Five Tips on Buying Embellishments

Before you start shopping for embellishments, consider these points.

1.      The embellishments and trim you buy need to be sturdy enough to survive on feet that drive, walk on concrete, and occasionally kick things (intentionally or not). They can be stain- and waterproofed, so don’t worry about that, but do worry about using things that are easily breakable.

2.      They need to be large enough to be seen from a distance. Small charms that would look great on a bracelet or earrings, for example, will be lost on the front of a shoe unless they are used in clusters. (If you find something tiny that you simply have to use, you can hang it from the back of your shoe.) The same goes for narrow embroidered ribbon. Unless you want those little red roses to add just a dash of color, buy wider ribbon so the roses will look like roses.

3.      When it comes to beads, gems, silver, and gold, don’t spend your money on the real thing. Cheap glass beads (instead of art glass), imitation gemstones, and silver- and gold-plated charms and chains will look just fine. The same is true for silk ribbon. I like to use it because I’m a fabric snob, but polyester ribbon can be beautiful too and it’s much cheaper. The only exception to this rule are crystals: Buy genuine Swarovski crystals. Nothing else sparkles half as brightly.

4.      Keep track of where you bought each kind of trim or embellishment. I guarantee that at some point you’ll need more of something or someone will ask where you got that fabulous piece of lace or giant crystal or Asian coin or....

5.      Remember to buy two of everything! You’ll need one for each shoe. If the design of the embellishment (be it brooch, stamping, or bracelet link) is clearly oriented toward the left or right, think about how that will look.  I found a treasure trove of vintage-look brass and silver-plate angel wings in an antique store one day and bought five or six different kinds…only to get them home and realize they were all RIGHT wings.