Trendlet: the cocktail ring
You're headed out for a night on the town, but your little black dress calls for simple pearl studs. What will you add for a shock of colorful pizzazz?
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You're headed out for a night on the town, but your little black dress calls for simple pearl studs. What will you add for a shock of colorful pizzazz?
The trendlet
A cocktail ring. One piece of our obsession with statement jewelry is the bold, beautiful rings that run the gamut of metals and stones. (No combination is off-limits.) Perfect for a little finger seduction during the daytime and at night.
Where's it come from?
In the 1600s, European aristocrats and countrymen started wearing big jewels - garnets, amethysts, emeralds, and sapphires - because they were rare, expensive, and conveyed power.
High society enjoyed extravagant times through the 1700s, but the 1800s were more austere, so baubles in brooches, earrings, and rings were more conservative and remained so until the 1920s.
Then two things happened: Costume jewelry came into fashion, thanks to designers like Coco Chanel, who promoted fake pearls and gems for glamorous looks. And with Prohibition, cocktails (cheap liquor doctored up with a myriad of juices, seltzer, and fruit) were born. In speakeasy culture, the bigger the cocktail ring, the more sophisticated the wearer.
Oversize rings remained in vogue through the art deco era of the 1930s and '40s. There was a resurgence of the loud trinkets in the late 1960s and early '70s, courtesy of celebrities like Cher, Elvis, and Sammy Davis Jr., who loved the pinkie ring.
Cocktail rings have been back in fashion since around 2008, when celebs Tyra Banks and Cate Blanchett were photographed holding Starbucks cups in their beringed hands. And during the January 2014 Grammys, Beyoncé and Rita Ora made headlines in their statement rings.
Who's wearing them?
These days, Selena Gomez, Victoria Beckham, Holly Robinson Peete - who favors the Lagos variety - are fans. Also spotted in the bold baubles: Rosario Dawson, Taraji P. Henson (Cookie must make a statement all the time), and yeah, yeah, yeah - Kim Kardashian.
Would Elizabeth wear it?
Only when I'm not working. (They get in the way of typing. I can't tell you how many times I've tried.) My favorite statement digit, however, is my index finger. I'm on the lookout for an amethyst in an onyx band.
Should you wear it?
Yes! Statement rings know no limits. Try them in a variety of stones, but unlike some addicted Pinterest posters, don't wear several of them on one hand. You will run the risk of looking like Mr. T. And in 2015, that's no bueno.
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Maya Ring with amethyst stone, $395; infinity gold beaded X, $350; Deco gemstone, $3,500. All rings courtesy of Lagos, 1735 Walnut St., 215-567-0770, www.lagos.com.