Pendant Necklaces to Buy Now (Before They’re Everywhere)

Newton's third law of accessorizing states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Per fashion law, in 2017, chains will lengthen and pendants big and small will break up the monotony of banding. While quietly seductive chokers will remain part of our jewelry rotation, we’ll offset their daintiness by pairing them with swaying statement necklaces.

As with all street style trends, this one’s hot off the (soon to be not so) recent runways. For 2017, a host of designers championed the pendant necklace. Charms glinted on the catwalks.

Styling’s easy. Pendant necklaces subtly draw the eye downward — coordinate neckline and necklace lengths accordingly. During the day, longer, outsize pendant necklaces add interest to modest outfits. (We especially like them with a silky tank-over-turtleneck look.) Once it hits cocktail hour, shorter-chained, daintier pendants complement plunging V-necks. Of course, there are no overarching rules when it comes to wearing jewelry. Diamond-encrusted, would-be evening glitter amps up daytime as well as nighttime looks.

Do like the fashion set does and give your pendant necklace a personal touch. Head to your local pendant peddler (or call up New Top Jewelry) and commission a charm with personal significance. Or shop the pendant necklace collection we’ve culled in the slideshow below. Or do both.

by CORDELIA TAI

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I Got Up At 4:45am For A Month—This Is What Happened

A few years ago, and for the entirety of my life before that, I was a morning person. Then I quit my job, moved to Bali and just generally checked out for a while. My new freelance existence no longer required that I get up early, so I stopped. I had to find my inner early riser again, but this meant waking at a relatively modest 8am. To be clear, I’ve never, ever gotten up at 4:45am, aside from stumbling out of bed and into an Uber X before a flight. Here’s why I started, and how I went from being a snooze-button addict to someone who’s lived half a day before most people even begin to stir.




I absolutely love my job, and I’m not just saying that because my boss is reading this story—it’s by far my favorite of all the jobs I’ve had. That said, I have other interests as well, as most people do, and additional creative aspirations. I’ve found that life goes by quickly, and if you don’t set aside time to focus on things outside of your day job, you may end up with some regrets. I work best in the morning and have found it to be the one time of day no one can take from you. So, my New Year’s resolution this year was to start getting up at 4:45am on weekdays to work on my personal projects before heading into the office.





Prior to this experiment, I went to bed between 12pm and 1am, and woke between 7 and 8 (read: 8:15) in the morning. In order to pull myself out of bed several hours earlier, I know I’ll have to try—for the first time in my life—to get to sleep long before the clock strikes midnight. The smart method for doing so would be to end the day in increasingly earlier increments, but instead I choose to dive right into my new routine. My goal is to be asleep by 10 every night.



Full disclosure: I suffer from insomnia. Consequently, I have no idea how I’m going to get myself to sleep by 10pm. I need a little help in the beginning, but once I get in the habit of waking up long before dawn, I quickly learn I’m tired enough by 10:30 or 11pm (an hour past my goal bedtime) to fall asleep naturally. For the first two weeks, I adhere pretty closely to my 4:45 wakeup time, and I find that the key is to never, ever hit the snooze button. If you make this fatal mistake, I learn, you’re sunk. Before long, it’s 6:30am before I get out of bed instead of 4:45am, and since I leave for work around 8, I end up with only an hour of personal work time as opposed to the 2.5 hours I originally aimed for.

There are only so many hours in a day, so if your goal is to get up 
early, work before work, then work full time and still have some semblance of a social life, something is going to suffer. I initially decide my social life will be what takes a hit, but a few weeks in, this single gal gets antsy and can no longer resist the siren song of Raya dates. Thus, I stop meeting my 10:30pm bedtime, thus, the snooze button. One other thing suffers: workouts, which stop completely.






After a month of my little experiment, I’m exhausted. But I’m going to keep my new morning routine (with some slight adjustments)—my goal is to be up by 5:30 and fit in a 30-minute workout. I love the feeling of starting my day early, so I don’t feel like my entire life is my job—no matter how much you love your career, this feeling is not healthy. In the mornings, no one bothers me. I don’t check my e-mail. I focus, I get in the zone and when it’s time to come to the office, I feel energized mentally and emotionally (if a bit fatigued physically).

For those who, like me, have something they’ve always wanted to create outside of their jobs, I highly recommend rising at least an hour earlier than you normally do. If you plan your side work for nighttime or the weekends, trust me, you’ll probably never do it—there’s simply too much fun (read: wine) to be had. That’s what’s so great about the crack of dawn—there’s nothing else to do at that hour, and I find that once I turn off my alarm and shuffle to the coffee maker, I’m actually glad to be up. If you try this experiment, my advice is to allow yourself at least one day a week to sleep in—you’ll enjoy that extra rest more than you’ve ever enjoyed anything in your life, and you’ll be energized to start fresh the next day, bright and early.


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17 Ways to Look HOT in the Cold

Bundling up in style is the ultimate winter fashion conundrum. Once the temperature drops, the last thing you want to think about is the season’s latest trends. Trust us, with a few simple styling tricks, you can stay warm and look cool. Check the slideshow above for 17 ways to master winter style.

The antidote to dreary weather? A vibrant (faux) fur coat like this one.

Layer two lightweight coats together for a look that's cozy and chic.

Make your footwear pop. Polish off head-to-toe black with winter white booties. (No need to look fatalistic — add some cheer with winter florals.)

Keep your head covered whilst putting your style on display. Wear devil-may-care fashion hoodies (chatty or message-free) with vibrant coats and structural bottoms.

Inventive, risky layering is the key to street-chic winter dressing. Take your style cues from Irina Lakicevic. Slip an on-trend Victorian blouse on over a black turtleneck, complement your upper half with oversized checked pants and round out the look with anachronistic studded boots and mod earrings.

 Trick your lobes, heart, mind and outfit into thinking it's summer with flowery statement jewelry, like these pieces by at Accessory Hut.

Be as petty as Mother Nature. Keep warm with a tulle underskirt (and fashion puffer).

Missing your summer dresses? Try a whimsical coat with a full skirt. (Or, try layering your summer dresses in the winter.)

by CORDELIA TAI

You can never have too many! Visit us at accessoryhut.com
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WHY I LASERED MY UM, ENTIRE, BIKINI AREA

The much-debated Brazilian. Let’s talk about it.

I kind of want to preface this by saying I was encouraged to write a story about Brazilian waxes because we talk about it allll the time at The Cov HQ. And with our friends, sisters, moms, aunts, acquaintances, et cetera. So we figured we should talk to you guys about it, too. It seems to us that for something that’s a bit, uh, personal, one's preference when it comes to the whole pubic hair removal thing is a much debated one. So let’s talk about it. The following is how I feel about ripping (and now lasering) the hair off my body, but that doesn't mean it's the only way—you know, to each their own.

The amount of general upkeep and appointment-making that goes into the beauty routine of a semi lazy girl in her mid twenties constantly astounds me. I’m not by any means high maintenance (I don't think), but, I mean… between the manicures, pedicures, threading to tame the unibrow, haircuts and waxing, it’s a lot. I try to keep it to a bare minimum, but for me waxing is a must.

For seemingly as long as I can remember, I’ve been shelling out ~$65 every four weeks for a bikini wax. As you might imagine, I have lots of stories to accompany all those appointments, too. Like the lady in West Palm Beach who managed to sugar wax the entire area in 10 minutes and with minimal pain—which is all you can ask for really. I fell so in love with Songyea that I refused to go to anyone else for a while. But, alas, I don’t live in sunny Florida (nor do I have a NetJets subscription). On the other end of the spectrum, there was the Thai waxing disaster, in which an obvious waxing novice was thrown in the deep end, which led to both her and I nearly crying while she furiously attempted to remove the strip that was more than stuck in a really unfortunate place. I tried to roll out of the window half naked just to escape the situation. Yes, it was actually that dramatic.

Still, I keep going back, and, no, it’s not like riding a bike: it doesn’t get easier. But you know that feeling at the salon when they clip your cuticles, buff the edges and paint your nails with the glossiest top coat, and you stroll out with what feels like brand new hands? Every single time, without fail, I get a rush of positivity because my hands and nails are tidy: I feel put together and ready to conquer the rest of the shit in my life.

Ditto for the bikini wax. Because after lying on a table and baring it all for a stranger while she rips hot wax off my nether region, I walk out forgetting all the negative and focusing solely on how baby-smooth the freshly waxed skin is. Plus, I’m ready for anything that comes my way involving (or not) bikinis and skimpy undergarments. Last minute trip to the beach? There. Hot tub in mid-January? Yup. Undressing in front of semi-strangers for some unforeseen reason? NP! And the razor-bump-free results are something that, in my opinion, can never be garnered from a fresh Venus and shaving cream (plus, one mean ingrown is reason enough to never shave again).

So this is how I ended up at a laser hair removal clinic on a Thursday evening, practically signing my life away in exchange for a lifetime (hopefully) of hair-free skin. I'm Italian and Portuguese—a.k.a a laser technician's dream client. I signed the dotted line for treatments every eight weeks for twelve months, received a highlighted diagram of, um, the entire area to be treated and then threw my razor in the trash and took Songyea off speed dial. Yeah, for a very quick second I was skeptical (mostly because of everyone else's opinions) about the permanence of a Brazilian. Did I really want to get rid of it all, forever? Then I remembered, even if the bush does come back into (is in?) vogue in a few decades, chances are I’m still not going to be into it, especially when I’m sitting beachside in Florida, not ever having to step foot in a waxing salon again.

P.S. Stay tuned for what happens when I laser it all off. It's going to be fun, promise.

By: Alicia Cesaro

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Master the Low-Commitment Trend That’ll Knock Your Socks Off

First things first: There’s no wrong way to wear socks. That said, a good statement sock makes your whole outfit better. We’re living in the era of experimental, statement-making fashion, from the tips of our toes to the tops of our poof-accented, pin-pierced berets. Eye-grabbing, fun socks — novelty, frilled, pompom, what have you — were once relegated to occasions like the first day of kindergarten or the last day of our laundry cycle. No more. The accessories you long ago paired with patent Mary Janes — or not so long ago, unsexy pairs of pajamas — now grace the feet of the fashion set.




For several seasons running, designers have asked us to reconsider the statement sock. It’s an easy task. Socks are, for the most part, inexpensive. We wear them on a practically everyday basis. And even fashion minimalists can’t argue with affordable, easy to style, readily showed off or shielded hosiery. Plus, fresh (read: no holes or pilling), fun socks can revitalize your tired everyday footwear. Why not spend a few bucks diversifying your sock drawer and save a pile on new shoes?




When making fun socks the focal point of your outfit, the key is to build your look from the feet up. As far as office attire goes, sock experimentation requires a fairly simple getup (a tonal look is always a safe bet). Toe the line between distinctive and distracting — slide a pair of silky socks in a rich hue (pattern optional) on under your go-to loafers.




On days or nights off (or in more fashion-forward work environments), feel free to play with contrasting colors, textures, proportions and sock-to-shoe ratios. As with all trends big and small, we consulted the runways for styling inspo. Stirrup socks add interest to ballet flats. Daredevils team platforms with knee-high hosiery. Marc Jacobs paired strappy velvet sandals with silky foot warmers. Favoring a striped pump and tube sock duo. Shielded  shoes under an umbrella of silk and lace. Lastly, you can’t go wrong with a statement sock-stiletto combo. Extra points if said heel is attached to a PVC boot.

          

by CORDELIA TAI

You can never have too many! Visit us at accessoryhut.com
Lets stay connected!