Style Musings: Brace(let) Yourself

One of my goals in life is to invest in good jewelry. I love the idea of having something special to hand down to my future daughter/s when I'm old and they're all grown up, something that they can treasure and remember me by. But that's looking way into the future. And in terms of funds, let's just say I have a long way to go. Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany, Mikimoto and the rest of the gang will just have to wait.

At this stage in my life, I get my jewelry fix by buying simple necklaces and faux pearl earrings at tiangges or at the nearest department store. Lately, however, I have been discovering the wonders of charm bracelets. I never had a charm bracelet when I was growing up. But what's great about them is that you're never too old to wear them. They're the kind of jewelry that's timeless and can be worn by women of all ages.

Aside from the Trey Songz charm bracelet I bought last year, I also bought a set of sterling silver charms from a US-based site called Charm Factory. They have a lot of themes to choose from. There are food charms, gardening charms, photo charms, even ribbon charms for various causes. Their collection is quite extensive. For my custom bracelet, I picked five charms from the clothes and shoes set, and used a chain my sister gave me for Christmas. Here's the final product after I assembled it with my bare hands (mental note: use pliers next time!):

In the first photo: clothes hanger, mirror, credit card and handbag. In the second photo (lower right corner): perfume bottle

Charm bracelets are great for self-expression. They allow you to display your personality, passions, beliefs, memories, or life experiences. Kind of like tattoos, I guess, minus the pain factor. I look forward to building a collection of my own.