#ArmCandy

Once upon a time, I was the type of girl who never wore jewelry. Never. My mom got be a gorgeous Claddagh ring one year for my birthday, and I promptly lost it at swim practice after wearing it for a day. Bracelets clanged too much against my keyboard/desk, and necklaces hit against any tabletops. I did manage to wear a pearl necklace for a solid year and a huge peace sign necklace all of my senior year, but other than that jewelry was a foreign concept to me.

Until I worked for a certain retail store that was all about the arm candy/arm party. I won a sales competition and got myself my first watch. All my managers wore theirs with such cute style--layers of bracelets of different sorts around their watches. I wanted to do that too. So, I raided my dusted over jewelry box, grabbing out long forgotten bracelets, and over the last few years I've built up quite a bracelet collection to bring with me. I thought I'd list some of my favorite sites for good bracelets.

• Alex & Ani- Of course! I will say, be careful of tarnishing, but as long as you take of your bracelet, it should be okay. I know some people are starting to think these are overdone, but I will never  be on that boat. First off, we really must support anything "Made in America" because that is such a dwindling phrase! Secondly, A&A have awesome marketing with providing each bracelet with a story. They make for wonderful gifts, and that story just adds a second layer.
• The Hungry Elephant- They're a very small company online right now, but I absolutely love them! They're a vegan company that strives to make the world a better place. Each month, proceeds from their sales will go to different organizations. The month I bought  mine, it was Oceania. This month is the Gentle Farm. Each bracelet has a meaning as well, this one with an animal based story.
• Pura Vida Bracelets-I like to think of this store as the TOM's of bracelet making if TOM's hadn't outsourced their work to China and kept it local to improve the economy that inspired its inception (can you tell, I'm not a TOM's fan?) The guys who founded PV was inspired when he took a trip to Costa Rica. A man was selling colorful bracelets, and the guys decided to buy a bunch to sell back at home. Now, it's a full fledged business. Every purchase helps support jobs in Costa Rica. Additionally, they often have bracelets related to causes so that some proceeds with benefit a certain charity. I bought a bunch of the simple ones called "Shark Tank" and gave them to my sorority family.

What do you think? Also, if you want a good watch, check out Fossil! Mine are obviously Michael Kors, but Fossil manufactures MK as well as a bunch of other brands. Plus they sometimes have great sales--like last week the Fossil Outlet had 50% off all MK watches in their store!