jewelry roundup, work edition

I started working on the next jewelry roundup post and found that lots of the pictures featured my uniform for work. I like that wearing a uniform means that i don't have to struggle with wardrobe decisions at 6am, but it does cut down on the accessory options. Not only am i wearing the same shade of blue day after day, bracelets and necklaces could present possible hazards on stage -as does long hair- so i tend to add a touch of Niki by blinging out various braids and updos.

For instance, i did a Dutch braid down the center of my head, but fastened it at the nape so that the ends hung free.
For some sparkle i put an enamelled bow and flower pin right over the elastic.

But for this high-mount braid i put my lovely 

blue fish pin into the braid itself so that it looked like he was swimming directly through my hair. I was doing a show on Chesapeake Bay conservancy, so a fishie seemed to make sense.

I love that his paint is a bit flaky and worn; it gives him character. Plus, added bonus that his gem eyes are the same shade of blue as my polo.

It can be fun to theme my hair to my job.

I'm sure no one notices, but it makes me smile inside.

Like when i found this amazing deco-esque abalone pin for $5. The minute i saw it I knew it had to be mine because it reminds me of a stylized model of an atom (that would the Bohr model of atom, of course). I fastened into a winding braid and felt extra sciencey all day.

Some days i do go with a plain ponytail,

but that calls for some serious over-the-top decorations, like these awesome vintage clip-ons. I can not even imagine wearing them as earrings, but their curve makes them look as if they were made to encircle a ponytail (though next time i'll do a small hair cover on the elastic and put the clips even closer together so that they really look like a circle).

The exact opposite of a plain ponytail would be this complicated looking arrangement of tiny braids, medium braids and big braids pinned around the back of my head:

 It was actually not that hard to do

and it was inspired by the cream flower vintage pin with sparkly leaves and pearl buds that i fastened onto the side of it, which i bought for $3 two years ago, but had never worn.

Trying to work my way through my entire jewelry collection in one year (40 while i'm 40 list) has really inspired me to make sure there is some shiny tucked somewhere on me, even if it is just a single gold leaf next to a pinned roll,and has even made me stretch my idea of what "matches" an outfit. Since the uniform is blue i always wear blue, metallic or neutral jewelry, but recently i decided that if i had any shot at wearing every piece of jewelry i own i'd have to branch out. One morning i tried some pink jeweled flowers with the uniform,

with the idea being that it would be fine as long as it looked purposeful and not like i didn't realize that i wasn't wearing pink; i used the whole 3-piece set by placing the pin high to the right of the top bun 

and scattering the clip-ons randomly in the bottom of the twist, kinda like some blooms had fallen from the bunch above. With matching gold flower and pink gem post earrings i think it worked.

And it certainly makes getting dressed for work in the same thing day after day a little more exciting.