Metallic Magic
If your optimal metal choice is silver, any gold trim on a shoe or purse would be out of sync with your jewelry or the colors in your wardrobe. It’s easy enough to change a wrong button, but you can’t change accessory hardware. But there is an answer …
The shoes that got me thinking (OK, maybe slightly obsessing) about this issue are this pair – my go-to warm weather faves except for that doggone gold trim.
LIGHTBULB! The same way I re-colored worn jewelry in the past (fashion jewelry obviously, not the real stuff) and metal buttons – with metallic color nail polish — might work on this shoe trim too.
I used aluminum foil to mask off the leather portion and simply used the applicator from the polish bottle to spread the silver color over the flat links of the chain. It took a bit of doing to get into the inner edges. And of course I couldn’t get to the back side of the links – but those never show anyway.
Here’s the finished result:
The coverage isn’t absolutely perfect, but nobody is examining my feet with a magnifying glass, right? I was so pleased that I search my closet for other gold embellishments to transform. Didn’t find any. But I did come up with this necklace with a very tarnished chain. It will take some doing to mask off all the charms. And then I think I’ll try spray paint instead of nail polish for a thinner coverage. Watch for the results. in a future post.
I’d love to see the transformation you create in your own closet.
Nancy, is it bad to mix metals, as in a silver necklace with a burnished black/gold ring, etc.? I was also thinking your shoes would have been far enough from any other jewelry you chose so the gold accent would have gone unnoticed.
I don’t mind mixing meals. I like to make it work by wearing several bracelets of different metals together. I might even throw a leather one into the mix. And some stones. That way it doesn’t matter if my ring is gold and my necklace is silver. I still match!
I love that trick too Patti. And in fact I always tried to wear a gold-silver mix earring when I wore those shoes the “old” way. But all my wardrobe colors tend to look better with silver, and the chain detail on that shoe is so prominent that it just never felt right to me.
I do tell clients that, if their wedding ring isn’t their ideal metal, they certainly don’t need to get a new one. You’d be amazed how many of them tell me they plan to disregard that advice, keep the guy and trade up for a new ring – LOL!
How acceptable that is depends on how intentional the mixing looks and how bold any unmatched element appears. If it’s a small buckle on the strap of a sling-back pump I’m not going to worry about it at all. If it’s a gold necklace that I can layer with some silver chains and tie together with a gold/silver mix earring – no problem. In fact, I intentionally look for a few multi-metal pieces for myself and for clients to make that sort of on-purpose mixing easy to create. For the ring you mentioned, it might depend on how prominent it is in the overall look and whether it is a sentimental piece or just another fashion accessory. For my shoes, because I wear them a lot (obviously in warmer weather) and because that gold chain is so bold and eye-catching, I decided it was worth the time to transform it.
Wow! That is really cool, and looks great!
Thanks Pamela. I guess it goes without saying but a person who is better in gold could do the same trick in reverse.
Best tip ever! What creative thinking! I’m old school and do not like to mix metals. Have passed up many a good buy in the past because of gold (I prefer silver)…….no more! Thanks for “obsessing,” Nancy.
It obviously won’t work as well in areas of high abrasion – a belt buckle maybe – but great for buttons, earrings, etc.