TikTok’s Carla Rockmore On Accessorizing, Ageing & Finding Inspo

The jewelry designer has been gathering treasures for many years, and now she’s sharing her trove on TikTok.

Love supposedly finds you while you least count on it — or, in Carla Rockmore’s case, while you’re in your means to purchase a marriage gown. Like every good fairy-tale romance, this one begins with an opportunity encounter. (And, no, we’re not speaking about her husband.) Because the story goes, the designer was purchasing for a nuptial frock when a silver Konstantino bangle caught her eye. Rockmore was so smitten that she determined to purchase the accent as an alternative of the robe. What may she say? When you understand, you understand.

Now 56, Rockmore tells the story to her 1.3 million TikTok followers as she dons her marriage ceremony outfit circa 2000 — a glittery pink BCBG Max Azria gown, classic acrylic wedge heels, a Vera Wang-inspired crystal bouquet and, in fact, the bracelet. Then she slips a jean jacket on over the gown and trades out the iridescent posy for a pale-blue clutch. “You might be my Carrie Bradshaw,” the highest remark reads.

It’s not arduous to see why her followers liken her to the Sex and the City character. Honey-coloured curls apart, Rockmore shares Bradshaw’s fondness for finery. Inside her two-storey closet in her dwelling in Dallas is a group of clothes and accessories that pays homage to her decades-long love affair with vogue. Her assortment of “baubles and bangles,” as she calls them, has its personal devoted wall. The sparkly hoard includes classic and designer items, some courting again to the ’50s — together with her most treasured piece: her mom’s seven-strand pearl choker. And for the previous three years, she’s been letting the world into her huge wardrobe by way of social media, incomes her a nomination for the 2023 CAFA Digital Trend Creator of the Yr Award.

Montreal-born Rockmore labored as a clothes designer for many of her profession earlier than transitioning to jewelry in 2007. In March 2020, she was in Jaipur, India, engaged on her semi-precious-jewellery assortment, when COVID-19 despatched her again stateside. In want of a inventive outlet, she started producing styling movies with the assistance of her tech-savvy Gen Z daughter.

The remaining, as they are saying, is historical past — or her story. Rockmore’s followers tune in for her sage sartorial recommendation, like tips on how to fashion a denim maxi-skirt or buy vintage. As per her TikTok bio, the designer celebrates the “self-expression of fifty+.” However her joie de vivre strategy to dressing appeals to an ageless viewers that ranges from Gen Z to Gen X.

Right here, Rockmore discusses her love of jewellery, winter styling tips, her eponymous model and extra.

You’ve stated jewelry is “the place true particular person fashion is expressed.” What do you imply by that?

“Jewellery items are little sculptures, and which means they’re artwork. One individual sees an 18th-century portray and falls in love with it, and one other individual needs a Jackson Pollock. That’s how I see the embellishment of accessories. It turns into a private journey and an expression of your internal self.”

What’s inspiring you as of late?

“The late ’60s and early ’70s have all the time been an inspiration to me. The glam of that period was coinciding with a number of political unrest within the U.S. at the moment, and I discover the juxtaposition of these two worlds very attention-grabbing.”

You’ve talked about earlier than — in considered one of your movies — that it appears to be that as girls age, we turn out to be “invisible.” Do you suppose jewelry could make us really feel much less invisible?

“Completely. I imply, who doesn’t love a press release necklace? Jewelry turns into a talisman of who you might be. If you’re youthful, you won’t know as readily who you truly are, however by the point you hit center age, you’re extra assured so that you’ll experiment extra with larger items.”

Are there any “guidelines” that you just comply with for styling jewelry?

“I don’t prefer to load up on too many items at one time until there’s a really particular cause for it. I like steadiness and can load up until the cows come dwelling if it’s proper. I’ll put on 5 chokers in a single look if it lends itself to the steadiness of the complete factor.”

Any ideas for winter jewelry styling?

“If in case you have an occasion, mess around along with your earrings. It’s possible you’ll want a stud reasonably than a dangle. It’s all about steadiness and the look you’re making an attempt to create. The factor about jewellery is, load it up after which look within the mirror and determine if it feels proper to you. There aren’t any steadfast guidelines. However when you’ve got this little inkling that it’s an excessive amount of, it in all probability is — take a chunk off.”

How has your fashion modified from while you had been in your 20s?

“My fashion has not modified. Is that scary? I’ve all the time liked a military pant, a platform shoe, a paper-bag waist, boho. On the similar time, I completely adore stark minimalism. I simply don’t gown the identical daily. I don’t put myself right into a field.”

You informed Vogue in 2021 that you just need to purchase items you possibly can move all the way down to family members. Are you able to broaden on that and the way it influences what you select to purchase?

“It positively influences what I select to purchase these days due to Ivy’s transition. [Rockmore’s daughter Ivy came out as transgender in 2022.] Hastily, I’ve any individual to move my jewelry all the way down to. On the finish of the day, should you’re going to purchase one thing to move down nevertheless it’s not your favorite piece, don’t purchase it. Purchase issues that you just love first, after which take into account passing them down afterward. Get pleasure from them for what they create to you.”

You’ve lived in Montreal, Toronto, Europe and now Dallas. How has residing in these completely different locations influenced your fashion?

“I’m all the time influenced by what I see visually. I’m like a sponge that means. I’m actually concerned about the way in which that different folks put themselves collectively. I discover it stunning to note different folks’s fashion. That’s the one space the place I’ve felt slightly unhappy about shifting to Dallas — it’s not a strolling metropolis, and each different metropolis I’ve lived in is a strolling metropolis. It was straightforward in Montreal to see creativity strolling down the road, whereas Dallas is extra event-driven so that you don’t see as a lot exercise on the streets. However what’s actually attention-grabbing about Dallas versus different locations is the southern appeal. Girls praise each other up and down 24/7 right here. I discover that superbly inspiring.”

Beneath, Carla Rockmore’s favorite friend-worthy gifts (which you would possibly simply need to maintain for your self).

This text first appeared in FASHION’s Winter 2024 subject. Find out more here.

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