Every season I get excited to see Splendette’s new range. For spring it was sherbet loveliness that made every pastel-lover drool. Now, for summer, it’s Duotone perfection, hand carved jewellery crafted in delicious duotones released in mirrored pairings. Want pink and mint? Parrot and Flamingo are for you. Love oranges and lemons? Sunrise and Sunset are here to brighten your days. If you’re more of a classic babe who wants to just get down with black and red? No worries, Lover and Hater will have you covered. There’s 12 different colours to choose from across bangles, necklaces and earrings, and personally I had to sample 7 of them with rabid haste!
I need to warn you immediately that if this is the first you’ve seen of this Duotone range and you have any interest in buying some then you need to launch yourself at Splendette’s website, now. The range comes in 3 wrist sizes for the bangles and Splendette has incredibly ardent fans, so many of the pieces sold out or have almost sold out thanks to the excited buying power of said fans from the pre-sale held Splendette’s Facebook group and from the official launch day. Eeva, Splendette’s owner, designer and all around sweetheart, has already promised restocks have been ordered, so it’s not all over yet if your favourite items have already sold out. You can even sign up for email notifications on the product’s page to get an email when they’re restocked. Now, on to the proper stuff!
This range harkens back to Splendette’s first ever range, the Mexicana range. At the time, as a baby pinup, I had no idea Splendette was a brand new one-woman company, nor that I would grow to consider their items as an integral, beloved part of my wardrobe, but that is when it started, when I bought a red and two pale blue thin bangles. Splendette’s seasonal ranges are one-time-only releases, designed with love and hand carved with care. It is no great surprise, then, that as each season passes and the jewellery sells out, folks often realise too late that they really want a sold out piece, thus embarking upon a quest to track down their DISO (desperately in search of) piece across great swathes of the vintage internet. The Mexicana range has many a forlorn, empty-wristed fan wishing they could get their hands on those OG pieces. Thanks to this Duotone range, those who missed out can now get their hands on many similar pieces, and better yet, in all 3 wrist sizes, Maiden, Classic and Duchess!
Walnut + Almond
[Outfit details: Walnut necklace, Walnut and Almond bangles, Elaine Dolly & Dotty dress, Cream Mabel cardigan by Voodoo Vixen]
The Almond bangles are the colour and design from this range I was most excited about, obsessed as I am in summer with pairing most outfits with wooden or brown accessories. Their mirrored partner is Walnut, which I’m wearing here in the thin bangles and the necklace. I rarely wear necklaces, of any type, but even less so chunky beaded styles because I’m never quite sure how to pair them with my outfits. This Walnut necklace, though, immediately won me over because of it’s carvings, and I love that both colours of bangles will instantly give me something to match it to that will help me know how to wear it.
Splendette necklace fans often disagree about what the perfect necklace length is, some preferring theirs to be shorter while others need a longer length to be comfortable. I’m not of a dainty build, nor do I like things that are tight around my neck, even high necklines irritate me. This necklace was comfortable to wear and sat at a flattering level, I feel, but if you like a lower hang you can easily add a chain extender to your necklace to achieve the perfect fit. It’s 17 inches long fastened on the shortest loop, with another 2.5 inches available in the chain.
Lover
[Outfit details: Lover bangles, Summer necklace, old New Look Dress, MAK Cropped cardigan – affiliate code yemak-amymay for 40% off]
This colour feels most like the original Mexicana range, and while I love it at first I had no intention of ordering it because I just don’t wear a lot of red accessories–or at all, thinking about it. I’ve grown to love wearing black over the last couple years, though, and love green, so I decided to order the bangles anyway because I was sure there would be times I would be glad I had them. Well, I already am! I love that they pop so well with green, and now I’m even wishing I had ordered the matching necklace. Hmm, perhaps I should get in line for the restock?
It’s mirrored colour in this range, unlike all the other colours, it’s it’s actual mirror–that is to say, white bangles with red carvings aren’t it’s partner, but instead black bangles with white carvings, called Hater. I already have the black starburst bangles with the white carvings that Splendette released at the end of last year, so my 200+ bangles and I felt we couldn’t justify buying Lover’s partner.
Spring + Summer
[Outfit details: Spring and Summer bangles, Summer necklace, Dolly & Dotty maxi dress, old Collectif belt]
Spring and Summer is my favourite paired set, hands down–I love that the simplistic carvings on these pieces are so evocative of sweet little leaves. I probably own 30 green bangles already of different shades and carvings, but none of them have painted contrast carvings so, of course, I had to buy them all. The Summer necklace also spoke to me, surprisingly, much as the Walnut necklace did, so I ordered it on the spur of the moment and am so pleased I did. It’s the same length as the Walnut necklace, so the sizing information is the same.
Parrot + Flamingo
As you can see from this stack I only ordered one each of the Parrot and Flamingo thin bangles. I’m not a pink lover, at all, but I realised this summer that having hot pink bangles would sometimes cap off certain outfits perfectly. Upon realising this, of course, I struggled to find solid pink bangles from my bangle go-to’s, but I nabbed a couple and I think mixing in these two bangles will help break up a solid pink stack. They’re a lovely duo that I would absolutely snap up in their full sets if only I were more inclined towards pink, but I love that they can add a punch to a stack of my other duotones.
The Missing Colours
Only Sunrise+Sunset and Violet+Clematis failed to interest me at all, because I’m just not a fan of orange or violet purple, which discounted both pairings automatically. The former is a very fun and tropical stack, while the later is rich and intense, perfect for purple lovers. As with all the other colour pairings, they come in all 3 bangle sizes (including mixed trio sets that will save you a little money,) necklaces, and matching earrings (which you’ll notice I never feature, on account of my unpierced ears.)
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The Duotone range still has plenty of pieces for sale, and as I previously mentioned, restocks of the sold out items have already been ordered. If you’ve only just found Splendette and love what you see, I recommend you sign up to join their private Facebook group in which Eeve keeps everyone up to date news, shares previews of upcoming ranges and often holds pre-sales, and other Splendette fans share outfit photos featuring their pretties and, if you’re really lucky, sometimes sell on items that are DISO treasures to other lovelies.
Splendette ship worldwide, and do have select stockists around the globe. It’s a truly small business, comprising only of Eeva and a couple of other workers, and is UK based and quality focused. I love that buying my new pretties each season means supporting such a great woman-lead company.
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Disclaimer: I bought all jewellery featured. Two of the dresses used in these outfits were previously gifted to me by Dolly & Dotty in exchange for honest reviews. Items marked with (A/L) are Affiliate Links. All opinions expressed are truthful and my own, with no input from any of the companies listed or any other individuals.
COVID-19 NOTE: These pictures were taken in the safety of my garden, thus abiding by the strict social distancing rules currently in place to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. Please stay home, and when necessary to leave the house for work or necessities remember to keep at least 6 ft away from any persons you may encounter.