Whether it is made from cloth, leather or metal, the cuff bracelet is an ancient jewellery piece that was all the rage during Antiquity. This accessory has embellished the wrists of a great many women throughout centuries past, from Rome to Alexandria, and Greece, South America and Asia. So this is a throwback to a truly timeless piece of jewellery that’s in a league of its own!
Here cuff bracelets were generally made from gold or brass, and often embellished with a geometric turquoise stone or a stone bearing an animal, such as the scarab beetle seen here, an emblematic symbol of Ancient Egypt. Other cuff bracelets were set with coloured materials, as in this second model, which is much more precious than the preceding one. In Egypt, cuff bracelets were the badges of office for Pharaohs, symbolising their power and might.
Looking towards the Americas, and particularly at Mayan civilisations, cuff bracelets were very understated. They were made from a single material, generally gold or silver, and comprised geometric forms of remarkable simplicity. For those of you who value finesse and unfussiness, this is the model for you! These cuffs may have been worn by Mayan emperors, but it seems that this jewellery piece still inspires women everywhere.
The Turkmen cuff bracelet adorned the arms of most women in this area of Central Asia. They were generally made from gold or silver, and often embellished with one or several precious or semi-precious Carnelian stones. Today, this bracelet is available as a re-edition. It is both ethnic and simple, giving any outfit an element of chic and a touch of the exotic. Just what you need to keep you looking elegant on your summer travels!
Indian versions of the cuff bracelet were made from metal, particularly in engraved silver, and often set with an impressive turquoise stone. Women wore one cuff bracelet on each arm, in total symmetry.
A timeless classic: the leather cuff bracelet
Inspired by ancient cuff bracelets, these leather pieces are chic and understated. Made from the finest of natural materials, they come in plain and two-tone leather, or in more than one material, and add a note of class to your look. In any case, there’s a cuff bracelet to suit every taste!
Have you heard of trendy casual chic? It’s a look we’re particularly fond of here at Buttons Paradise, and it’s all about dressing with taste and simplicity, whilst still expressing your personality with some unexpected accessories.
If you are a fan of design objects in general, and you particularly like your fashion accessories, then this style will surely appeal to you. This style about saying a big ‘Yes please!’ to comfort and simplicity – and an almighty ‘No thanks!’ to ordinariness. It certainly doesn’t mean you have to forego your style.
Among these accessories, which can really add a splash of vigour and verve to your daily life, we particularly like these large bracelets made from coloured leather. Here are 5 good reasons why you should be adorning your wrist with a leather number.
Good reason number 1: Jewellery that makes your outfit
Your outfit may be super simple, but it will look super chic. And you can’t blame us for wanting to be more efficient in the morning, with just 30 minutes to jump out of bed and get ready (i.e. transform ourselves into sophisticated femme fatales).
To give a touch of personality to your look, with a bold accessory that really stands out, look for graphic and design pieces.
Add a stroke of colour to enliven your look and draw the eye (hopefully drawing it away from your ironing ‘skills’).
With a leather cuff bracelet you will be striking…and practically flawless. What more could you ask for? You won’t just be dressed like any old person, thank you very much. No, you’ll have mastered the casual chic look, and be right on trend!
Good reason number 2: A large bracelet that looks and feels weightless
Any jewellery connoisseur will tell you that comfort is the number-one priority, and adds to the pleasure of wearing a given jewellery piece on a regular basis. Whatever the day has in store for you, and no matter what your energy levels are when you wake up in the morning, this leather bracelet will be your ideal companion. The leather is flexible and light, so this leather cuff bracelet will not get in the way of your movements and gestures – and there’s no point trying to deny that Mediterranean tendency to speak with your hands!
Good reason number 3: Perfect for in the office or out to a restaurant
This bracelet is perfect for day-to-day wear, but also looks great as part of your evening wear, especially when matched with a plain or patterned tunic or dress. You’ll find yourself filling your wardrobe with a whole heap of minimalist outfits, just to have the pleasure of wearing this large bracelet with anything and everything! This coloured leather cuff bracelet will be the perfect addition, both day and night. And it wouldn’t be right to deprive yourself now, would it…
Good reason number 4: An accessory that is feminine, not girly
With a leather cuff bracelet for women, you can play around with male/female fashion codes. The end look is modern, and ever so feminine. A quick history lesson for those of you who are interested: female leather cuff bracelets are a re-appropriation of men’s shirtsleeves and cufflinks. And in the fashion world, re-appropriations and re-workings offer a never-ending source of interest and spice.
Good reason number 5: A timeless accessory, with a soul of its own
Hermès leather bracelets have become an essential piece for the brand, and are precious and timeless.
Their most beautiful leather cuff bracelets are in their limited collections, and have been handmade with care. The same is also true for the leather cuff bracelets made by Buttons Paradise, which blend haute couture, vintage and contemporary buttons and belt buckles with rare items and collector’s pieces. The final results are unique and highly individual.
Featured here, we have a leather cuff bracelet in red leather, trimmed with a belt buckle in vintage Bakelite, and a cuff bracelet in yellow leather fastened with a large resin buckle.
Leather, added volume, geometric forms, natural materials, black and white with a touch of yellow or red: these are the accessory trends for this summer 2016. We’ve directly based these predictions on what designers recently presented on the runways and at fashion week. A well-chosen accessory will always manage to add that special something to any outfit, personalising it and bringing it right on trend. Here’s a quick run-down of the colours, forms and materials that will accessorise your summer. Follow our guide, and you can’t go wrong.
If there’s one rule to follow this 2016 summer season 2016, this is it: mix a clean, simplistic look with a touch of eccentricity. Go ahead and find your perfect combination! Bare shoulders, seashore-inspired looks and see-through effects are all to come this season. Long dresses, dresses with splits and kimonos are also going to be making an appearance in your wardrobes. And to really enhance these new arrivals, we’ll be seeing natural materials, geometric forms and oversized jewellery. Along with your espadrilles and your flatforms, opt for ombre sunglasses lenses, a leather clutch bag or cuff bracelet, a large wooden ring, a pair of geometric earrings, and a belt, cravat or foulard made from natural materials.
Trend Number 1: Clutch bags and mini-leather goods
Handbags are just like shoes…you can never have too many of them. And this summer, you’re not going to know which way to turn! Among the on-trend it-bags spotted this season, pride of place on the catwalks went to the clutch bag, with a handle or shoulder strap. Small leather bags and mini backpacks are the essential accessories to your summer. We’ve definitely come full circle from the oversized holdall – and for good reason. These fashion accessories are jewellery items in their own right, and can hold a lipstick or a smartphone. Wear yours casually, whether on a trip out with friends or to a trendy party by the sea.
The jewellery trend for this summer is extra, extra large jewellery, giving an instant boost to a simplistic, clean look and adds a note of boldness to any outfit. Oversized earrings can be worn by themselves or as a pair. There are large hoops and spirals, pompoms and tassels. You’ll see metal, leather, bright colours and zebra patterns. So now you can match your earrings to your lipstick or your pumps. And above all, don’t forget that oversized earrings can really light up your face and make it look longer!
It’s not just a question of excessive size this spring-summer season; we’ve also spotted some unusual jewellery shapes: jewellery will be square, triangular, linear, and circular. So with geometric shapes whichever way you look, it’s about time to get over those maths phobias! For the most part, we’ll be seeing natural materials: metals, leather and wood. As for colours, there’s gold and silver, but also black and white along with the primary colours yellow, red and blue.
Of course we can’t talk about accessories without mentioning sunglasses too, especially for trips to the beach or park this summer. This season, sunglasses are transparent, with ombre lenses, and flesh-coloured, natural or honey tints. We’ll be seeing round, butterfly and geometric frames. These models illustrate the trends for the summer 2016 season perfectly. Play around with a transparent-effect frame, and with a mirror-effect or discreet, natural lenses with slight gradations of colour. Plus, this season’s round and oversized frames will keep you well protected from those summer rays.
Leather is one of the key elements for this summer. It featured greatly in the handbag and shoe collections, and also stood out in jewellery lines. If you are looking for THE jewellery piece to wear throughout the summer, opt for a bracelet, necklace or cuff bracelet made from leather. Once again, geometric shapes are doing their thing. This summer, look for solid contours that are circular, triangular or square. Leather is truly the queen of all natural materials, adding a touch of chic to your outfits and bestowing her majesty upon your wrists. Two-tone jewellery, often made from more than one material, is also right on trend. A bracelet in yellow leather embellished with blue Bakelite, or a black and white leather butterfly cuff bracelet will inject instant energy to any simple and understated outfit, whether it’s for work or an evening event.
You might have spotted some of the on-trend colours for this summer in our selection of accessories: yellow, black and white, with a note of red here and there to add a bit of pizzazz. So now, it’s over to you: combine these on-trend accessories with a simple, clean look and you can’t go wrong!
Cate Blanchett is above all a renowned actress, I’m not telling you anything new; her playing is as perfect as her beauty. From Elizabeth through Blue Jasmine to name a few, she embodies a natural beauty and elegance.
The apotheosis of her innate class is even stronger with the picture of Cate Blanchet published in The Guardian: a radiant face, Persian eyes simply accompanied by a huge pure black haute couture button on a beige silk muslin; a beautiful and elegant button as Cate Blanchett is. What a lesson in style where the haute couture button displays a pure sobriety and adorns more than a jewel, a simple silk blouse! Thank you Mrs Blanchett for this superb lesson of universal elegance. Your taste is flawless and just divine as you are!
SS 2016 Collection – Courtesy of Aouadi
It is not surprising that you have allowed us to discover, for the promotion of the movie Carol, one of the rising stars of tomorrow French Haute Couture: Yacine Aouadi. His latest Spring-Summer 2016 collection is as beautiful as light with sublime pearl buttons!
SS 2016 Collection – Courtesy of Aouadi
A crazy work and a style that celebrate women and love as these dresses decorated with pearl buttons asked one by one, which required hundreds of hours of work! An exquisite set of Haute Couture that could have been inspired by Cate Blanchett herself! A tribute to two talented personalities!
What are the jewelry buttons from the latest spring/summer 2016 couture shows? Eclecticisms seems to be the key word:
– Some rather classic collections for Chanel and Dice Kayek;
– Cubist and graphics couture lines for Victor & Rolf while Dior is straight and wise but yet so stylish. And among these renowned fashion names, all are using jewelry buttons or haute couture buttons!
– Nevertheless, I still remain a fan of the 2015 summer collection from JW Anderson (yes, 2015) who matches haute couture buttons of different sizes to give an aesthetic look and style to outfits like no one. That is said!
I also have a crush for the staging of one haute couture button made by Armani for its 2016 summer show! This single button must be a jewel: it is THE detail of the outfit, a sober slim black button that catches your eye and makes breakneck speed lines of the clothing: pizzazz!
And if we had to celebrate a jubilant fashion, the award would most certainly goes to Dolce & Gabbana for their 2016 spring/summer ready to wear collection: it is colorful, cheerful and even bold and it is surely high in buttons!!!
Telling someone we love them is a precious gift – why not say it 365 days a year! And if per chance we forget to do so, Valentine’s Day is there to remind us on February 14th each year. But let’s not forget the love buttons!
These are true love buttons – sublime and rare hand painted buttons from the 1930s. Their “I love you, a little, a lot, passionately…” is a beautiful way to celebrate love.
One can easily imagine them being worn by our great-grandmothers or our great aunts. I imagine them sewing these love buttons to surprise their husbands or loved ones for a romantic diner or even better, to declare a budding love!
For this reason, when sewing buttons become love buttons, it’s a beautiful and original way to celebrate the feast of love no matter what you are wearing…
Those beautiful red buttons or crystal buttons that will delight those who wish on Valentine’s Day to transform their daytime outfits into festive attire!
For those who wish to know the origin of these love buttons, my best friend Julie offered them to me. This is just a small sample of the button collection that belonged to her grandmother. The button lover that I am cannot thank her enough for such a beautiful gift…
Initially, I did not know what this small carved figure of a man represented: a samurai with a child, but what was the feature of this beautiful object? It was equipped with two holes, one of one centimeter at the base and the other, smaller, on the back. And it is these holes that intrigued me. After searching on the Internet and taking the time to test if it was ivory, I was rapidly convinced that this carved item was the distant ancestor of our sewing buttons and that it was Japanese: the Netsuke. Indeed, the Netsuke is an extremely refined carved button. Did you know that all its surfaces are smooth to avoid damaging the fabric of the kimono, much less hurt the man that wears it? Did you know that they often featured human figures, life scenes or animals? Besides being functional, the Netsuke also symbolized a social rank, sometimes a trade or expressed for some of them, among the most rare, a carved love scene!
And all because kimonos have no pockets, the Netsuke was simply the button that allowed its owner to attach a box (sagemono) to the kimono by a string, containing his belongings. So refined, a button really deserves a name to the delicate pronunciation of Net-su-ke!
We often talk about innovations on the Internet. But what about haute couture buttons? How do you define a genuine novelty for sewing buttons? Are they mainly similar or radically different? Whatever kind of buttons they may be, they are key fashion accessories that will make the difference to enhance your outfits and to create this difference, we should refer to them as original buttons. This is what BUTTONS PARADISE wishes to offer you when we speak about innovations, we think originality above all!
The Pop Galaxy button series is handcrafted and ultrafine. These fashion buttons have a delicate roundness and they are composed of colored resins inlayed, in a wood from New Caledonia: the Pittosporum Pentandrum. This wood is extremely lightweight and its colors range from very light beige-pink to intense brown. Its veins are fine and delicate: a pure delight-sewing button for chic and ‘tangy hues’ outfits. The Pop Galaxy buttons can be made in four different sizes: from 20 to 50 mm.
Also new in this collection: the Placuna button. It is made of mother-of-pearl from an oyster as round as a circle, the Placuna Placenta. This oyster is sought after for its pearls and the quality of its MOP, so fine that it lets the light come through. This is why our ancestors, a few hundred years ago, used this oyster instead of glass, as its shell is translucent. The Placuna button is made of 6 mother-of-pearl layers crimped with gilding at the ends. It captures the reflections of the fabric and it is as beautiful as sunshine. It is a divine jewelry buttonto wear on a party outfit, a top or jacket in all seasons. Like any luxury handcrafted button, the Placuna button is made to order and is available in two sizes to better highlight the purity of its mother-of-pearl: 40 and 50mm diameter.
After the launch of its French e-store last October, BUTTONS PARADISE opens up new markets to welcome international clients and fashionistas with an e-shop in English: pizzazz !!! I like by the way this expression from the famous and talented Diana Vreeland (Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue). As you may know, Diana V. often ended her sentences with this happy and resonant word: for me and as I am French, pizzazz simply means great. And yes, it’s great!
It’s great because after a year of strenuous work and research to bring to you some original buttons and fashion accessories, mainly buttons, BUTTONS PARADISE is happy to present its winter 2015-2016 collection.
Indeed, this winter, we offer a collection mainly composed of large buttons, often round but also rectangular or square-shaped buttons. They will become the undisguised sparkle of your day wear or evening outfit … not to mention your key accessories for a bag or a hat that buttons will adorn like a piece of jewelry.
Some of you may wonder why BUTTONS PARADISE chooses XXL button sizes to represent what is traditionally the smallest fashion accessory? Simply because big or extra large buttons give a specific and unique touch to your clothing, especially coats. And this winter as you know, the ultra-chic trend is towards oversized coats like those from the eighties and the nineties! We just LOVE them.
Just because this winter in buttons will also be full of luxury and refinement with haute couture buttons collection, the XXL urban-ethnic button will be ideal to give an ultimate look to your coats and hats.
The urban-ethnic button is also the centerpiece of a unique and original necklace: the Canoes necklace, a BUTTONS PARADISE limited edition, so smart.
Other trends that you will also discover in our mother-of-pearl design buttons collection, with buttons like the shape of a puzzle! Many of them are ideal for big jumpers and cardigans, especially if you play with button sizes. Absolutely delicious and so trendy!
