What I Love This Week: Bijoux, Britishisms, & More
Holiday Prep: A Quick Seasonal Update
It’s starting to feel like we’re now on the glide path to the holidays, and I’ve been ticking items off my To-Do List so I can relax and enjoy the season. I’ve bought or ordered most of the items on my gift list, have made progress tidying up around the house, and finally took my car in for scheduled maintenance. I’m feeling a lot less frazzled this year and having more fun with little things, including experimenting with some necklace layering tips you’ll see below.
The Neckmess: My Go-To Necklace Layering Lately
For decades, I wore and loved big and statement earrings. Over time their weight stretched out my earlobes, and I now find it uncomfortable to wear any but the lightest earrings. Plus, now that I’m wearing bolder glasses frames, I found that bigger, more prominent earrings often fight with my eyewear. So in the last couple of years I’ve shifted my jewelry focus to necklaces, and am having fun with layering (which some of my British friends call the “neckmess”).
CARDIGAN (SIMILAR)
A “neckmess” usually refers to a casual jumble of shorter necklaces, in a mix of styles and textures. I’m often asked about the gold link necklace I wear daily. It was a custom/sample piece by my friend, jeweler Tarra Rosenbaum. A few years ago she literally sold me the one off her neck! It’s become a signature piece of jewelry for me, and I rarely take it off. And it “plays well with others…”
The team at Lizzie Fortunato kindly gifted me this “Porto Covo” necklace with freshwater pearls, chrysocolla beads, and faceted hessonite garnet accents. This necklace can be worn long or doubled as I’ve done here. I love the bit of color it adds!
Pearls, Paris Style
Another way to layer necklaces is to go with two or more distinct lengths. Since my trip to Paris in October, I’ve been inspired to start wearing pearls again with my casual outfits. (It was one of the Parisian style trends we noticed right away.) The one I’m wearing here is from French Kande. It features freshwater pearls and 24K gold plated vintage French medallion and hardware. I always receive compliments on this necklace!
Charm Necklaces on the Rise
I’m predicting these will be a micro-trend in the coming seasons, as I’ve been seeing a lot of them across various brands and price points. (Madewell has some really good ones!)
(Just click on the image to shop! If you’re reading me from your mobile phone, keep scrolling down the list to see all the items.)
Britishisms I’ve Picked Up Over the Years
One of the side effects of visiting London regularly (and chatting often with my London friends in between) is that some “Britishisms” have begun to creep into my vernacular. On a call with a friend earlier this week, I mentioned being “gobsmacked” (astonished) by some news. She laughed. But it got me thinking about some of the other British words and phrases I’ve adopted.
- Get it sorted. Means “figure it out/resolve the issue.” What I like about “we’ll get it sorted” is the calm assurance it conveys that there is a viable (and orderly) resolution to any problem.
- Faffing. Fussing, trying to force something to work, putting too much effort into something
- Cheeky. Irreverent, playful, impertinent.
- Loo. Sounds so much nicer that “toilet” and friendlier than “lavatory.”
- Telly. Anything you watch on a screen, really.
- Trousers. Any pants besides jeans. While I flip between “trousers” and “pants” in most writing and conversation, “trousers” have been gaining an edge in usage. (In the UK, “pants” often refer to underwear.)
Do you incorporate expressions from any other part of the world in your day-to-day language?
What I’m Watching This Holiday Season
My sister is coming to visit in a week and will stay through Christmas. We’ve been putting together a list of programs and movies we want to watch together, and it includes:
“Nouvelle Vague,” a Richard Linklater film about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 “Breathless.” On Netflix.
Also on Netflix, a new “Knives Out!” movie! Number 3 in the series starring Daniel Craig, the title of this one is “Wake Up Dead Man.” The first two were such fun, and I’m looking forward to this one. (Great cast, too!)
Bon weekend!
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I spent the entire summer of 2006 in London on temporary assignment, so yes you pick up the lingo. Get it sorted has stuck with me. Implies more of a “time and effort” task instead of the puzzle implied by “figure it out” Other phrases that stuck are “knickers” for underwear and “saucy”for anything we might call “racy”.
Very entertaining article about your use of Britishisms. I often use Canadian expressions: “Steamy” is Montrealism for humid; “In the Soup” is the Torontoism for humid. “Manger a la puce” is Montrealism for either fast food or eating something on the run, and is literally “eating on the thumb”. “Magaziner!” pronounced magazine-ay, is the Montrealism for going shopping, shopping, let’s go shopping, etc. And “leche-vitrine”, literally lick the glass, is their expression for window shopping. Joie de vive and Je ne sais quoi are often useful, too. Having studied French, I find the Montreal French uses abbreviations or shortened expressions more often than the France/Parisian French. Would you agree?
I also like the Brit phrase “and Bob’s your uncle!”, meaning, “There you have it!”. So fun!
“Neckmess” … Love it! Thanks for the tip about “Nouvelle Vague”; I have Netflix and am enjoying “Wake Up ….” this evening. I watched “Champagne Problems” …. silly, fun, and who amongst us hasn’t longed to move to Reims.
Having spent several summers in England over the past decade, we’ve adopted several terms that we now use. “Car park” for parking garage, “cling film” for plastic wrap, “veg” (pronounced vedge) for vegetables, etc. I use the term “trousers” for pants, as my Brit friend explained that pants in England are underpants. The Brits also shorten many other words besides veg. “Sat Nav” for satellite navigation. If someone knocks on a door, you don’t say, “Come in”. Instead, simply, “Come”. If someone keeps to herself, they say she “keeps herself to herself”, which is something we don’t use, however.
Like you, I can’t stand bigger earrings and I’m in the diamond studs all the time club. All of the cute necklaces are gold. 😥. I like the idea of doubling a longer beaded necklace and I am going to check my stash to see if any will work. Right now my stack is a heavy sterling chain I bought in Mexico in the 90s, a short, dainty, Star of David, and a heavy sterling hamsa with a blue bead. I also made a charm necklace when my son was born (pretty easy from a beading/crafty perspective) because I couldn’t find what I wanted. It has a wrapped Svororski sapphire (September/him) drop charm, a wrapped pearl charm (June/me) and a Tree of Life charm purchased on Etsy. All in sterling, natch. I love the beaded necklaces that look like the candy necklaces we had as kids, trying to find one that has smaller beads/silver/my colors has been futile so far. Until then I’ll pull out the pearls. The contrast of that flash of white should work well for me, and I think I might have a charm or two to add. And if you see a nice silver coin/medallion charm ( that isn’t St. Christopher, lol) please share! Happy Hanukkah! 🍩🕯️🕎
I’m watching Nouvelle vague, Jean Seaburg is my gamine muse for clothing!
I lived in Ireland for a year ages ago and watch lots of English and Irish movies and TV, so my vocabulary is sprinkled with their expressions. I’m constantly trying to use such words in Spelling Bee. Like you, I feel quieter and calmer this Christmas, i think because of the volume of external noise and activity. I’ve also stretched my earlobes and have turned to simple necklaces as an alternative.
One of my requested Christmas gifts this year is a charm necklace (large links I can add some of my many charms to). My charm bracelets are packed solid so I’m moving some charms to a new home. I look forward to enjoying them again in a new way.
I’ve also been playing with my pearl necklaces. I’ve been adding a broach and restyling the look.
Britishisms: tap for faucet, torch for flashlight. In Australia, ‘sorting someone out’ may involve fisticuffs.
Re Britishisms: You might enjoy Ben Yagoda’s 2024 book “Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English.” It’s based on Ben’s long-running blog “Not One-Off Britishisms.” Gobsmacked! | Princeton University Press https://share.google/aWRRHu4hrtvqTOJ5Y
Nouvelle Vague reminds me of walking through Montmarte in the 1970s and stumbling upon Jean Paul Belmondo filming L’Animal. He was as charming as you would imagine. Enjoy the movie. Have you seen Hamnet?
I love short necklaces, but I go to the pool 5 days a week and I don’t want to fiddle with a necklace in the locker room. Is there some kind of necklace that can survive the dunkings?
Hi Linda, I imagine the pool chlorine would be tough on most jewelry materials, unfortunately.
Check out raisingsurfers.com for waterproof jewelry. Haven’t purchased but intrigued.
I love your turquoise-and-pearl-colored accents with the orange-rust. I wear a lot of burgundy and love labradorite and turquoise and pearl with burgundy but am never sure if the combination works as well as I feel it does. The contrasts are beautiful. Glad to see you mixing these colors.
A good source for charms & charm necklaces is https://jetsetcandy.com/. The charms are mostly travel related, which I love! I hadn’t had a charm bracelet since I was a kid, but when I saw these cute charms I decided it was time to build another one. Also, I have some old rings from my mother & grandmother, which I’m considering wearing on a charm necklace (as they are too small for my fingers).
Fun, next week I will be featuring an outfit with lots of pearls. Great minds and such?
Your British expressions are very familiar to me. On my blog my American readers are often puzzled by the word ‘jumper’ meaning sweater. The US word ‘jumper’ translates to pinafore in the UK.
Greetje
Greetje
I took an old silver charm bracelet and made it a necklace by changing the clasp ends so I could add thin leather laces that tie in the back. Sort of a Sundance jewelry look but it works with the silver.
Glad to hear you are importing some of the words we use here! Growing up in an Irish family in the UK it took me a while to realise that not everyone understood great words like banjaxed (ruined, worn out, knackered). When I lived in Paris as a young au pair I inadvertently muddled my languages one day and used the expletive “sh*t alors” which all my young French friends loved and started using with great enthusiasm!
We watched a very funny Russian comedy last night from 1993, “Window to Paris”. It’s about a group of Russians in St. Petersburg and discover that they can visit Paris via one of the doors of an armoire in their apartment. Very original. It’s on youtube.
Happy Chanukah!
My only caveat about layering with pearls: if you let them rub against metal, as with being paired with other necklaces or wearing a medallion or similar drop, do not do it with your expensive pearls. Buy a nice looking costume jewelry strand to use this way. The “pearl” can eventually peel and lose its luster. I know because it happened to me. My new pearls never touch anything except clothing and my skin and have lasted over 30 years.
Britishisms – what a fun topic! Like many American kids, I was introduced to many of them by classic children’s literature and they became a part of my inner voice vocabulary. Sometimes the words and phrases prove too irresistible to refrain from saying out loud but I’m always wary of sounding a bit false or pretentious when I utter them. Sigh.
Off topic: A New York Times article today is about the French knack for tying scarves (something Susan does so well.) Here’s a link it contains to a clever Hermes scarf tying video:
https://www.hermes.com/us/en/content/323726-womens-square-knot/
Regarding jewelry to wear in chlorinated water — consider stainless steel. An online search will turn up several sites with nice pieces that look like silver.
Love the ” neckmess ” phrase. I’m live in Australia and all those ” britishisms ” are exactly what we use ” down under ” too. Peace to you this Christmas season.
Growing up in Hawai’i, I often spoke local “pidgin” (linguistically it’s really a creole), but it’s faded after decades on the Mainland. Some of the terms I use in my house are “shoyu” for soy sauce, “puka” for hole, and “pau” for “finished” I’ll ask my husband, “You all pau wi’ da shoyu?” and from long experience he knows what I’m talking about.