What Knot to Wear

I have to be honest . . . I hate summer. Hate it. I hate heat, I hate humidity and I hate bugs. While I'm being honest I should also admit that as an extremely pale skinned person, I don't look great in shorts. Heck, I think I look ridiculous in most summery getups. This summer, I'm determined to find my own look to get me through the next few balmy months.

One summer style that never fails to return every year is the nautical look. White, navy, lots of stripes and gold accents are all traditionally nautical. No matter how long the trend has been around it always looks fresh and new.

I caught a glimpse of Tea Accessories's work on the front page of Etsy a few weeks ago. It was a knotted headband and I immediately had to check out the rest of the shop. The bulk of Tea Accessories is sailor knot inspired jewelry and accessories. I have never seen accessories made from sailor knots before and I think it's absolute genius. Here's why:

1. Inexpensive materials = inexpensive product. The prices are extremely affordable.

2. While the items in Tea Accessories' shop reference ages old sailing knots, making them into jewelry keeps the idea fresh yet classy.

3. Ingenuity. Many Etsy shop owners have one great idea or talent and they try to stretch it as far as they can (book spine bracelets, anyone?). A lot of the time, that sort of motive makes for gimmicky items and reeks of desperation. However, this shop owner has taken her idea and reinvented her idea into several incarnations each of which has their own use and style. There are necklaces, brooches, belts, bracelets and headbands. Each one of them makes sense on their own and doesn't need a collection to exist. There are even other non-sailor accessories featuring anything from leather to flowers. This, unfortunately, makes it very hard to decide what to get . . . I've been drooling over this shop for weeks and still haven't decided on what I want!

Anyone have suggestions for what to buy in Tea Accessories? I think I have it narrowed down to a bracelet or a headband.

One the way to Tea Accessories' shop, be sure to check out the Facebook page to get coupon codes!