Haute Tags Puts Social Media + Jewelry Together

Saturday, October 22, 2011

GoLocalProv Beauty + Fashion Team

haute tag

Can you handle it? Haute Tags put your digital identity around your neck

In a digital world, one's handle or hashtag can be as much an indicator of identity as a nickname or a favorite perfume.

Becky DiStefano, a Providence-based former publicist and beauty blogger, saw a great opportunity to take the popular nameplate jewelry and give it a truly modern spin. The result: HauteTags, a jewelry line that engraves Twitter-inspired @handles or #hashtags (or any combination of letters of words, for that matter) on a sleek little blingy dogtag bedecked with Swarovski crystals. DiStefano has just launched her retail Web site and is moving the line into retail locations this fall.

GoLocalProv caught up with DiStefano to dish digital diva-wear.

What motivated you, in this economy, to start up a company?
Starting a company now, in a recession, seems silly but it's the only security one can really have! I was so tired of looking for another company to hire me that I started my own so I could depend on it. We are infusing the RI economy with money for our collection and we hope to create jobs within the next year.

Do you feel a kinship of any kind with the jewelry manufacturing history so present in Rhode Island?
Our collection is locally designed, manufactured and distributed right here in Rhode Island. I feel a strong sense of history and honor by having Haute Tags made here.

Who do you think is the prime buyer for Haute Tags?
Our primary target is women ages 15-45 but people of all ages can get their very own Haute Tags! We bejewel them with Swarovski crystals for a little bling factor but they can come with just an engraving for a more sleek look. We have men, women and children wearing tags already!

What sets HT apart in the very crowded world of bling?
What sets us apart is what's behind Haute Tags; we are the world's first social media accessory collection. I am such a lover of social networking on sites like Twitter and that is where the inspiration came from. You have an identity online, which hopefully matches your real world persona, and Haute Tags are the ideal vessel to show who you are virtually in the real world.

If you could see a Haute Tag around the neck of one Rhode Islander, who would it be and why?
Well, we've sent them to several prominent people in Rhode Island but I'd have to vote for Pauly D of Johnston and the Jersey Shore. I got the chance to meet him and give him and his bodyguard Big Jerry G their own tags. I'm still waiting for a picture!

Haute Tags, $24.95 without crystals, $29.95 with crystals, available online at www.hautetags.net