I always find it surprising to hear that many people wear the same jewelry every day. You wouldn’t wear the same t-shirt, skirt, or even the same shoes every day. Why would anyone wear the same necklace or earrings every day? ( I know, it is one less decision to make, but let’s believe that with a little upfront investment of time, we can have what we need at our finger tips and it won’t take a whole lot of bandwidth to make the choices.)
I know that some people wear diamond stud earrings and a "journey" necklace all the time. To me this is dull, dull, dull. But then, I do not design diamond studs or diamond journey necklaces...because, there’s not much design to it.
Women can wear jewelry that reflects their moods or the activities scheduled for any given day. After all, we are picking our clothes, shoes and maybe even our perfume based on these criteria. I think we need different jewels that work in the different contexts of our lives. All of the fashion magazines talk about modern women as excellent jugglers--multi-taskers who make ADD look like child’s play (which I believe it mostly is.) We are expected to take care of house and home, children, work (some of us full-time), volunteer activities, lunch with friends, dinner (or reservations and calling the sitter,) and going to the bloody gym...never mind staying civil.
I am in need of a spa vacation just thinking about it all. I think a real jewelry wardrobe is the least we can do for ourselves.
So, pray tell, what is at the heart of a good jewelry wardrobe?
OK, here we go for the basics…
Necklaces:
1- Long and short chains so that they work with the different necklines of your clothing. If the pieces can work together, all the better.
2- Layered chains are still a favorite look of Hollywood stylists and I don’t think it is going away anytime soon. It is great to have flexibility, so being able to --
3- Add a pendant to a chain or double it so that you can wrap it around your neck more than once is a bonus. Large and small are important for flexibility.
4- A thicker, face-framing necklace, chain or pearl necklace gets you a pronounced classic, office or board room look. Or if you are doing one of the very big "statement" necklaces, it can get you a high octane fashion look.
Earrings:
Well, here we need options. Earrings frame the face and so are very important statement pieces. They can make us feel glamorous in an instant.
1- Long dangles or chandeliers for dining out.
2- Large buttons or hugging hoops for the office.
3- Small Buttons for Yoga or Spinning class...or for a day when you need to feel finished without making a loud statement.
4- Large hoop earrings for a dash of eye-catching glamour.
Of course it is great to have earrings in many color options, for special events or particular outfits, to work with your clothing wardrobe. (More on color in future posts.)
Bracelets:
1- Thin bangles for spice. Nice if it has a charm attached.
2- Thick bangles for statement and to call attention to great arms.
3- Link or charm bracelets for ‘feeling dressed.’
Rings:
1- If you have a wedding or commitment ring that you wear all the time, great…don’t be afraid to upgrade. Tastes change. Styles change. (That pear diamond you loved and bought 8 years ago may just feel a bit out of step with the current zeitgeist.) It is nice to have extra rings to make you feel ‘dressed’ when you are out and about.
2- Thin bands for a simple look. It is nice if the bands can be combined to make more of a statement as...
3- Stack rings, especially when mixed with rings with gorgeous stones.
4- Cocktail rings. All colors, all sizes (leaves plenty of room to collect these over a lifetime.) Less is definitely not more when it comes to rings…less is less.
Of course, there are other kinds of jewelry, but we’re going to stop there and keep our G-rating.
We'll talk about more fashion-forward choices that aren't on our "short" list of must-haves in blogs to come.
The beautiful thing about jewelry is that it really doesn’t take up that much space. If you are going out shopping and trying to decide between that it bag and a new pair of earrings, you know which choice is going to stay with you beyond this season.
What are your favorite pieces in your jewelry wardrobe?
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