Saturday 24 October 2009

Jingle Jangle







Wherever I've been in India from remote villages in Tamil Nadu to a bustling metropolis like Mumbai, everyone always calls me "Miss Jingle Jangle" because of my obsession with bangles. You'll hear me arriving before I enter a room.

I'm happy to leave the house without make-up but without a bracelet on my arm? No way! It's like my armour, once I've slipped a few bangles on my wrists I'm ready to face the world. I've no qualms about mixing gold with silver, old with new. Bangles personalise my outfits and make me who I am.

My large hoard contains everything from traditional Indian bangles picked up for a couple of rupees in street markets to beautiful, hand-crafted tribal silver pieces, 1960's Biba bracelets raided from my Mum's collection and tat from boot sales.

How do I store my bangles? The leatherette display box was given to me by a kind stall holder I got chatting to at a car boot sale and the elegant silver hand was a gift from a friend.

A Money-saving for cleaning silver and removing tarnishing from costume jewellery:
  • Line a glass bowl with silver foil and place jewellery inside.
  • Sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda over the jewellery.
  • Pour just boiled water over the top , covering by at least 2 inches.
  • Leave to soak for 30 minutes.
  • Remove jewellery, rinse and polish with a clean, dry cloth.

2 comments:

  1. I love bangles, I often wear a stack. They can really pull an outfit together. I love your bangle box - it looks beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, I am envious of your collection, though I don't get on well with bangles myself.

    Thanks for the tips on cleaning, I have a couple of vintage silver charms that need sorting before I can use them.

    ReplyDelete

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Lots of love, Vix