Suddenly I’m completely done with statement earrings. I’m totally over their loud cry for attention and hefty weight dragging at my over-stretched piercings. How long this phase will last, I have no idea. All I know is I don’t want chandeliers hanging from my little lobes anymore. For the time being, I really fancy wearing good quality, dainty gold earrings with my Summer wardrobe.

When I realize the only earrings I have that match this description are white gold, I head on over to Pinterest for some ideas.

As I scroll through my search of “mini gold earrings” it occurs to me I should look for sustainable jewelry, but what does that mean exactly? Funnily enough until now, I hadn’t given that question much thought. Naturally, I’m aware of blood diamonds or conflict diamonds but what about the gold? Gold is the ideal resource to recycle repeatedly as it doesn’t diminish in quality. Where does this gold come from and how would I even know if the gold source is recycled or mined? Is there good gold and bad gold? Hahaha you guessed it! Yes of course there is we’re only Human right?

SUSTAINABLE JEWELRY BRAND AU|RATE

Enter Au|Rate the definition of ethical yet affordable luxury. The NYC born and bred jewelry brand was conceived over brunch by friends Sophie Kahn and Bouchra Ezzahraoui. You can watch a fascinating short video of their story here.

As for the brand ethos – Au|Rate creates all its jewelry with real 18k or 14k gold.  All the gold is 100% recycled, all diamonds are conflict free and fair trade and the pearls are sustainably farmed and sensitively harvested to protect biodiversity. Moreover, these sources must strictly adhere to the Human Rights of their workers.

In addition to these sensational sustainable credentials, every piece is handcrafted in New York City by master jewelers. No wonder the Au|Rate tagline is “Fine Jewelry, No Concessions”

What’s more, if you live in the U.S you’d be mad not to take advantage of the free home try-on option. It’s called Curate by Au|Rate where you are sent five curated pieces with seven days to try them and absolutely no obligation to buy. You can keep what you like or send the box back, it’s entirely up to you. Isn’t that an incredible offer? I love this idea so much!

OLD OUTFIT OF THE DAY

This knockout Dagny dress is from last Summer which some people might call old. I wouldn’t, a year in my closet is certainly not old however I have worn it more than 30 times. The Anne Taylor leather belt is secondhand from ThredUp. I really needed a neutral wide waist belt in order to make easy changes to most of my outfits and this one works brilliantly. It cost five whole dollars and still had the tag attached! My beautiful creamy punched leather bag by Jigsaw is another secondhand buy, this time from eBay about five years ago.

Now let’s discuss the vintage Chanel bracelet I’m wearing which is actually a necklace. I saved up for many years to buy this exact CC piece. It’s classic 90’s Chanel we all know from the OG Supermodel days. Remember Linda Evangelista dripping in Chanel? When I finally bought it from a well known vintage Chanel dealer I managed to haggle the price down and got rather a good deal. However, that was before vintage Chanel became hugely popular so the chance of finding this necklace for £350 again is zero to none.

To illustrate my point for this post I searched the internet far and wide for the same piece. Sadly (not for me, I’m sitting on a goldmine!) it’s super rare now and impossible to find. I located one on WGACA that sold for $1,200 and the two pieces below are still available.

NAKED SANDALS FOR SUMMER

Next up is something new! My fabulous sandals by ATP Atelier. Another label formed by two old friends with the same desire for no-nonsense great quality, design and brand transparency. I covet all the shoes by this minimalist Scandinavian brand although this particular pair I simply adore the most. These sandals remind me of all the wonderful holidays I enjoyed in Positano in my former life. As an adventurous (read – crazy) lone Woman living life large in London, it was no biggie to jump on a “last minute” cheap flight to Italy and so I did that often. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, ATP Atelier shoes are handcrafted in the ancient cliffside village of Otranto, Puglia. I tell you there is something very real about my connection to Italy that even touches me here in America. Perhaps I’m beginning to miss it as my second Summer away approaches?

In any case, I finally got my hearts desire for the discounted price of $180! The winning result of my annual game of chicken in the Net a porter sale. BOOYAH!

Just an FYI about the brands’ sizing. If you usually take a half size, Net a Porter recommend going up. I’m a 38.5 in Italian sizing so on NAP advice, I bought the 39 which turns out, is half a size too big. In hindsight, I’d have been better suited to a 38. As it happens they sold out of size 38 so I kept the slightly large 39, my love cannot be swayed. And Oh boy are they comfy too! Not at all difficult to walk in as I feared they might be. More like flip flops with a small imperceptible heel. Me likey…

Needless to say, you’ll be seeing me in these shoes a lot over the coming weeks. Proudly re-styling them with my existing wardrobe. What could be more fun than that?

As it happens ATP Atelier is also having a pretty juicy sale on its website right now. Check out this pair of pink bubblegum coloured mules for 139 euro.

SOME SEXY SUMMER DRESSES ON SALE NOW

Ciao ciao xx

*DISCLOSURE – Earrings are kindly gifted by Au|Rate and this post also contains affiliate links.