When Melissa Leo accepted the supporting actress award for "The Fighter" at Sunday's Oscars, she was wearing a delicate gold spider necklace festooned with diamonds and rubies.

The piece was designed by her friend Katherine Wallach, who happened to be in the audience cheering on her father, legendary actor Eli Wallach, as he accepted a lifetime achievement award from the academy.

The younger Wallach may not be a household name, but she's been crafting charming, unusual jewelry for decades. And Tuesday she's opening the first in a series of pop-up shops to showcase her distinctive designs — on Venice's main shopping drag, Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

The shop, which will be open through March 31, is part of Wallach's longstanding dream to display her jewelry in a gallery-like setting. "There is installation involved in the display of my jewelry," she explained. "I want to start doing these ... monthlong experiences where I sell jewelry." 

A pair of fly earrings, for example, will be displayed on a fly swatter. "The installations are kind of great for people who are not even interested in jewelry," she added.

Wallach's collections, boasting pieces ranging from $100 to $22,000, are so varied, her style is difficult to pin down. But the use of rosaries, vintage charms and found objects run throughout each capsule collection, which typically consists of numerous one-of-a-kind pieces.

The former actress, who appeared in "Goodfellas" and "Gang of New York," among other films, has pop-ups planned for New Orleans, Paris, East Hampton and Amsterdam later this year.

1625 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (323) 683-8277. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: Diamond and ruby spider necklace by Katherine Wallach. Credit: Katherine Wallach

Jewelry designer Loree Rodkin is best known for her extravagant pieces with a gothic twist worn by fans like Cher and Madonna, but her latest venture is far from being moody or dark. Rodkin has designed the Brighter Future bracelet, a strand of tamarind wood beads with a gray diamond and sapphire embellished silver Hamsa hand pendant and a silver dog tag pendant that reads “Brighter Future.”

All proceeds from the sales of the bracelet (which goes on sale at www.loreerodkin.com Thursday) will benefit Sean Penn’s J/P Haitian Relief Organization.

“Sean Penn is an old friend from my film business days,” said Rodkin in a news statement. “I so admire his tireless and perilous efforts in helping the Haitians.”

The Brighter Future bracelet is $250.

--Melissa Magsaysay

Photo: Loree Rodkin Brighter Future bracelet/Loree Rodkin

In the week leading up to Sunday's Academy Awards, we're giving you some gift ideas inspired by Oscar nominees.
 
 
I know, I know. It seems almost wrong to talk fashion in light of "127 Hours’" harrowing real-life plot. But it’s more evidence of how the film touched us (to the depths of Utah’s Blue John Canyon). 

And with models rappelling onto the runway on climbing ropes at Band of Outsiders' fall-winter 2011 fashion show, donning colorfully laced hiking boots, it’s hard to ignore the influence. A climbing rope was literally protagonist Aron Rolston’s lifesaver. “If I drop the rope, the game is over,” he says in his book, "127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place." So what better way to pay tribute to his ordeal and triumph? Think of Proenza Schouler’s Climbing Rope Bracelets as the Aron Rolston/127 Hours bracelet —along the lines of the rubbery Lance Armstrong LiveStrong bracelet, albeit a thousand times more chic. The Proenza bracelets are wrapped with raffia or hemp and trimmed with zipper pulls. (Bracelets from $125 in six colors and necklaces from $450 at proenzaschouler.com or openingceremony.com; [310] 652-1120).

Or rock out a thrill-seeking friend’s home with these uncannily coordinating mouth-blown glass bowls by designer Alexis Georgacopoulos that come with two sets of bungee handles, in red and blue. (Bowls in two sizes, from $150 at aplusrstore.com — one of our favorite Venice design destinations.)

--Ingrid Schmidt

Photos: Top, James Franco in "127 Hours." Credit: Chuck Zlotnick / Associated Press

Friday: "The Fighter"

In the week leading up to Sunday's Academy Awards, we're giving you some gift ideas inspired by Oscar nominees.

 
Controversy over costume designer Amy Westcott and local fashion label Rodarte’s design credits aside, any film that stars Natalie Portman as a goth-meets-glam prima ballerina and contains a Swan Lake number is sure to set the fashion flock’s collective heart aflutter.

Exhibit A: Chanel’s spring collection. Pointe taken. Plumes of all sorts have been capturing our fancy. While we’ll pass on painful toe shoes, we’ll gladly swap in these Manolo Blahnik Catalinasli sandals ($765 at Nordstrom.com).

  And forget the tutu when you have a necklace that’s too-too! Yes, Anita Ko’s envy-inspiring Double Wing pave-encrusted pendant necklace, part of her Good vs. Evil collection, costs a whopping $15,000. (In 18-karat white gold with 3.5 carats of diamonds, also in yellow and rose gold, at Maxfields [(310) 274-8800]. Talk about earning your wings. 

Or try feathering your nest with these high-low pens that could have been plucked straight from Portman’s "good swan" costume. Leave it to Martin Margiela to take the lowly ballpoint to a luxe new level with genuine ostrich and goose feathers. (Pens from $50 each, at Maison Martin Margiela, 310-284-8093, or at aplusrstore.com). One would make a perfect gift for writers or graduates set to take flight or to add flourish to family and friends’ forever-celebrated moments, such as signing guest books, wedding certificates, birth certificates … heck maybe even divorce papers. Exit stage right.

-- Ingrid Schmidt

Photo: Top, Natalie Portman in "Black Swan." Credit: Niko Tavernise / Fox Searchlight

Thursday: "127 Hours" 

 
Many U.S. presidents have donned repp stripe ties, a Capitol Hill uniform. But with a style lifted straight from the pages of "The Preppy Handbook," Yale graduate George H.W. Bush wore his Ivy League heritage on his sleeves, so to speak -- tailored navy suits accessorized with old-school repp stripe ties, along with fabric belts and ribbon watchbands.

 In tribute to his fashion influence, many of Bush’s Washington aides reportedly started collecting the striped bands in imitation of their boss. Known to be a J. Press and Brooks Brothers patron, Bush’s signature country club look, together with First Lady Barbara Bush’s legendary triple-strand pearl necklaces, were one spot-on polished combination. Riffs on the classic, clubby look showed up in the many Americana-themed spring womenswear collections.

This boy-meets-girl’s club pearl, crystal and ribbon Elegance necklace by Swarovski Crystallized, top right, is a perfect marriage of the iconic Bush looks ($195 at swarovski-crystallized.com or 212-966-3322).

And let’s not forget the famous first dog, springer spaniel Millie -- she would have looked, er, quite fetching in an Old School Repp collar by Mascot, top left ($28 at mymascot.com).

-- Ingrid Schmidt

Photos: Top, Old School Repp collars (credit: Mascot) and necklace  (credit:  Swarvoski). Below, former President George H.W. Bush looking preppy in speech in 2003 (credit: Tom Reel / Associated Press).

Friday: Commander in Chic

Waris Ahluwalia, a New York-based actor, designer and all-around renaissance man whose creations already include a high-end jewelry collection and a line of tea (yes, the sipping kind) has expanded the House of Waris brand into a scarf line that made its debut with a presentation during New York Fashion Week on Tuesday night.

"This was my first Fashion Week event, my first collection, and my first model casting," Ahluwalia told me in the packed seventh-floor exhibit space at the Museum of Arts & Design overlooking Columbus Circle, while A-list friends such as actress Chloe Sevigny (who hosted a celebratory dinner in his honor earlier in the evening) and members of the fashion media milled about between vitrines filled with sparkling jewels and models wearing little more than scarves.

So was he nervous? "No, I'm no more nervous than if I were crossing the street," he said. "I'm a storyteller, and it doesn't matter if I tell my story in tea or in scarves. It's no different."

I never got a chance to ask Ahluwalia exactly what story he was telling with his debut fall-winter 2011 scarf collection before he was pulled away by well-wishers, but it didn't matter; the scarves made a beautiful statement all by themselves.

The hand-dyed, hand-batiked scarves, are made in the three different fabrics (cotton, silk and cashmere) and at least a dozen styles, including an all-over honeycomb pattern (printed on some scarves, embroidered with pink thread on others), a palm-frond pattern (a recurring motif in the House of Waris jewelry line), a songbird-and-chain-link print, and a wavy pink-and-black pattern that at first seemed like a reptile print but on closer examination was revealed to be more like delicate tongues of flame or the tips of palm fronds.

The scarves are expected to retail from $300 (for cotton) to $1,500 (for embroidered cashmere) and sell at Barneys New York, including the Beverly Hills boutique.

-- Adam Tschorn in New York

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Top and middle right photos: Models wear scarves from the new House of Waris line that made its debut on Tuesday during New York Fashion Week. Credit: Adam Tschorn / Los Angeles Times

Middle left photo: Waris Ahluwalia at the event. Credit: Dario Cantatore / Getty Images

Bottom photo: A cotton scarf with honeycomb pattern embroidery from the debut fall-winter 2011 collection. Credit: Adam Tschorn / Los Angeles Times

Abraham Lincoln was one dapper guy -- even a fashion muse, of sorts, with his trademark black bow tie and top hat. Decades later, Franklin D. Roosevelt used his cravat to make a political style statement, forming the “bow tie alliance” with Winston Churchill during World War II in opposition to Hitler’s four-in-hand.

Having ebbed to nerd lows in the 1970s, bow ties have made quite a comeback, from “Mad Men” to Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter. And they’re not just for gentlemen. Style-setting ladies such as Sarah Jessica Parker, J. Crew’s Jenna Lyons and Chloë Sevigny have demonstrated quite a knack for the cravat. We’d love to see one on a future madam president. But until then, we’re pinning our hopes on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and our first lady.

Hint, hint, Mrs. Obama — we spied the adorable Alexis Bittar bow-tie cuff bracelets, above and at right, on the spring runway of one of your favorite designers, Jason Wu.

Jewelry designer Jack Vartanian’s hometown and design headquarters of Sao Paolo, Brazil, may be a long way from the shores of Southern California, but his undeniably glamorous aesthetic is reminiscent of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood.

“It was a very elegant time for jewelry,” says the designer from a Beverly Hills showroom where he is holding press and stylist appointments this week. When in town, he particularly loves staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel, for that glamorous, old feeling that also comes through in the Art Deco cuffs, tear-   drop diamond earrings and giant emerald rings he creates.

Vartanian’s pieces are also connected to Hollywood through the slew of celebrities, including Demi Moore, Kate Hudson and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who wear his jewelry regularly on the red carpet. He recently teamed up with Moore and her husband Ashton Kutcher’s DNA foundation (which raises awareness about child sex slavery). From Feb. 1 through Feb. 14, 50% of the sales from a handcuff necklace, picked out by Moore from Vartanian’s Valentine’s Day collection, will be donated to DNA.

“Demi really loved that necklace,” says the designer. “She bought a few, for herself and her daughters.”

Vartanian learned about jewelry through his family who has a precious stone business back in Brazil, and launched out on his own with a designed collection in 1999. He has three stores in Brazil and one in New York and has his sights set on an L.A. store in the near future.

The ghosts of Old Hollywood keep calling him back to Los Angeles. “I ask myself, ‘Where does this feeling for that time period come from?’ Maybe I was a jeweler in the 1930s -- in a previous life.”

 -- Melissa Magsaysay

Top photos: Emma Stone, left, and Zoe Saldana in Jack Vartanian's signature tear-drop earrings. Credit: Jack Vartanian

Middle photos: Morganite earrings, left, and an emerald and diamond ring. Credit: Jack Vartanian

Bottom photo: Handcuff necklace. Credit: Jack Vartanian

Put a ring on it with New York designer Joomi Lim’s set of sparklers —a whimsical mix of gumball-machine-bauble-meets-the-real-deal, possibly inspired by Lim’s recent city hall marriage to her design partner/paramour. Give them as his & hers -- one for you, one for me; don’t you just love when that happens? -- or hers-all-hers so she can wear them stacked.

The sparkly Swarovski crystal-bedecked brass ring duo ($100 for the set of two, at Opening Ceremony) is oxidized with silver for an antiqued, had-it-forever look that hints at longevity. As a brilliant final touch, the rings are tied with neon thread for a just-right downtown edge that tones down any nervous-making formality. The would-be heart strings are like a stylish new take on the forget-me-knot, ever-reminding one of that jewel of a mate.

-- Ingrid Schmidt

Photo credit: Xavier Ricolfi/Joomi Lim

We're giving you Valentine's Day inspirations all week. Tuesday: Have a little heart

When it comes to jewelry, it's hard to find chic, bold collections that won't break the bank -- the market caters heavily to the Forever 21 and Cartier customers, respectively, leaving few trend-right options in the mid-priced arena.

Which is why L.A. resident Erica Anenberg's eponymous line of gold and gold-plated baubles -- sold at Maxfield and Kitson, among other places — has become a go-to for jewelry buffs looking to bling it up without breaking the bank.

And Anenberg's collection of price-friendly bracelets, rings and necklaces is full of solid options for Valentine's Day gifting. Because if you spend too-too much, you might freak her out.

Among our favorite V-Day-appropriate pieces are the Love Block Twosome ring, $98, a sweet play on brass knuckles (Anenberg pioneered the twosome ring); the 14-karat gold-plated cherry enamel heart medallion on a red patent leather cuff, $88, a great choice for daring dressers; the 14-karat gold-plated enameled brass foxy candy heart charm earrings, $98, which hearken back to the message-laden heart candies we all ate and traded as a kid; and the 14-karat gold-plated Braille "love is blind" necklace, $146, a decidedly more subtle piece that we can see giving to a new squeeze and letting them work out what it says — only, of course, if you're confident in his or her mutual amour.

--Emili Vesilind

Photos, clockwise from top left: Love Block Twosome ring, 14-karat gold-plated cherry enamel heart medallion on a red patent leather cuff, 14-karat gold-plated enameled brass foxy candy heart charm earrings, 14-karat gold-plated Braille "love is blind" necklace. Credit: Erica Anenberg

Yes, there is more than the usual reason to celebrate Thursday. Feb. 3 is National Wedding Ring Day. Yes, wedding rings are among the plethora of items, ideas, events and people that get their own "national days."

I'm not sure who decided this. But who cares? Nuptial rings have been traditional in cultures and eras around the world for centuries. The ancient Greeks and Romans wore them; Pope Nicolas I decreed that an engagement ring was required for all engaged couples in AD 860. Double-ring ceremonies became popular in post-World War II America in the 1950s. Wedding rings have been around long enough; they deserve a little recognition.

But more than that, it's just fun to look at wedding and engagement rings. So here to start your day off are a few notables.

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Natalie Portman. Credit: Jason Merritt / Getty Images

The buzz around red carpet interviews at awards shows is almost always drowned out by the same question: "Who are you wearing?" Last week's 68th Golden Globe Awards was no different...shocking. I don't mean to sound bored with it all and I'm the first to admit that I enjoy watching the red carpet arrivals more than the actual award shows, but every year I'm always left with the same burning question: "Yea, yea, Marchesa this, Armani that...but what about the jewelry?" When you're a fashion-obsessed little girl who finally wiggles her way into her mother's closet, you don't reach for the gowns -- you put your tiny feet straight into her heels, wrap her pearls around your neck and go for the diamonds.

Sure last week's leading ladies were dressed in designer bigwigs like Lanvin, Versace, Calvin Klein and Vera Wang, and fashion websites, including our own, went on and on about the 10 best dressed ladies of the evening, but an Oscar-worthy gown is always short of amazing without the right accessories. Would Catherine Zeta-Jones really sparkle in her Golden Globes Monique Lhuillier emerald green gown without her earrings? To be honest, that woman would sparkle in something as mundane as a burlap sack, but the earrings did help! Her diamond chandelier earrings draw your eyes to her gorgeous face and were the perfect accent to her strapless dress. Natalie Portman also looked stunning in her Viktor & Rolf gown but she gave her maternity glow a boost with her Tiffany layered diamond necklace. The piece definitely made a statement but still gives the look of a soft, dainty piece of jewelry.

A pair of diamond earrings and necklace are a given when accessorizing an evening gown but when you're waving to adoring fans why not give your wrists a little extra sparkle? 'The Closer' star Kyra Sedgwick rocked a bright orange Emilio Pucci dress at the Globes and adorned her right wrist with a number of chunky, shiny gold bangles.

It might be easier to clasp a dozen gold bangles on your wrist or fix a diamond necklace around your neck with a movie star bank account, but there's no reason why you can't go glam on a budget.

A layered necklace is the perfect way to make a statement with your jewelry but keep things looking refined. If you have a flare for the dramatic try this Lydell NYC Tiered Chain Beaded Necklace from Bloomingdales for $48, or the mixed metal Peggy Necklace from Chico's for $58. For something a little softer, the Fallling stars necklace from Banana Republic is $47.99.

The chandelier earring went on hiatus for a while but I think it's safe to say they are back -- at least on the red carpet. If you're looking for the perfect pair to wear to a charity gala check out these frugal finds: Chandelier drop earrings from Arden B for $24, Durol earrings in White Nubuk from Aldo for $13.98, Apt. 9 Jet-Tone Simulated Crystal Beaded Chandelier earrings on sale for $10 at Kohl's or the Nadri Crystal Teardrop Chandelier earrings from Nordstrom for $88.

When it comes to bangles, go for the gold and the more the merrier. Budget shoppers can look for bangles sold as a set, giving you a layered look without having to buy 10 bracelets. Mix in some chunkier pieces with stone, pearl or glass accents for fun. Nordstrom has a great set of bangles by Cara for $58. Layer the bangles with a set of four Kaya bangles from Chico's for $38 or the Astronomer's bracelet from Banana Republic for $39.50.

Happy shopping.

Have an outfit you're dying to buy but need a frugal alternative? E-mail us a picture. We're up for the challenge.

-- Jenn Harris

Top photos: Natalie Portman, left and Catherine Zeta Jones. Credits: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images and Mike Nelson / European Pressphoto Agency

Middle photo: Kyra Sedgwick's bangles. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Necklace photo from left: Lydell necklace. Credit: Bloomingdales. Peggy necklace. Credit: Chico's. Falling Stars necklace. Credit: Banana Republic. 

Earrings photo from left:Chandelier Drop earrings. Credit: Arden B. Durol earrings. Credit: Aldo. Apt. 9 earrings. Credit: Kohl's. Nadri Crystal earrings. Credit: Nordstrom.

Bangles photo from left: Cara bangles. Credit Nordstrom. Kaya bangles. Credit: Chico's. Astronomer's bracelet. Credit: Banana Republic.