Back in the halcyon age of ELLEgirl, I remember when the severely popular jewelry brand White Trash Charms first came onto the scene. Something about them in all their hype was so instantly appealing, able to evoke a maturer version of walking into F.A.O. Schwartz. White Trash Charms has consistently prided itself on quality, and it is as sophisticated as it is childlike. This is represented best in one of their very first collections that would become one of their most famous and popular ones: the 1984 collection.
The 1984 collection of White Trash Charms was not only attractive and adorable, but totally genius. They had a bounty of candy-colored enamel charms inspired by tried-and-tr
ue cultural mainstays like The Karate Kid, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Andy Warhol, Xanadu, the mod sixties and much more. They could attract four-year-old girls unaware of the references as well as super fancy celebrities who flocked to the pieces, like Lindsay Lohan, who, pre-"fire crotch", was photographed on the cover of Seventeen wearing the necklace inspired by Little Darlings.
I surrendered to its power back in 2006, the year my ridiculous obsession with M.I.A. begun, after having seen her wearing the 15 Minutes necklace (above). I suddenly had to have it, and when I wore it, the compliments came at a surprisingly huge rate. I rocked that shit on the daily-- plus it looked REALLY cool if I wore it with my Velvet Underground shirt. The love and instant cheer it gave me was what made so sad to recently find that the collection is pretty much dead. If you look, it's now no longer on their site and almost nonexistent elsewhere. It's a crying shame considering how fresh, fun and instantly nostalgic these pieces are. This was stuff to get excited about wearing!
So ladies, pour one out for this seriously inspiring business right here. (And Brooke Dulien, if you're reading this, you know what must be done.)
