Guest Post: Vintage Jewellery & Heirlooms

Hi lovelies, welcome to the another great guest post. This post which is written by the lovely Chantelle will take you through some of her family heirloom jewellery. 

Enjoy :) xxx

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Hello everyone! I am thrilled to be a guest blogger on Kathleen’s blogs as it is one of my favorites! We were asked to write about a subject of our choice once it had a fashion/style theme so I had a little think and I decided to discuss heirloom jewellery. The concept came to me when I read about Gwyneth Paltrow archiving her amazing wardrobe for her daughter Apple. It got me thinking about what I would pass down to my family and this is the subject of this blog post. 

I am an only child so I am very fortunate to have been bequeathed some beautiful jewellery from my Mum who passed away some years ago. Over time I have accumulated some other fabulous pieces and this little collection is what I like to refer to as my heirloom jewellery i.e. the pieces that I imagine that I will pass down to my children and hopefully will continue to be passed down through generations for years to come. I think because I do not have siblings I like the idea of passing on parts of my family history as I am the only one in the family line.  I love the idea of sitting down with a future daughter or grandchild, taking one of these pieces out of their boxes and explaining where it came from and why it is important. Cheesy but true. Let’s have a look at what I’m talking about:

Pearl Earrings: These are my favourite items of jewellery at the moment and wear them at least once a week. They are incredibly pretty, simple and classic. My style is quite tailored and girly so they go with a lot of my wardrobe! I wear them when I want to have that sophisticated, Coco Chanel vibe. I love wearing them with my dark blue skinny jeans, a Breton top and my hair in a bun or side ponytail like in this photo to show them off.

Engagement Ring: This is my Mum’s engagement ring which is one of the pieces I got after she died.  I don’t actually wear this as I’m afraid I’ll lose it and it is very precious to me as you can imagine. Though I will admit sometimes I will slip it on and pretend it is my ring. I think if I ever got married I would wear this ring on my right hand as my something old, a symbol of union and family. While it is not something I would wear everyday it is definitely an item I would like to see stay in the family.

Horse Brooch: This is a gift from my Nan when I was going through my horse mad phase. I used to wear it as a tie pin when I was competing in shows. Jumping forwards a couple of years and I use it to dress a plain sweater or one my winter coats. It is a little bit battered and bruised but I think it adds character to the piece.

Debs jewellery: These are pieces I actually bought myself. I worked as a waitress while I was in school so I was a lady of means! For my debs I bought this beautiful choker and bracelet from a jewellery shop called Silvermine in Waterford. I have only worn them once since. Unfortunately I don’t get many chances to wear such statement jewellery. I need to start living a lifestyle that involves more charity galas! Even though they do not get worn often I love them! They were the first real pieces of jewellery I bought myself so for me they symbolise independence and that real departure into womanhood.

So that is it from me for now! I hope you enjoyed this piece! If you want to hear more from me check out my blogs http://thelifeandtimesofchantelle.blogspot.com/  and http://www.projectchantelle.blogspot.com/ . Or say hello on Twitter  www.twitter.com/chanywalIace I would love to hear what you think of this post!

Chantelle x