UPG EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Jennifer Creel. Contemporary Jewelry Designer for the Jet Set.

"I like to mix it up. 

Create an authentic New York City style that symbolizes the coming together of uptown and downtown." 

-Jennifer Creel

Artists come in many forms and in many trades. One of the most exclusive jewelry designers in Manhattan comes in the form of an elegant Upper East Side doyenne. A classic beauty with rare elegance and a long-held reputation for being the best dressed on the island. For Jennifer Creel, jewelry design was a natural development from hobby to occupation. This love affair burgeoned in her teen years and followed through her careers in entertainment, modeling and fashion. Mentored by a gemologist, her eye for novelty, self-expression and quality flourished.  "Jewelry is tribal," is her mantra.

The Bling Sting

Photo by Alisa Ustyuzhanina

"Everything in excess is opposed to nature."

-Hippocrates

Social media has become the ultimate showcase for bling. We are bombarded with vast images of conspicuous consumption. The lives--whether real or manufactured--of influencers dripping in jewels, sporting the latest fashion, partying and parading around their interior designed mansions, is our daily intake. To further exaggerate these Uber lives, are frequent luxury vacations, where they can be seen lounging on yachts and exotic beach locales sipping cocktails. It appears every other week there is yet another South Asian, Italian Riviera or Caribbean vacation. Supreme personal pleasure and obnoxious gloating seem to be the main motive in these well-crafted portraits. Many followers are starting to wonder, ask and comment...."Don't you have any other life aspirations?" "Is this all that you do?" "Any intellectual or cultural pursuits?"

Add a Little Flair

Photo by Irina Kalchenko

In the plight to create and maintain a minimal, ethical, eco-conscious and sustainable wardrobe, many of us have foregone much distinction or novelty. We have blended well into a blank canvas appreciatively unnoticed. However, in our protest of fast fashion, climate change and the multitude of social injustices connected to our closets, have we eschewed taking pride and enjoyment from our clothing? Can a disciplined, ethical wardrobe have some color and panache—some fashion? As we emerge from a year plus of social distancing, masks and avoiding crowds, the desire to go out, dress up and add some flair is only natural. We want to be seen. 

The Last Swan

"Elegance is a discipline of life."

-Oscar de la Renta

There was a time, not long ago, when many young American women dreamed, desired and sought to replicate ladies. The sort of women that Truman Capote described perfectly in his October 1959 article for Harpers' Bazaar. In this article, A Gathering of Swans, he quotes from the journal of a young Mr. Patrick Conway who was visiting Bruges in the year 1800. 

The NEW Capsule Wardrobe

"As consumers we have so much power to change the world by just being careful in what we buy." 

-Emma Watson

The Parisian woman made The Capsule Wardrobe famous. Droves of American women, in particular, fell in love with the idea of creating a small, chic, simple, quality wardrobe that could stand the test of time. The revolving door of cheap trends and unconscionable waste began to weigh heavy on many of us. Our closets seemed to take on lives of their own, as we hoarded more and more fast fashion. We couldn't help but look admiringly to our sensible French sisters for guidance. French women, especially La Parisienne, has a rich history of always being well turned out, at the height of chic, and yet never conspicuous.