Unless you’ve not left your house or logged on (wait, really? when was the last time you logged on?) to the internet in the past, I don’t know…several years…I probably don’t have to explain to you what a statement necklace is. In the event you’re not sure, just play along because it’s pretty self-explanatory.
As we’ve already discovered, I don’t have a consistent track record with dressing myself as well as I’d like. But one thing I’m pretty good at is finding the right accessories to go with my outfits. I’ve heard this from my friends many times: “I don’t know how you look at those things on a rack and decide they’re going to look good on you.”
To be honest, a lot of it is just in consistency. If you look at my jewelry collection you’ll see some recurring themes:
I once told my mother the test for whether or not I would wear a particular item of jewelry was to look at it and see if it looked like it fell off some heavy machinery. I love my chains!
I also love anything black, and though I’ve long abandoned my days of always wearing pearls I’m still a sucker for the right strand. The bottom line here is that I stick to my own style rather than arbitrarily bandwagoning whatever happens to be on trend at the moment.
Here’s a good example – dark pearls, some sparkly bits, and a few “rougher” looking beads make up a necklace I would consider to be exactly my style.
And now to see it in action!
Why yes, I am recycling some of these pictures. Play smarter, not harder.
The other part of rocking a statement necklace is to consider your elements. I love pairing a fussy necklace with something casual. Behold my generic t-shirt with this bold necklace (no, you’re not suddenly drunk, this is a horrible picture which is why it has been hidden before now):
The jacket helps but even in my pencil skirt I’d have looked underdressed without that necklace, don’t you think?
Let’s harken back to September when I added this strand of chains to my plain tank top. I was headed to get my hair done so there was no need for anything at all, really, but it definitely added something to an otherwise dull outfit:
If we want to go back even further, here’s another example of making a plain t-shirt look nicer with the right accessories:
{sidenote- wow, I have come a long way since this picture was taken!}
The other part of the accessories game is that you have to be willing to look. This is for sure an example of more expensive does not always mean a better result. These next two necklaces I scored for less than $10 because I just sifted through the racks at Burlington:
So, to recap:
Figure out your own style. Oh I know that sounds like a huge existential crisis waiting to happen (I’m still not convinced I have a “style”) but you know what I mean. That saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies here – look for pieces that are similar to what you already have so you’re not afraid to incorporate them in because they’re too loud and different (and if that doesn’t scare you then you probably don’t need this post!). Don’t be afraid to try the latest trend if it’s calling to you but don’t feel like you have to do it either!
Apply the pieces carefully. You can see I almost never wear patterns so adding busy jewelry is never a problem. I also tend to pick colors I’m already wearing and match my jewelry that way but if you’re wearing a neutral you can add any color you like! And keep an eye out for chances to “dress up” your casual clothes with fussier necklaces. I always say you can wear anything to the grocery store (if you want to test drive your combination) but if you’re really worried just go to Wal-mart. You actually can wear anything to Wal-mart.
Don’t go for broke. My closet mantra is to spend more on my staple items (aka, the clothes I’ll wear every day and my purse which takes an epic beating and needs to stand the test of time). Of course it’s fun to splurge and I love my designer pieces just like everyone else but variety is fun too. It’s entirely possible to find quality pieces without breaking your budget if you’re willing to look.
Now what did I leave out? Any questions you still have?
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