Necklace Crazy on eBay

I'm a collector. When I get one of something I like, I generally want more. I get in collecting/buying phases: flower pins, vintage kelly bags, sweater clips, mink wraps, Sarah Coventry clip-on earrings. (I'm glad it's never happened with, say, hats).

This week I'm all about necklaces and I've gone on I had a bit of a necklace binge (which has been known to happen every few months).

Here's my deal with necklaces: really bold or rather subtle. (Is there an in between?) My recent purchases included two of each.

In the subtle category, I found two pieces from one seller. First this interesting little gold bubble necklace (BIN for $31) which I find both modern and delicate. (I've been getting more into gold since Donya gave me a great gold necklace for being in her wedding--I'd always been a silver-only gal.)


And also this silver bird/gold nest piece which I think it just so darling (in auction for $16.99). I could do gold or silver earring with this. Don' you love the eggs in the wire nest?


The seller, who calls her line ArtWark, has both an eBay store, and at etsy store and she tells me she'll soon be adding her Fall 2008 line featuring one-of-a-kind locket necklaces. She's got some great pieces (If I wouldn't have shopped so much this week I might have also bought this one), and the prices are really reasonable.

Next up: the bold. First this big mess of chains and stones. I like the colors and the asymmetry. (And I couldn't pass it up at $7.) This necklace, a black tee, jeans, and my awesome bargain of a leather jacket I got last fall and I'm happily out the door.


This one came up in a Trifari favorite search. It's a big, crazy horselike dragon. I've been watching it for weeks and it wasn't selling at $44.75. I emailed the seller to see if she could do any better. I could only get her down to $39, but that was good enough for me. (He'll join my owl and my butterfly in the big-and-odd section of my jewelry tray.)

What I've Been Up to on eBay

If you're a loyal Material Girl reader you know I have a bit of an eBay problem. Lately, however, I've been trying to reform. I'm not bidding on things I don't love just because they're cheap and no one else bids on them. I'm doing my best not to buy 87 of the same thing. (I tend to run across something I like, and a month later I suddenly have a collection.) Most of all, I'm trying not to blow too much money on eBay items so I have enough left in my discretionary fund to buy the shoes, clothes and bags I want (and thus keep Cheapy from freaking when my AmEx bill comes).

This month I've won eBay auctions for a couple item from the same Canadian seller. (The drawback: no PayPal--I've had to send checks which really slow things down, along with the over-the-boarder shipping.)

First I got this 1940s Whiting & Davis bakelite handled bag. When I was in my friend Donya's wedding in October, one of the guests was carrying this bag (given to her by an older lady she knew) and I coveted it. I stared at it, sneaked a caress or two, and, for a brief moment, contemplated grabbing it and running off. I didn't end up going the purse snatcher route--I opted for eBay. Four months later I found it. The auction ended at $32 for this bag, which is in perfect condition.


From the same seller I got this butterfly necklace. I was very jazzed about butterflies after reading the January issue of Vogue. I spent $36 on this big, heavy, shiny piece. Now I'm working on just the right outfit. (One wrong move and I'm over the tacky line.)

Butterflies Are Swarming

Check out Sophie's recent post on Breakfast at Anthropologie cataloging the swarm of butterflies taking over the fashion and design world. (The runway pictures are awesomely wackadoo.)