The assignment: sunset drinks in Cabo.
Tuna tostadas and mezcal at golden hour. Archival Taxco silver in direct sunlight. White hot Manolos and absolutely no intention of going to bed early.
We understood the dress code.
This: the earrings
The one-of-a-kind Vintage William Spratling Silver Nautilus Shell Earrings — made in Taxco, Mexico, during the 1940s, finished with their original screw backs, and sculpted with the kind of presence modern jewelry keeps trying to recreate.
The nautilus form is organic, but the scale and silverwork are pure Mexican modernism. Spratling had a way of translating a natural shape into something precise, considered, and quietly dramatic: the dimensional shell catches the light with a soft glow, and the strong lines and proportions are unmistakably his.
They carry two period marks. The circular WS Print hallmark was used around 1940–1946; the oval “Spratling Silver” mark around 1940–1944. Together they place this pair within Spratling’s celebrated first design period — the years that made Taxco silver an internationally collected language.
The look didn’t need just another vacation accessory. It needed an archival piece from Taxco.
That: the dress and the shoes
Christopher Esber’s Exclusive La Isla Bandana-Print Silk-Twill Scarf Mini Dress from Moda Operandi, paired with Manolo Blahnik’s Liami White Nappa Leather Ankle Strap Sandals.
The La Isla Mini Dress turns the Cabo palette into a dress: sky-blue silk twill, rust and marigold borders, a lightly ruched hip and a sharp handkerchief hem. Close through the bodice, barely interested in symmetry, and exclusive to the Club Moda La Isla capsule. Find it at Moda Operandi.
Manolo Blahnik’s Liami Sandals in white nappa leather finish the look with barely-there straps, lace-up ankles and a 90mm stiletto heel. Clean enough to disappear. Impractical enough to be correct. Find them at Manolo Blahnik.
Why archival silver works in Cabo
Cabo light is direct and unforgiving, and it rewards two things: real weight and real surface. Vintage Taxco silver has both. The metal is solid, the relief is deep, and the patina that settles into the recesses is exactly what a sun-bleached evening wants next to skin. A cast reproduction reads flat in that light; a Spratling pair reads like it belongs there.
One more practical note for a beach trip: these are screw backs, the original 1940s fitting. They sit close, they don’t swing into a mezcal glass, and they don’t need a pierced ear.
Shop This and That
- Vintage William Spratling Silver Nautilus Shell Earrings — Lily Frank, one of one
- Exclusive La Isla Bandana-Print Silk-Twill Scarf Mini Dress — Moda Operandi
- Liami White Nappa Leather Ankle Strap Sandals — Manolo Blahnik
It’s elevated resort wear for a Cabo evening. Bookmark it for your next trip — and if the Spratling pair is gone by then, the Vintage Collection is where the next one-of-a-kind piece will appear.