Looking for a way to blaze fashionable new trails without sticking out like a sore thumb? A great (and less expensive) way to do that is to mix classic pieces of clothing with new, edgy accessories. If you’re like we are, you’ve probably opened up more than your share of fashion magazines and catalogs, only to find the models decked out in head to toe trends. Unfortunately, as cute as it may look on them, it’s not always practical for everyday use. Cost can be a huge inhibitor, but also, so can looking “overdone”. It’s never wise to wear every trend at once.

Granted, that doesn’t mean to look otherwise dowdy while resuscitating your outfit with one trendy piece, so it’s important to find a good balance. Today’s post will show you some great new accessories we’ve been lusting after, and then offer you some simple yet chic suggestions of what to wear them with.

We’ll start with my absolute favorite new item from up and coming accessories designer Erika Pena. Pena was born in Puerto Rico, and educated at NYC’s prestigious Parsons School of Design. Her bio says her accessories were designed to capture the feelings of her move from NYC back to Puerto Rico. They must be some pretty bold emotions, judging by the presence of her pieces. This piece here has to be my absolute favorite. It appears to be a big chunky piece of Lucite (one of my favorite things in this world) that also happens to be shaped like a bird (another of my favorite things!). The bold beading on this piece keeps it from looking too ‘Claire’s’ and childish, and makes it a bit more versatile with the hint of pink coloring. To wear a necklace this big and bold, you definitely have to keep the clothing simple. For this particular piece, I’d try to stick with a long, solid colored dress- perhaps a black maxi-dress like this one.

A great store that sells some unique pieces is Fragments. Fragments is regularly featured in the fashion magazines, so you may already be familiar with them. Their pieces run a bit higher because they use precious and semi precious stones and metals, but if you’re looking for quality, they’re the place to be. They carry a bunch of avant garde designers who are quickly developing a cult following, but who are at present time far enough under the radar that you can still buy some pieces now and be early enough to claim you ‘knew them when’ when they hit it big. One such designer is Mauri Pioppo. Pioppo’s signature look is a single chain necklace adorned with delicate round disks with tiny gem details around the top. The disks can be imprinted with initials, paw prints and even religious symbols. These are great dainty pieces that allow you to be a bit more daring with your wardrobe, or even just at a pretty detail to an already dainty outfit. The key word is versatile. I would wear this piece with anything from a crew-neck button front cardigan and a floaty skirt to a tank top and jeans. If you love Pioppo’s stuff but just can’t afford the luxe price tag that goes with it, I’ll let you in on a little fashion secret of mine, (don’t laugh!) which is QVC. Now, before you click off this page, hear me out. Sure, the Q has some ugly granny jewelry and those holiday themed sweaters, but they also have some of the top names in fashion working for them (think Michael Kors, Kathy Van Zeeland, Dooney and Bourke, Kenneth Jay Lane and Judith Ripka). Still with me? Good, because they also have an up and coming designer named Satya, who makes the most adorable version of Pioppo’s pendants, sans the 1k plus price tag. That’s right- for a mere 30.84 (plus applicable tax and shipping) you can have Satya’s etched lotus birthstone pendant with chain. It obviously comes in 12 different stone colors, and the lotus engraved in the front stays the same from month to month, so no need to worry about wearing an incorrect zodiac sign if you were born in May but want to wear peridot. Heck, for that price, you can buy all twelve and still spend less than one Pioppo necklace! The Satya necklace is sterling silver and comes with a chain, but if you love the look of the Pioppo leather cord, you can get your own leather cord at sites like Etsy for around five bucks. Even better, most Etsy sellers will let you customize the length and color. I plan on doing an entry just on Etsy soon, so stay tuned! If you’re interested in the Satya pendant, I can’t link to specific items on QVC (and trust me, come birthday time, I have certainly tried!), but just go to QVC and enter item number J5292 in the search box. Voila!

Another great site for celebrity inspiration is Intuition’s website. Their online shop is jam-packed with accessories seen on some of H-wood’s biggest names and A-listers. Right now we’re loving the Saylor Sage Amazonite Ana earrings, which were apparently featured in “Life and Style Magazine” (which we don’t read, but good eye, L&S) They also sell clothing, shoes, handbags and beauty loot like products by Ole Henricksen and Kai. The nice thing about these earrings is that they add a dash of color right near your face, so if you have blue eyes or olive skin, they’re muy complementary. Even better? They can be worn with anything from jeans to evening wear. To wear them in a fresh, unexpected way, pair them with something red like this.

If you’re really on a budget but are tired of the usual, another great jewelry site is All the Rage Online (ATRO). We’ve been shopping here for two or three years now, and have been consistently impressed with the selection. Granted, the quality isn’t on par with the real stuff (rhinestones are sometimes plastic, as are cameos and pearls), but it’s worth the price, and even more worth it during one of ATRO’s many online sales. This week, everything you buy is 10% off! You can find out when ATRO’s sales are happening by signing up for their email newsletter, or by checking their site every week or so. That’s how often new products are added, and ATRO doesn’t scrimp on quantity- they add tons of new stuff every week. This week we love the Big Apple Pendant (which looks sooo Marc Jacobs, but for only 27 bucks!), the Vintage Flower ring ($24) (which looks an awful lot like the Kenneth Jay Lane version which is more than double ATRO’s price), and the Sweet Symphony pendant, $27, which reminds me of those uber-pricey Kacey K monogram necklaces, but several hundred dollars less! When searching for outfits to pair these with, remember- look for monochromatic, minimalist pieces that aren’t too trendy. Wouldn’t the ATRO Vintage Flower ring look perfect with this? How Jackie O!

And speaking of the aforementioned Kenneth Jay Lane, for those of you who love his fruit pendants, my spies tell me that he’s once again collaborating with Avon Products on a darling little strawberry necklace that will retail for only $19.99 when it debuts in the first few weeks of January 2008!

I mean, just LOOK at it! How cute is that?

And it sure doesn’t hurt that it looks an awful lot like THIS, which retails for $110! These fruit pendants are great because they’re childish enough to be worn with casual wear, but rock’n'roll enough (because of the studs!) to be worn by adults (perhaps with something like this).