' watch with black dial, Swarovski crystal-studded case and black leather band with fur. That's right – it's got fur too – and it's only $88!
