It all started on Monday night with the twitter crowd.  Our tweets were alive with the magic that is plastique fantastique (thank you for coining the term, L) high street costume jewellery.  The debate was lovely and hilarious.  I mean, under $15 for the alleged twin of a $300 ring?  My only concern was whether or not my local store would sell out of them before I got there.  It would’ve cost $10 to order it online and that kills the buzz of sourcing a high street knock off somewhat.


You  I can always easily convince yourself that it’s okay to buy that ‘inspired’ hand bag / pair of shoes / dress because it’s not like the high street brand is calling their product Paddington / Hyper Prive / Galaxy, are they?  Isn’t fashion an endless cycle of inspiration and interpretation?  Shouldn’t people on different budgets be able to buy into a look or trend at a price that is reasonable to them?

Before I dig myself into a deeper hole, let’s get back to the topic.  What we were tweeting about was this ring from Forever New.

A brigade of Brissas hanging out at Forever New.

It’s called the Brissa Mottled Ring and it has a distant cousin called the Arty Oval Ring over at YSL.com.

YSL The Arty Oval Ring in blue Image courtesy of www.runningheels.co.uk

Suspend your disbelief but guess what I bought myself today?  After going to the bank as a reward for figuring out the cheque quick deposit system and remembering my bank account number, I might add.  My very own Brissa.  Which I will now refer to as a bohemian right hand ring party (of one).  It ticks all the boxes for me.  It’s a pretty solid make (definitely not plastic, feels quite heavy), I’ll be happy if it lasts the summer and it was the right price for me as I’m not a person who invests heavily in costume jewellery rings (because I don’t wear it much and would treat it appallingly when I do by washing my hands too often).  If I do end up getting a lot of use from it, then it would be a sign that buying the YSL version would be a logical next step.

Forever New’s Brissa Mottled Ring

So, what do you think?  Are the Brissa Mottled and the Arty Oval:
a) twins separated only by name and price point
b) distantly related cousins several times removed, at opposite ends of the market
c) completely unrelated, fashion accessory world’s water and oil, if you will
d) what do you mean, they’re both really rings?!?!?

But, I hear you asking me, ‘SSG, how does the Brissa look on your right hand?  That’s the title of the post and we’re nowhere near finding out!’.

Before Brissa, my right hand was a bit nondescript really.  In need of a manicure but at least that hand cream’s been keeping my skin hydrated.

With the Brissa though, my right hand is looking positively Left Bank – artsy, bohemian, child of the 70s….  It confuses me that mixing of left and right but never mind.  It’s all about the look.  This will be my ‘Saturday in the city for coffee and a window shop’ ring, I think.

When I’m not treading on the grey zone of intellectual property law that is the high street at times, I’ve been taking outfit photos using my newly cleaned mirror.  What a difference Windex makes.  It was very calming wiping down that mirror in wide semicircles.  Much like that ‘wax on, wax off’ scene in The Karate Kid.  I don’t know where that 80s reference came from.  Something in the Windex perhaps.

Shirt – Farage, belt – Country Road, ‘Amand’a jeans – Gloria Vanderbilt at Costco, cuff – Hermes.

I’ve decided that wearing all black outfits to work tempts fate like nothing else.  Chaos and disorder clung to me like you wouldn’t believe on Monday.

Tailored shorts and blouse – Banana Republic, belt – GAP, necklace – Breakfast At Tiffany’s by RPE.

So the next day I went for a neutral palette and things were instantly somewhat calmer.  I think I’m going to be in shades of neutral for the rest of the week.

Before I sign off, I can finish my review of NextDirect.  My jeans arrived this week.  I ordered 2 pairs of flared jeans in the regular length and they were $44 and $49 per pair, respectively.

Next bell bottom jeans – $44.

Next bell bottom, front pocket jeans – $49.

They will both need to be taken up but I was very impressed with the cut and quality.  The denim has a good weight and also has some stretch to it.  True to your Australian size (the website converts sizes for you) and they look as good as their $200 competitors with a fit that’s just as good, if not better.  Which is bad news for me because now I want to give Next’s skinny jeans a try….