Le Chateau chandelier earrings under $10

From left to right: Le Chateau’s half-crescent beaded drops, $12.95. Fuchsia circle hooks, $18. Purple faceted teardrop earrings, $12.95.

PRETTY EARRINGS FOR PENNIES

I have always loved earrings. Classic pearl studs and sinuous hoops have a refined beauty that I never tire of, but dramatic bejeweled numbers, well, I have a special affection for them. I love their transformative nature: how you can pull your hair back in a ponytail, slip them on and presto, you look and feel like a princess, even if you’re just sporting jeans. Or add them to a simple office dress and you’ve got an instant dinner outfit with a touch of Hollywood glam.

So I’m always on the lookout for great swinging chandelier styles. Sometimes, however, their pricetags are difficult to justify. I have two particular pairs that garner the most compliments and they both cost me under $10 at Le Chateau. (Le Chateau has long been a great destination for accessories, since it has aways maintained a runway-looks-for-real-budgets mandate.)

The first pair of earrings, which I bought a couple of years ago, has several aquamarine-hued teardrop-shaped beads that dangle from a curving net of silver. They are lovely and were $9.99.

The second pair I bought this past Christmas holiday. They are chandeliers designed to look like lace but in a matte-black finish. They were, if memory serves me correctly, $8.99. They are dramatic, but subtle, too, in the way that black nail polish has punch but not quite as aggressively as bright red nail polish.

I’m overdue for another trip to Le Chateau though, as I had tucked those great black earrings into my change-purse one day, and in the everyday grinding together of coins, managed to mangle one of the earrings. Currently, it’s in three pieces. So to the store I go, to see what’s new for spring of course, but also to see if these lacy numbers are still in stock. Hey, maybe they’ll even be on sale.

-- Deborah Fulsang