TREND Jewels find themselves in the fashion loop

The pendants are meant to accentuate hip-hugging waistlines of jeans.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
LOS ANGELES -- Between tongue studs and toe rings, there's very little untapped real estate left to bejewel -- except, perhaps, the hips of the low-riding jeans that are a uniform for so many women in Los Angeles.
So Wendy Thorlakson, a former d-girl turned producer with a bevy of Hollywood pals, created Jean Jewels -- hanging pendants that can be fastened to a belt loop.
Dangling from silver chains emblazoned with double Js (for Jean Jewels), the pendants look a little like hanging key chains. They are shaped like flowers, crosses, peace signs, hearts and cameos. More abstract pieces are made with materials such as lapis, ivory and amber, or crystals wrapped in wire.
Lance Bass, the N' Sync idol and astronaut wannabe who is a partner in Thorlakson's film production company, A Happy Place, has been spotted on various red carpets around town sporting a rhinestone-encrusted, American flag-shaped Jean Jewel. And Mariah Carey recently ordered several of the butterfly-shaped pendants to wear on her "Charmbracelet" tour.
"When you're wearing low-riding jeans, you don't want to wear a big old belt that accentuates the widest part of your body. You don't want a hula hoop around your waist," Thorlakson said recently during an interview at her Venice office.
The reedy, 30-year-old blond, who was wearing blue nail polish, grew up in Simi Valley and lives in Manhattan Beach.
The office
Her office, a few blocks from the beach, is furnished with a Twister mat on the floor ("for settling arguments"). There's an oversized purple-and-gold-striped couch -- complete with SpongeBob throw pillows -- that looks like a holdover from "Pee-wee's Playhouse."
And a Malibu Barbie that bears a striking resemblance to Thorlakson sits atop shelves filled with teen books such as Elizabeth George Speare's classic, "The Witch of Blackbird Pond."
"I was going for 'Alice in Wonderland' meets 'Romper Room' meets a Disney artist's acid trip," said Thorlakson.
Before founding A Happy Place with three partners in 2001 (the company's first project was a teen film called "On the Line"), Thorlakson worked in development at Tom Hanks' Playtone Pictures.
She has also worked as an actress, appearing in the 1997 film "Grosse Pointe Blank," directed by her uncle, George Armitage.
How she started
Like so many other lithe young women, Thorlakson fell in love with low-riding jeans when labels such as Seven first appeared on the fashion scene nearly four years ago. But to set herself apart from the hip-hugging pack, she began embellishing her belt loops with all kinds of baubles.
"I wanted something to dress up my jeans and to draw the eye down, so I started taking my necklaces apart and having a jeweler put clasps on the pendants."
Recently, Thorlakson teamed with a few partners in the apparel business to introduce the line of pendants, which come packaged with denim back pockets. Jean Jewels, which cost between $75 and $500, are available online at www.jeanjewel.com and at the L.A.-area boutiques Theodore, Ice Accessories, Planet Blue and Jennifer Kaufman.