Molly Bloom knows style

I wear sunglasses fog or shine. I have light eyes that cannot handle sun — I cannot remember a time when I didn’t wear shades.

The same pair of red Ray-Bans has been with me for four years. The other day I bent down and my sunglasses slide off my nose. I picked them up and placed them back on. Again with the sliding all the way off and crashing to the sidewalk. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the stems are stretched out. I gently tried to bend the bridge of the glasses, hoping they would shrink back to size. No luck. Time for new shades.

Now I’m looking for new sunglasses, and as is always the case when shopping for something I need, I can’t find a thing. I saw a perfect-looking photo of Oliver Peoples sunglasses online (not that I would buy shades without having tried them on first) but they are sold out everywhere.

I may have to make due with stop-gap shades but cheap sunglasses never fit like the real thing. Put on a pair of cheap sunglasses and then try on a pair made of more substantial materials and you will toss that pair you bought at Brass Plum. Cheap shades are more fragile than nice pairs and will break when a breeze kicks up. I was sitting around chatting one afternoon when Pop! my fabulous white shades with the pink rhinestones cracked literally in front of my eyes. Danger lurks in those $8 Manhattan street vendor spectacles.

When I moved to the Bay, the song “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)” was playing as the car entered the airport lot. Eerie, no?

Regardless of your location, pinning a few flowers in your hair is always stylish. Adding a floral touch works with any ‘do, long or short, frizzy or straight. If you’re going the fresh route, orchids are easy to work with and will last through the night. They’re quite easy to install and only require a hair pin. Be sure to leave a little less than an inch of the stem on the flower so the bobby pin will catch.

Normally I don’t approve of fake flowers, but they make great hair clips. I have a red silk peony clip that is perfect with red lipstick and a black halter or dress. One advantage to using a faux flower (or fruit!) is that they last longer and are at the ready, no pinning required.

When you go floral, less is more. Tone down the jewelry, especially around the face. Clothes should be simple and sophisticated, never fussy. A flower can dress up casual wear or add a romantic elegance to the little black dress. If you’re having a night on the town, bring a fresh flower along for your date to wear as a boutonniere or corsage.

hobo bag - A roomy, unstructured bag, typically with a top zipper and shoulder strap.

Precious few things are true classics. Many so-called classics are tweaked toward the trends of an era, with changes to color, size or shape. True classics are dignified and unchanging, like a single string of pearls. A single strand of pearls is timeless — they bring a quiet and respectable touch of glamour.

My pearls were bought by my grandfather in Japan during World War II and given to my grandmother at war’s end. My grandmother gave the pearls to me as a wedding gift. They’ve been with me through four-star dinners, at least four weddings and a funeral. They allow me to dress up without being too flashy.

I never thought of myself as a pearl girl. Jewelry isn’t really my thing. I’m fair-skinned and thought pearls would get lost on my decollatage. Sometimes I still think of myself as a rebellious youngin’. Like other true classics, pearls take a level of maturity or at least wardrobe restraint. Perhaps my wedding was a turning point, signaling that I was mature enough to carry off the pearls.

Like other classics, pearls are pricey. This is one investment you really will use more and more with time. If you’re not in line for your grandmother’s but yearn for a single strand, start saving, marry rich or start scouring pawn shops. You can have pearls restrung to the correct length or update the clasp. I’m not an advocate of fake anything and I’m certainly not telling you to buy faux pearls to pass off as real ones (but for costuming purposes, by all means, layer them on!). Patience is a virtue, my pearl.

Past the age of 10, everyone needs a real wallet. Losing your loose ID and ATM cards is annoying and laying a wad of cash on the counter is so not chic. But supporting independent artists is tres chic.

Poketo wallets feature work by an array of international artists. There are different series of wallets, loosely based on a theme. The designs are exclusive to Poketo and the wallets function as a promo piece with artist info inside the wallet. I dig all the wallets but right now I feel a kinship to the images designed by Stella Im Hultberg.

People constantly comment on my wallet and my husband gets even more compliments on his. The wallets are sold online, at art shows and at select stores. They make great gifts. Poketo: art for your everyday!

I’m not a jewelry kind of girl. I wore the same pairs of tiny hoop earrings (three in one ear, two in the other) through college. My cellphone has replaced the need for a watch. Necklaces and bracelets don’t cross my mind most mornings, except that time in Hawaii when I went back to our room to get my bamboo bangles that look too cute with a two-piece.

These days my peridot birthstone earrings and wedding set are no-brainers. If you sleep in jewelry, you don’t have to remember put it on the next day. But there are occasions when big glamour is needed. And that is when I pull out my other pair of ear bobs: chandelier earrings.

I’m not talking about gift-store variety shoulder-dusting baubles. I’m talking about heavy crystal earrings. My friend Steven made them out of real chandelier bits.

They’re long and sparkly and they give any ensemble a good dunking of glamour. They turn a demure black turtleneck sweater into a starry-night backdrop. I’ve worn them to weddings, glam rock parties and four-star restaurants. They are the perfect versatile piece of Pow! Just spray with Windex and hit the town.