Signet Rings have been trending in women's jewelry for the past several years, from antique signets with engraved monograms to intaglio and seal versions with motifs and sayings that are meaningful to the wearer. (See my signet ring story). Although they were originally men's ring throughout history—the seal versions serving as signatures for noblemen and eventually represented hobbies and careers for the masses—signets developed a bad rep in the mid 20th century onward. Films and television series from the later 20th century through the millennium featured them prominently on the pinky fingers of mobsters—from The Godfather trilogy to the hit HBO series The Sopranos and movies like Casino and Goodfellas in between. But as jewelry becomes more creative and symbolic for men—signets represent guys with individual style and make perfect gifts for dads who are not afraid to express themselves or who compare themselves to say, Brad Pitt instead of Tony Soprano.
Kim Dunham's Large Brutus Eye Ring is hand-made in 22k yellow gold, with relief work surrounding the center stone which is onyx. This is a gem that is said to release feelings of stress and anxiety, and empowers the wearer to face ones fears. It looks equally well on the ring or pinky finger depending on your dad's hands. Dunham also creates one-0f-kind signets in every shape imaginable based on collaborating with her clients. This particular ring is a popular one and can be engraved on the inside.
Andrea Fohrman's new collection of men's rings features different gemstones that have a celestial or planetary feel to work with her aesthetic. Her 18K gold Apollo signet ring reminds one of the dark evening sky—mysterious and intriguing in rutilated quartz, black onyx, black diamond and white diamond. It's one of the newer types of signets that features an alluring stone rather a motif or monogram.
May 23, 2020
Travel And Exploration Spark Happiness, Study Suggests
Ever wonder why racking up those passport stamps makes you feel so invigorated?
Or why you’ve been feeling so down while stuck at home during the pandemic?
A new study has found a previously unknown link between filling your days with diverse, novel experiences—anything from exploring a new neighborhood in your city to taking a cross-country road trip—and enhanced happiness and wellbeing.
What’s more, the research shows that there may be other ways you can boost your bliss when travel is out of the question. Here’s what the science says about the connection between joy and exploration.
For a study published by the journal Nature Neuroscience on May 18, 2020, researchers from New York University, Columbia University and the University of Miami collected data on 132 people in New York City and Miami for three to four months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants, which included 90 women and 42 men, ranged in age from 18 to 31 years old.
Participants first went to the laboratory to complete baseline assessments that measured depression and anxiety. Then, researchers asked them to install a geolocation-tracking app on their smartphones and respond to questionnaires about their moods via text messages throughout the study. After the mobile-tracking period, the participants returned to the laboratory to repeat the initial depression and anxiety questionnaires.
After analyzing the data, researchers found that people tended have more positive emotions, such as "happy," "excited," "strong," “relaxed" and “attentive,” when they visited a variety of places in a day and spent roughly equal proportions of time in those destinations.
Toward the end of the research, about half of the participants also underwent MRI scans so the researchers could see if the connection between exploration and positive emotions had any relationship to the activity within the brain.
The MRI results demonstrated that a strong association between positive emotions and diverse experiences correlated with activity in the hippocampus and the striatum—the parts of the brain that process novelty and reward. The research echoed the findings of previous studies that found similar results in animals.
"These results suggest a reciprocal link between the novel and diverse experiences we have during our daily exploration of our physical environments and our subjective sense of wellbeing," said Catherine Hartley, an assistant professor in New York University's Department of Psychology and one of the paper's co-authors, via a statement on the research.
Apr 22, 2020
Coronavirus Shutdowns Came At The Worst Possible Time For Fashion And Luxury Retail
By now, the devastating impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on retail is becoming well known. March retail sales fell a record 8.7%, and it seems a virtual certainty that the April numbers will be far worse given that the wide-spread shuttering of “non-essential” brick-and-mortar operations across the United States did not take hold until mid-month.
Unpacking these results reveals a wide range of outcomes. Stocking-up efforts, along with people eating at home more, drove a surge in spending at grocery stores and pharmacies. At the other end of the spectrum, department store sales (with a large concentration of fashion-related offerings) fell some 25%, and apparel and accessory store revenues cratered 52%.
It’s perhaps quite the understatement to say that such a massive deceleration could not have come at a worse time. Apparel specialty players and moderate department stores have been facing significant headwinds for years, and many came into the pandemic with weak balance sheets and what might be charitably considered shaky liquidity positions. Moreover, for the luxury segment in particular, March and April are the peak months for full-price selling, making them disproportionately critical to profitability and cash flow.
Unsurprisingly, retailers have been working frantically with vendors to cancel orders, return already received merchandise and obtain special markdown allowances. At one level, this behavior is akin to what happened during the peak of the financial crisis when Lehman Brothers failed in mid-September of 2008, initiating a cascading impact on stocks and consumer spending. In fact, where the COVID-19 crisis falls is almost exactly the same place in the fashion cycle—just one fashion season off.
The hit that luxury and fashion apparel retailers took from the financial crisis was severe. But the impact from the pandemic seems certain to be more dire. In the fall of 2008, most retailers took massive markdowns to clear merchandise, and while the sales and profit hit was substantial, at least their physical stores were open, allowing customers greater opportunity to buy the goods and affording many companies the chance to cover their overhead. While the e-commerce penetration of some key players is far greater today—over 30% at both Nordstrom JWN and Neiman Marcus, for example—it’s clear that relatively few customers who are predominantly brick-and-mortar shoppers are making the switch. So far, the growing volume of promotional offers doesn’t seem to be doing much to increase demand.
Unpacking these results reveals a wide range of outcomes. Stocking-up efforts, along with people eating at home more, drove a surge in spending at grocery stores and pharmacies. At the other end of the spectrum, department store sales (with a large concentration of fashion-related offerings) fell some 25%, and apparel and accessory store revenues cratered 52%.
It’s perhaps quite the understatement to say that such a massive deceleration could not have come at a worse time. Apparel specialty players and moderate department stores have been facing significant headwinds for years, and many came into the pandemic with weak balance sheets and what might be charitably considered shaky liquidity positions. Moreover, for the luxury segment in particular, March and April are the peak months for full-price selling, making them disproportionately critical to profitability and cash flow.
Vestidos de Novia
Unsurprisingly, retailers have been working frantically with vendors to cancel orders, return already received merchandise and obtain special markdown allowances. At one level, this behavior is akin to what happened during the peak of the financial crisis when Lehman Brothers failed in mid-September of 2008, initiating a cascading impact on stocks and consumer spending. In fact, where the COVID-19 crisis falls is almost exactly the same place in the fashion cycle—just one fashion season off.
The hit that luxury and fashion apparel retailers took from the financial crisis was severe. But the impact from the pandemic seems certain to be more dire. In the fall of 2008, most retailers took massive markdowns to clear merchandise, and while the sales and profit hit was substantial, at least their physical stores were open, allowing customers greater opportunity to buy the goods and affording many companies the chance to cover their overhead. While the e-commerce penetration of some key players is far greater today—over 30% at both Nordstrom JWN and Neiman Marcus, for example—it’s clear that relatively few customers who are predominantly brick-and-mortar shoppers are making the switch. So far, the growing volume of promotional offers doesn’t seem to be doing much to increase demand.
Mar 20, 2020
Inside Great Scotland Yard Hotel In Central London
Things are changing so quickly at the moment, it’s hard to keep track of how to get groceries—or toilet paper—let alone make travel plans. While we are hunkering down and focusing now on social distancing, self-isolation and simply keeping safe and well, there is no harm in thinking ahead and dreaming up a few travel ideas for a later date.
Designed to tell a story, the new Great Scotland Yard Hotel, takes an iconic London building—the former hallmark of the Metropolitan Police—and brings it into a new era. Sitting around the corner from Trafalgar Square and just off Whitehall is the Hyatt’s first Unbound Collection property in the UK, which opened in December 2019. The red-brick building stands tall and formidable on a narrow and hidden London street, as this former police headquarters has been entirely rebuilt and renovated, including a two-floor extension. The result is a fun, witty and whimsical 168-bedroom hotel, with a ground floor dedicated to a host of clever bars and restaurant, and a large basement meeting space below. An unexpected element, comes in the form of the gargantuan five-storey townhouse, which serves as the hotel’s landmark Presidential Suite.
Originally, the site was a castle used by Scottish royalty as their London residence in medieval times—which explains the hotel name. Then from the 1820s until late into the 19th century, it was well worn as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, following a careening history beginning with Sir Robert Peel’s ‘bobbies’ to modern day.
Stories from the hotel’s iconic history fill the hallways. Art consultant Sarah Percy-Davis curated more than 600 specially commissioned paintings and artifacts across the property—many of which contain nods to the Met police or riffs on the infamous criminals whose handiwork touched this building and its surrounds. There is no shortage of stories: Jack the Ripper’s crimes were investigated here; Charles Dickens joined officers on their nightly rounds; Arthur Conan Doyle used the venue as a key destination in his detective tales, to name but a few.
Designed to tell a story, the new Great Scotland Yard Hotel, takes an iconic London building—the former hallmark of the Metropolitan Police—and brings it into a new era. Sitting around the corner from Trafalgar Square and just off Whitehall is the Hyatt’s first Unbound Collection property in the UK, which opened in December 2019. The red-brick building stands tall and formidable on a narrow and hidden London street, as this former police headquarters has been entirely rebuilt and renovated, including a two-floor extension. The result is a fun, witty and whimsical 168-bedroom hotel, with a ground floor dedicated to a host of clever bars and restaurant, and a large basement meeting space below. An unexpected element, comes in the form of the gargantuan five-storey townhouse, which serves as the hotel’s landmark Presidential Suite.
Originally, the site was a castle used by Scottish royalty as their London residence in medieval times—which explains the hotel name. Then from the 1820s until late into the 19th century, it was well worn as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, following a careening history beginning with Sir Robert Peel’s ‘bobbies’ to modern day.
Stories from the hotel’s iconic history fill the hallways. Art consultant Sarah Percy-Davis curated more than 600 specially commissioned paintings and artifacts across the property—many of which contain nods to the Met police or riffs on the infamous criminals whose handiwork touched this building and its surrounds. There is no shortage of stories: Jack the Ripper’s crimes were investigated here; Charles Dickens joined officers on their nightly rounds; Arthur Conan Doyle used the venue as a key destination in his detective tales, to name but a few.
Flower Girl Dresses
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