A Resounding "Woof" for Staffordshire Dogs

Diana Vreeland, the grand dame of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar magazines from the '30s to '70s, was a lover of the Staffordshire ceramic dog figurine, as was the legendary interior designer Dorothy Draper, who placed them throughout the fabled Greenbrier Hotel.

A pair in interior designer Anna Spiro's office. 

During the Victorian era, it was considered fashionable protocol to put a pair of Staffordshire King Charles Spaniel figurines at each end of one's mantel. This Victorian era find, grouped as an lavish collection, is in the home of Libertine co-designer Johnson Hartig. 

I got this odd incarnation of a King Charles Spaniel at GasLamp Antique Mall in Nashville. Granted, it is not a Staffordshire dog, as evidenced by the bizarre color and the lack of the tell-tale chain that typically joins the collar. But for $16, it's a whimsical deviation. 

Wouldn't this silver whippet statue look fabulous bookending a fireplace? 

£135.00 at alexanderandpearl.co.uk.

Greyhounds flanking a fireplace in House & Garden, May, 1988, photograph by Oberto Gili.

Costume Jewelry Designer Kenneth Jay Lane

Octogenarian costume-jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane has long held court with all kinds of ladies … including those who lunch. Mae West inspired him. He danced among society “swans” at Truman Capote's Black and White Ball in 1966 (wearing a mask of black feathers, natch). Fans included everyone from Diana Vreeland to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (whose iconic 3-strand pearl necklace he made). And he continues to make “faux bijoux” look like the real thing in a whimsical way, as with these spring looks. 

With this "Light Pink Cocktail Ring," a cluster of nude resin oval stones embraces a square pink crystal on an 18 karat gold plated base. At pret-a-beaute.com. 

This ring’s gold plated base is decorated with a gold scarab, which is adorned with small Swarovski crystals and a big turquoise stone. At pret-a-beaute.com. 

This stunner is a 22-karat gold-plated bib necklace with faceted blush resin embellishment. At net-a-porter.com.

This coral-topped coral top ring has a base of gunmetal encrusted with black and clear crystals. At maxandchloe.com.

Made with 18K electroplated gold, this cocktail ring is decorated with coral stones and small crystals. In the center sits a cabochon turquoise. At jillsboutique.com.