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Clothing and accessories inspired by a Disney movie? I was skeptical, even though I loved “Alice in Wonderland” as a child and love that Tim Burton made an updated movie version, because you never know what rabbit hole designers will fall in to when creating pieces based on a film. But after seeing some of the Alice in Wonderland Disney Couture items at the W Hollywood hotel’s party last week, I was pleasantly surprised — impressed, even.

When I saw this statement necklace by Tom Binns, I wanted to rip it off the mannequin and wear it right then and there. Who could resist these red candy-like hearts, safety pins and crystal chains? It’s cute and edgy at the same time. I want, want, want! Too bad it costs more than $1,000…

Tom Binns All Heart necklace

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Valerie Confections Pour Elle box

Valerie Confections: This L.A. chocolatier has themed boxes for Valentine’s Day, with intense flavors in both. The Pour Elle 11-piece box comes with white chocolate and rose petal hearts, and dark chocolate and passion fruit ganache hearts. The Pour Homme boxes come with semi-sweet chocolate hearts made with toffee pieces and fleur de sel, and dark chocolate hearts filled with liquid caramel. I actually prefer the Pour Homme sweets — the liquid caramels are to die for — though the passion fruit ganache is really nice, too. (Full disclosure: Valerie Confections’ owners are my neighbors, and I received these chocolates as a gift.) Check out the Web site for more options, including a Pour Homme gift set with single malt scotch truffles!

Wanda Gale Design: This Falling Heart necklace ($69) made from either gold or silver and semi-precious stones (shown below in gold and citrine) is a cute and fashionable way to say “I love you” — or “I like you a lot.” Whatever. Or buy it for yourself because you love yourself!

Wanda Gale Falling Heart necklace

Charmed Circle: For the guys, there are these Nut and Bolt cuff links ($165 for silver) that are super cool and chic. There are also cool gifts for gals on here, too, including really unique and playful charms. The envelope, bird in a cage, and chandelier charms are ingenious.

Charmed Circle Nut and Bolt cuff links

I discovered these interesting brands at the Unique Los Angeles shopping event earlier this month, and any one would make a great holiday gift — the clock is ticking, guys!

Wendy Hacker-Moss Jewelry: I love the look of this brand. It’s at once delicate and edgy, with the flowers made from sterling silver wire mesh wrapped around gem stones. Find it at the LACMA Museum Store, Craft and Folk Art Museum, and other places around Los Angeles.

Wendy Hacker-Moss amazonite bouquet ring

Graf & Lantz: Made from merino wool felt, these bags, which include everything from totes to messengers to clutches and even wine bottle carrying cases, have a definite hand-made yet elegant feel. Find it at Zero Minus Plus at Fred Segal Santa Monica, Reform School, and other places around Los Angeles.

Graf & Lantz flap messenger bag

StyleSmith: This local L.A. company makes fancy feather headbands and cute fascinators (like mini hats fastened with a comb to your hair). Run by Kelsi Smith, the brand also carries vintage charm necklaces and lockets. I got a cute bronze necklace with acorn and leaf charms at her Unique L.A. booth. (Full disclosure: Kelsi and I first met via the Twitterverse, and she invited me to attend Unique L.A. as her guest. And, yes, I paid for the necklace.) You can order via the StyleSmith Web site, and if you’re local, you can most likely still get gifts by Christmas if you order by Monday, Dec. 21 (use the contact link to make sure).

StyleSmith crane headband

Weekends just don’t come around quickly enough. To celebrate the coming of this weekend, here are some events to consider:

Friday: Harveys, purveyors of fancy seat belt hand bags, is continuing its search for the most arty of designs to feature in its Melrose Avenue store and to feature on one of its bags. From 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., stop by the store to help narrow the entries down from 10 to three. Hot dogs, party punch and raffles will sustain you through what promises to be an arduous voting process.

Saturday: D.O.G. pet boutique on La Cienega in West Hollywood is hosting a custom jewelry event for your furry friends. Bring you four-legged friend to the Bling Your Bitch event (not the best name, I know) between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to check out the myriad charms, crystals and pearls available to create your own doggie jewelry, which can be coordinated to some you make for yourself, too. Prices start at $12 for the Gems4Paws-designed bling. Oh, and there’s champagne!

Sunday: The 23rd Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles is themed “Go Green, Go Organic” and will feature more than 30 L.A.-area chefs and their food, including the Dragos, Benjamin Ford, Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger, Neal Fraser and Akasha Richmond. Enjoy all the food and alcohol you can handle from 12:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at CBS Studio Center in Studio City. There will also be auctions to benefit the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. Tickets are $150, but you can get them for $75 through Goldstar.

And if you haven’t had enough, stop by Stinkers Truck Stop’s one-year anniversary party. The oh-so-ironic Silver Lake bar will be having drink specials, a DJ and swag giveaways from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Because you need to close out the weekend right.

When I first received an invitation to a launch party for Carla Reiter’s jewelry line, I said, “Carla, who?” But then I went to her Web site, and lo and behold, the jewelry was like nothing I had ever seen: knitted metals and precious and semi-precious stones crafted into airy yet substantial pieces. Yes, a piece of jewelry can be both light and have a bite to it!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good look at Carla’s jewelry in person since by the time I arrived at the party, the pieces had been taken off the models and put away. I did get to see the large necklace Carla was wearing that could almost be considered a show piece. It looked very similar to the one above.

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Jennifer Kellog Noodle necklace. From jenniferkellog.com.

Jennifer Kellog’s noodle necklace is one of the most creative I’ve seen in a while. It’s basically a luxe take on those macaroni necklaces kids make in school, with each noodle piece cast in solid 10-karat gold. Of course, it’s not cheap: the noodles range from $810 to $1,160 each, so it’ll cost you a pretty penny to put together this kiddie-themed necklace. But look at how cute that half piece of farfalle is on the end of the cord!

TOUS, the Spanish jewelry line with the funny little bears, opens three stores at three Southern California Westfield malls this week. Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara opens today, Westfield Century City opens Wednesday and Westfield Santa Anita opens Thursday. From official flakage:

“The new store will carry TOUS’ full line of yellow gold, white gold and sterling silver jewelry for men, women and children, as well as their full suite of accessories, including watches, handbags, luggage, scarves and sunglasses. It will also carry TOUS’ recent jewelry and handbag design collaboration with Kylie Minogue, who is the current face of the TOUS brand.”

TOUS is calling this an “aggressive expansion plan in the L.A. area.” I could think of another way to describe opening three high-end accessory stores amid a recession, but maybe TOUS is thinking ahead…Because there’s nothing Los Angeles needs more than a place to buy a $108 sterling silver pacifier clip.

From tous.com.

"Flower Power" ring

I’m not really good at accessorizing. I’d like to be, but I’m just not. But if I were, I’d be rockin’ some of Andrew Hamilton Crawford’s rings and bracelets, which are beautiful and cute at the same time. The line, created by Southern-via-New York designers Andrew Tessier and Chad Crawford, features resin bangles (oval-shaped!) with either a sterling silver or 18-karat gold vermeil overlay and SUPER cute resin cocktail rings. AHC also has some nice necklaces, earrings and men’s items. In Los Angeles, the line is available at Intuition, Fred Segal, Surly Girl and W Hotel The Store. You can buy online, too.

"Leaf" ring