Naifeh’s fourth annual storewide sale, with pieces up to 75 percent off,  starts Saturday and continues through Aug. 23.

The sale includes designer jewelry — Ripka, Gurhan, Jude Frances and Valerie Naifeh’s own pieces, as well as all loose colored gemstones, pearl jewelry, Italian gold jewelry, bridal sets and wedding bands and diamond designer jewerly.

Naifeh’s is at 9203 N Pennsylvania.

I’m thinking early Christmas shopping.

Linda Miller, Fashion Editor

Look at this necklace and eyeglass holder….it is pretty and wearable.

If you are particular about your reading glasses and want to have them around even when you aren’t reading, you might try one of MKDisegni’s designs. The artist makes darling one –of- a- kind necklaces with a circle… just for attaching your glasses.

The artist works in glass and makes earrings, pendants, rings and all sorts of jewelry and even some glass tiles.

Locally, the eyewear jewelry can be found at Eyes Ltd., 7930 N May.
The Eyes Ltd. Website is www.EyesLtdOptical.com

The artist’s website is www.mkdisegni.com

Helen Ford Wallace

Social Columnist

(photo from RalphLauren.com web site).

Have you seen Ralph Lauren’s “Big Pony” design?

It is really cool. Check with Macy’s, Dillard’s and Haggard’s Menswear locally for the new styles in Ralph Lauren shirts for men, women and children. The label has a whole series of designs including The Olympic Games Collection, the US Open Collection and the Big Pony Collection.

Their web site (RalphLauren.com) features a new array of fashions and a first look at fall fashions.

Helen Ford Wallace

(photo from Neiman Marcus.com web site). 

It is expensive. It is beautiful. Maybe it will go on sale. This Manolo Blahnik “Something Blue Satin Pump” starred in the Sex and The City movie.

This shoe is blue satin with a 4 1/4 inch heel. A crystal clip accents the toe. Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman has it for $945.

Helen Ford Wallace

Yet that’s exactly where Clarky Davis, known as the Debt Diva, wants our thoughts to go.

Smart customers should consider Christmas in July, she said.

Doing some planning and shopping throughout the rest of the year will save money. If the economy continues its downturn, the holidays may be even more expensive. Have a plan in place, she says.

She suggests setting a budget now. Decide how much you want to spend and stick to it.

Then get organized. Make your shopping list, plan ahead and save money.  Look for holiday gifts throughout the year. Keep a storage area in your home for these gifts and write down the presents you buy.

I’ve always kept a drawer or a see-through plastic box for gifts for my family and friends. My daughter is the easiest to buy for, and I often buy a year in advance. Already I’ve got cashmere socks to keep her legs warm as she walks across campus, costume jewelry for stocking stuffers, a picture frame, Italian pottery that she loves and collects and cute note pads.  All were 66 to 75 percent off.

Save money now by starting a holiday savings account at your bank, Davis says. Clean out the garage and the closets and have a yard sale this summer. Sell valuable unwanted items online through eBay and Craigslist. Sign up for e-mail alerts on frugal online sites such as the Bargainist, www.bargainist.com.

Most important, don’t put off shopping and planning until Christmas.

It will cost you.

– Linda Miller