Cameo appearance

I wear a lot of vintage pieces in my day-to-day attire, mostly in accessory form. I posted once about my love for vintage brooches and pins. Lately, I'm obsessed with cameos. Cameo relief is basically a technique of carving, usually from shell or semi-precious striated stone or even glass in which the foreground picture is carved out of the lighter shade and the background is left in the darker shade. Most cameo subjects are a profile portrait, but they don't have to be. I was initially inspired by this Wedgewood style cameo brooch:

But it's so hard to wear a cameo these days without looking very dated, or like a grandma. My solution? Pile 'em on- I decided to wear a half dozen cameo pins all clustered together:

Not only is it an interesting look, it also means I don't have to worry about picking out my favorite pin to wear- I get to wear them all! I bought most of them at a flea market a few towns over which made it less expensive. I was able to talk the vendor down because I was taking several of them off her hands at once. Whenever you are shopping at vintage shops, street fairs, flea markets and antique shops, don't ever hesitate to haggle on price. The worst they'll say is, "No." Be careful not to offer so low an amount as to be insulting, but definitely start low and see how they react. You never know what kind of a deal you'll get. Don't start to haggle until you've decided on the maximum you're willing to spend. If you really love something, you'll probably be willing to go a little higher, but in that case, try to maintain a "poker face" while you dicker. Also, if you're buying multiple items, make an offer for the whole lot as opposed to haggling on each individual piece. You'll be even more likely to get a bargain then.

Have you found an amazing piece recently, but you don't know how to wear it? Send me a picture and I'll be happy to advise. Whether it's an article of clothing or any type of accessory, if you love it, you need to find a way to wear it, or it will have been a waste of money.