Does this sound familiar:
You’ve got an overflowing jewellery collection filled with pieces you love, but you’re really not making the most of it and you’re not sure where to start. Or maybe you’re just not confident about which pieces to shop for to work with each other and for you.
We’ve all been there.
The good news is that we’ve assembled a bunch of handy jewellery style and fashion tips and tricks to help you wear fine, fashion and costume jewellery that complements your sense of style, personality and wardrobe.
1. CREATE LAYERS WITH RINGS, NECKLACES OR BANGLES
If you’re layering necklaces then go for different lengths to draw the eye up to your face. Different shapes, colours and textures will often work a treat. To help with this you should read our necklace length & style guide.
Layering and stacking is easy: simply gather together a collection of necklaces and pendants of different lengths, textures and designs and try them on in different combinations to see what works. Make a note of the combinations you like so you’ll remember them later.
Rinse and repeat with with other jewellery types to up your layering game.
2. KNOW WHEN TO STOP
You know how it is: sometimes too much is, well, too much.
If you’re drawing attention to your face and neckline with layered necklaces or a statement necklace, perhaps you don’t really need an armful of bangles to be competing for attention.
Or if you’re wearing a bold pair of statement earrings, then perhaps your necklace could be more subtle or even not there at all (on the other hand, a bold pair of earrings with a matching necklace can sometimes work beautifully).
3. CONSIDER YOUR EARRINGS
Stud earrings in gold
Don’t you find it can be all too easy to forget about your earrings?
However, your earrings are usually in the field of vision for anyone who is talking to you, so they really are important. You should aim to choose earrings to frame your face and complement your hair, eye colour and skin tone.
If you have long hair a great tip is to select a colour or metal finish which is more likely to be visible, depending on your hair colour.
4. DON’T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR EARRINGS
I’m guilty of this myself: if you have pierced ears it can be so easy to wear the same pair of stud earrings for weeks on end. Or maybe you almost never change them.
But remembering to change your earrings is a great way to add interest and style to your look day to day. It’s also the perfect opportunity to give your favourite pair of earrings a good clean!
You can make changes to your look simply by wearing a variety of small stud earrings day to day. Or you can add some sparkle and movement with some dangle earrings, depending on your outfit.
5. EXPERIMENT WITH MIXING METALS
Once it was seen as a fashion sin to mix different colours of metal, which is something I never really understood as I love them all.
But luckily that’s no longer the case, even according to the fashion police: there’s no need to stick to all silver jewellery, all gold jewellery, or all rose gold jewellery2.
Mixing metals has been one of my favourite things to do when designing jewellery in recent years, so you’ll find a number of pieces in our online jewellery shop which have mixed metal colours, including silver pendants with gold settings, for example.
6. ACCESSORISE TO COMPLEMENT YOUR CLOTHING
This sounds straight forward enough, doesn’t it? But I know myself that it doesn’t always happen.
Before you start dressing have a think about what item you most want to wear to wherever you’re going.
You might decide you really want to wear a specific piece of jewellery to an outing, in which case you should choose your clothing and other accessories to work with it. Otherwise you might pick the outfit first and then match the jewellery and accessories to it.
Either way works. If you’ve spent some time getting the combination right you should look stylish and well put together.
7. DECIDE THE FOCUS OF YOUR OVERALL OUTFIT
Here’s a related decision to make while getting dressed: what do you want the focus of your outfit to be?
A simple – even boring – outfit will almost always look transformed into something special with the right jewellery and accessories. You can choose jewellery that really makes a statement to bring a simple outfit to life or do some mixing and matching of jewellery for a more layered look.
But if you’re wearing bold clothing, then often it’s a good idea to go with smaller, more subtle jewellery pieces as highlights.
The best advice is to make a decision as to what will work for you and run with it. Your aim should always be to dress like yourself so you feel comfortable and confident.
8. CHOOSE THE FOCAL POINT FOR YOUR JEWELLERY
Where do you want people’s gaze to be directed if you’re dressing up for something special?
If you’re wearing jewellery that’s intended catch the eye, then it’s usually best to make the visual focus on one body area which you want to draw attention to: neck, ears, hands, etc..
For instance, if you’re wearing a bold necklace, then go for more subtle rings and earrings. Or you might even consider leaving them out altogether.
Work out what the focal point is and make sure other accessories and clothing don’t detract from it.
9. EXTEND YOUR WARDROBE BY EXPERIMENTING
This can be a fun thing to do whenever you’ve got some spare time on your hands.
Simply put on a basic outfit and try it out in front of a mirror with various pieces of jewellery and other accessories from your collection. Try different combinations of jewellery designs you might not normally consider pairing up and add in different accessories like scarves, bags or watches.
Try a single focal point with a statement piece, then try mixing, matching, stacking and layering. Keep trialling different combinations and focus points.
You’ll be amazed at what you can come up with to vary the look of even the most simple outfit. And once you’re done with one outfit, throw on another one and start again.
10. DON’T BE A SLAVE TO TRENDS
We’ve all known someone who is a bit too much of a fashion slave. Trends influence what all of us wear to some extent, which is fine. But it’s never a good idea to slavishly follow fashion at the expense of your own taste and personality. You’ll end up losing yourself. Oh – and it’s also very expensive!
Instead try to figure out and evolve your own style which suits you and makes you feel confident. That might turn out to be unfashionable right now or at some point in future, but if you own it, I just know you’ll be fine.
11. WEAR RINGS WITH PANACHE
According to the old nursery rhyme, wearing rings on your fingers (and bells on your toes, apparently) means you’ll have music wherever you go. True story.
Stacking rings in particular can add a lot of versatility to your wardrobe as you can mix and match them as you please to create a slightly different look each day. You can even choose to wear just one or two simple stacking rings for a more minimalist look on some days. Check out our handy guide on how to build the perfect ring stack.
Try pairing up a set of matching rings or go for a mixture of colours, textures and gemstones.
12. MATCH YOUR NECKLACE TO YOUR NECKLINE
Unless it’s a sentimental piece that you’re happy to be hidden under clothing, your necklace or pendant should be visible and it should enhance your outfit.
For instance if you have low V-necked outfit then a pendant sitting in the V above your cleavage will work wonders. A long necklace will look great over higher necked and crew necked clothing. A rounded necklace is good with a scoop or other rounded necklines.
Find out more about matching necklaces with necklines in our very handy necklace lengths and style guide.
13. YOU DON’T ALWAYS NEED TO WEAR A NECKLACE
Sometimes it’s a good idea to go without a necklace (gasp!).
If you’re wearing a bold pair of earrings then not having a necklace to detract from your look can be a good way to go, depending on your outfit. Also if you’re wearing a very low cut or high necked outfit not wearing a necklace will often work really well.
14. CONSIDER YOUR SENTIMENTAL JEWELLERY
Do you have sentimental jewellery pieces that you wear all the time? I’m sure many of us do, me included. But how do they fit into a well-accessorised outfit?
Just because something is sentimental doesn’t necessarily mean you need to wear it every day (wedding and engagement rings aside, generally). Consider how you’d feel about not wearing a particular piece every day and if that’s an option for you.
If you do opt to wear one or more sentimental jewellery pieces all or most of the time, then consider how you can layer those pieces with other jewellery to add interest and variety to your style.
If it’s a necklace you might look into getting a longer chain or an adjustable chain so that it can hang beneath clothing if it’s not a match for the rest of your outfit. Rings can also be put on a chain and hidden beneath clothing if needed.
15. THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: IGNORE THE RULES!
This is my most favourite style tip of all: break the rules as you see fit.
I’m a big fan of people looking like themselves rather than everybody else. Dressing up should be fun and it should be personal to you. Your style is about who you are and how you want to appear to others. It doesn’t have to be all twin sets and pearls, or all free flowing and boho for that matter.
If what works for you is doing whatever you want, following none of the typical fashion tips and creating a chaotic clash of things you love wearing, then my advice is: go for it.
