Lanvin’s “Barbara” collection, appropriately named after billionaire Barbara Hutton, ornamented their fabulous Fall 2012 runway collection and is finally on sale at Lanvin.com. The bold collars and whimsical brooches (we’ve got our eye on the “eyes!”) echoe vintage costume jewelers such as Kenneth Jay Lane, Wendy Gell, The Show Must Go On, VRBA, and Gerda Lynggaard. A fun rule of thumb is “If you can’t see it from across a freeway, it isn’t big enough!”
American costume jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane began his career as a shoe designer for Delman and Christian Dior before designing fun and flashy baubles. The Detroit native studied at University of Michigan and the Rhode Island School of Design and went on to design for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Vreeland, and Audrey Hepburn.
His motto: “Elegance, good taste and luxury never go out of style” has held true. While he gained popularity in the early 1960s, KJL continues to be relevant in the fashion world, and is still sold at stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Net-a-Porter, and Bloomingdale’s, among others. 
Pictured at right are Kenneth Jay Lane oversize coral button earrings from the 1980s available from The Way We Wore.
