Images via Barack Obama’s Flickr stream.

Michelle Obama gives us some middle ground between stodgy and skanky. It’s the old power necklace, the double-strand, but not in pearls.

My best guess is blue chalcedony? Or maybe jade? Love it.

Now, I openly admit popping in to Sephora to purchase a shade of Stila eyeshadow that Ms. McCain recommended on her blog. Seriously.

But there is something about those giant hoops that seems borderline…inappropriate? To confirm this theory, I conducted a rather cursory Google search to take the pulse of our great nation on this topic.

Big Hoop Earrings, Trendmill. Too bad the post isn’t dated. How else will I know if this is a new trend or an old one, Trendmill?? Also, the hoops featured don’t meet the exact specs of McCain’s.

Do You Think BIG Hoop-Earrings are Cute?!, Yahoo Answers. I’ll let the responses speak for themselves:

• no. i call them hore hoop earings
• nope, sleezyyy.
• They kind of remind me of a prostitute. Especially the really big golden ones or something from the 70s disco era.
• Maybe they were once but now I think they are very scanger/chav like
• No. In high school, my friends and I called them “hooker hoops” cause all the slutty girls wore them.

That’s what I was afraid of. I too remember the big hoop girls from high school.

If you want to live dangerously:

Metal Hoop Earring, $3.80
Forever 21

Otherwise, take a tip from Nana:

You still can’t go wrong with pearls.

I was happy to see many jewelry-makers representin’:

• Aziza’s Boutique
• Rebecca Mooney
• Rocks and Salt

In addition, sitting outside the tent in what can only be described as the burning sun, was Laura Su of Prismera Design. She was displaying many items in her Flora & Folium Collection, a series of “modern botanical silhouettes cut from recycled stainless steel.” They were gorgeous:

When you purchase an item from the Flora & Folium Collection, 10% of the sale goes to Keep America Beautiful.

Laura told me that she works at Rare Device, where her work is also for sale.

Clockwise from the top left:
Honey Locust Necklace, $70
Fir Earrings, $120
Fuchsia Necklace, $66
Chrysanthemum Earrings, $92
Prismera Design

The Brooklyn Indie Market at Smith & Union Street will be open every Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer, from 11AM – 7PM.

There were three jewelry vendors set up when I dropped by: Hungry Cat Cafe Jewelry (couldn’t find a website), which was your standard flea market fare; Allyson Hayes with Precious Elements Designs, who is doing some cool stuff with metal; and Jhoomer.

I stupidly did not bring a camera with me, but I really enjoyed Jhoomer’s pieces, which primarily included semi-precious gemstones and freshwater pearls set in silver. Some were a bit too delicate for my taste — I prefer the chunky stuff — but all were quite lovely. Here are a few quick faves from the cherry quartz area of Jhoomer’s online shop:

Don’t you love the combination of labradorite and cherry quartz in the first two, and the gradation in color on the necklace far right? (FYI, I’m pretty sure cherry aka strawberry quartz is lab-created and not a naturally-occuring, but I don’t care.)

Cherry Quartz, Champagne Pearl, Garnet and Labradorite Pendant, 16″, $41.40 (sale)
Cherry Quartz, Labradorite, Pearl and Garnet Pendant, 16″, $82.80 (sale)
Cherry Quartz and Golden Pearl Necklace, $135 (sale)
Jhoomer Jewelry

UPDATE: Turns out Erie Basin is on the corner of Dikeman and Van Brunt (a block North of Lenell’s). It looks gorgeous in there. Too gorgeous for a girl in flip-flops. Maybe next weekend.