Alice by Temperley for Stella & Dot Jewelry Collection — Full Of Charm (and Charms!)
For the very first time, costume jewelry brand Stella & Dot has broached the arena of designer collaborations, calling upon British designer Alice by Temperley to co-create a limited-edition collection of whimsical, dainty charms and trinkets. The result is the newly unveiled Alice by Temperley for Stella & Dot collection, which includes five pieces with a darling vintage feel and a magical storybook quality, with many incorporating references to C.S. Lewis’ Alice in Wonderland.
Each of the charms in this special collection were inspired by the guest designer’s own personality and life experiences. An apple charm, for instance, references the time she spent in her family’s farm on the English countryside as a child, while a crown motif honors the Queen of England and thereby celebrates the designer’s own British heritage. Similarly, a swallow is incorporated into many of the pieces as a symbol of freedom, one which she often employs in her own clothing prints, while a heart charm is meant to embody love. A pocket watch key charm references Alice in Wonderland and the white rabbit’s constant tardiness. A fox charm functions as perhaps the most literal and yet personal token of them all as it was designed as a tribute to her 3-year-old son Fox.
The Alice by Temperley for Stella & Dot collection, then, includes three multi-charm pieces: the Wonderland Charm Necklace ($158), shown last above, which measures 34″ in length but can doubled up to a shorter 17″ length, and which incorporates the aforementioned heart, crown, fox, sparrow, apple, and key charms; the Wonderland Charm Bracelet ($98), pictured third from top, a chunky gold-plated brass chain link bracelet bearing give of the six charms in the collection (only the apple charm is missing); and the Queen of Hearts Charm Necklace ($44), pictured second above, a simple necklace with a thin gold-plated brass chain and three dainty charms: a heart charm adorned with small turquoise-colored beads, an intricate key charm, and a tiny oval medallion with metal studding, rope detailing, and a cubic zirconia at the center of a star motif at the nucleus of the circular shape.
In addition to these mutli-charm bracelets, the collection includes two fox-themed designs: the Fox Ring ($59), as pictured at top, a gold-plated brass ring hand-molded to resemble the upper half of a fox’s head, with cubic zirconias accentuating its eyes, and covering its pointy ears, forehead, and the bridge of its nose; and the Fox Necklace ($39), shown fourth above, a 17″-long, gold-plated brass chain necklace with a hand-molded fox charm adorned with cubic zirconias. The necklace’s fox charm, of course, resembles the fox ring but it’s considerably flatter, allowing it to lay against the skin with greater ease.
The entire collection has a sweet, feminine, nostalgic feel to it that makes it all the more endearing, but I’m particularly smitten with the Fox Ring since it manages to convey all these qualities while still conveying a sense of strength.
All the pieces in the Alice by Temperley for Stella & Dot collection are currently available at StellaDot.com.
