Legendary American editor Diana Vreeland had a penchant for layering watches over her shirt cuffs, wearing multiple Bulgari Serpenti bracelets as a belt and matching her beaded earrings to her blood-red nails. She also once decreed that, “Anyone who thinks jewellery isn’t important is nuts.” It turns out, Me+Em’s customers feel the same.
Me+Em Atelier collection.
Me+Em Event collection.
“Every time we’ve launched a new category, it has started with the customer, and answering a need from her,” says the brand’s founder and CEO Clare Hornby. When Me+Em launched both accessories and footwear (PSA: the supple brown suede Travel Loafer is essential for autumn), it was a response to consumer demand. As of today, this also includes two fully fledged jewellery offerings: the sculptural 15-piece Atelier collection, crafted in Italy using 24-carat plated gold, and the party-ready Event collection, drenched in diamanté and pearls.
“Outfit building is fundamental to the business, so when it comes to designing new categories, it’s always rooted in how this will open up outfits and provide new styling tools for our customer,” continues Hornby. For Atelier, this has translated into sculptural, versatile designs – from pebble-link earrings to textured chains, signet rings to Lariat necklaces – that can be paired with anything from tailoring to denim to dresses. Think: a Vreeland-approved chunky bangle layered over a tweed blazer or an XL pin brooch, with a nubby pearl bead, fastened onto a soft sweater. For the Event offering, this means playful, twinkling and maximalist designs, like strands of asymmetric pearls intertwined with silk scarves, shimmering floral drop earrings and crystal necklaces in citrine and emerald hues.
Me+Em Atelier collection.
Me+Em Event collection.
“Adding a chunky cuff over the top of a pared-back shirt instantly adds a point of interest and elevates an otherwise casual outfit,” shares Hornby. “I also love the effect of a bold statement necklace worn over a really simple cashmere jumper, or a tonal all-black look… it looks considered but effortless.”
For Hornby, functionality is also key for the busy, always-on-the-go women she caters too. And so, the brand’s stud earrings feature detachable drops and its adjustable lariat necklaces can be “sized to sit at the waistband of trousers or follow the silhouette of a dress.”
“Jewellery is such an effective way to take a simple outfit and make it look considered; it’s a hack!,” adds Hornby. It’s a maxim that Mrs Vreeland herself would have approved of.
