Today, I am updating my post on how to build a jewelry wardrobe. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry on a daily basis except for my wedding ring and earrings. Of course, I work at home and dress casually anyway. Yet when I leave the house, I notice earrings are pretty much my go to jewelry of choice!
While there is nothing wrong with that, I’ve started paying more attention to adding some different jewelry pieces to my outfits besides earrings, especially since fashion blogging. Jewelry is such a great and easy accessory for adding a little pizazz to an outfit or even dramatically changing the look of an outfit.
Yet, it can also be very confusing when investing in new pieces. There are so many different jewelry choices out there in different sizes, shapes, materials, and colors! I was often so confused over what to buy, besides earrings, that would work best with my present wardrobe.
So, here are some things I’ve learned for building a jewelry wardrobe that works with my present closet. Before going shopping, have the following things in mind.
Set a Budget
Of course, we always should start here before any purchase! If you are like me, you may have a few expensive pieces of jewelry that may or may not be suitable for everyday wear. Otherwise, most of my jewelry falls into the inexpensive category. In fact, I am focusing more today on fashion jewelry for everyday, though some of it can also get quite expensive.
Know that you can find nice looking inexpensive pieces too if on a tight budget. As you will see, many of my tips may help you stretch your dollars no matter where your budget lies, so that you can easily build a jewelry wardrobe over time.
Pick a Metal
Next, let’s work on the foundation of our jewelry wardrobe. First, that would be to pick a metal color or two much like we pick our favorite neutral clothing colors. If you don’t know which you prefer or where to start, pick a metal you like the most or one that flatters your skin tone.
If you have a cool skin undertone, then white or light metals such as silver, white gold, or platinum will look best on you. If you have a warm skin undertone, gold, rose gold, and copper will look best on you. Do you have a neutral undertone? Then how lucky are you?! Most any metal looks great on you! For more on finding your skin undertones and most flattering colors, read my post here.
If what you like does not line up with the rules on undertones, don’t worry about it. Pick what makes you happy! I have always liked gold best, so most of my jewelry is in gold. Yet, it is not supposed to be my most flattering color – ha!
The point of this exercise is to pick out and stick with one or two metals choices. This can help simplify the process of buying jewelry. If you like both ends of the spectrum such as silver and gold, know that you don’t have to always wear matching metals. You can mix those two.
Consider Size
When shopping for jewelry pieces, consider paying attention to sizing. I try to purchase jewelry that is appropriately sized for my body type. When I first started fashion blogging, big statement necklaces were really trendy. I look back at some of the pieces I bought now and think that they really weren’t very flattering on my petite body! They look a little too big or overwhelmed my shorter frame.
If you are smaller, it doesn’t mean you can’t buy substantial jewelry though. It doesn’t all have to be dainty or tiny. If you do buy a more substantial piece, just keep it on a smaller scale. Likewise, if you have a bigger frame or are taller, you don’t want your jewelry to be so small that it’s hardly noticeable.
While on this topic, it is also important to consider how many pieces you can wear together in one outfit well. I don’t feel I can wear earrings, a necklace or necklaces, bracelets, and lots of rings all together, unless maybe they are very small or dainty in size.
What Pieces Do You Like to Wear the Most?
I’m sure you have your go to pieces that you wear often. Maybe, you never leave the house without your rings. Perhaps, you don’t feel like you are completely dressed without your favorite bracelets on your wrist. For me, that go to jewelry is earrings. You should invest the most in whatever jewelry you wear or reach for the most. After all, you know that you will actually wear those pieces!
However, that doesn’t mean you should limit your options! Here is how I usually select my jewelry if I’m getting out of the house. I pick out earrings first. Then, I might either choose either a bracelet or a necklace to wear. I usually don’t wear both a bracelet and necklace – as I talked about above. Occasionally, I will add another ring. I always wear my wedding ring.
While I might wear any combination of these items at any given time. As you can see by my example, I wear earrings the most followed by necklaces or bracelets. Sometimes, I wear a second ring. This gives me an idea of what I might need or not need when shopping for jewelry.
How Do I Start Actually Building My Wardrobe?
I’ll give an example of how I build my own jewelry collection, keeping all the things I discussed above in mind. Remember, depending on how you answered the questions above, that your jewelry collection might look completely different from mine!
First, this is a good time to organize the jewelry you already have at home especially before you go shopping. I’m going to begin with earrings since that is what I wear most everyday. Gold is my favorite metal followed by silver. I may have a great pair of gold hoops that go with everything in my closet, but I want to add this pair of gold drop earrings and this pair of gold earrings.
Eventually, I might purchase these pretty filigree earrings that are both gold and silver. But first, I really need a great gold necklace that works with anything in my closet, because I often like to wear necklaces too. Then, I might add a set of gold stacked bracelets.
I keep building in the order of what I wear the most as my budget allows until I have as much as I need or will wear. Notice that I’m building a foundation of neutral pieces in designs that I can wear with all my outfits. When shopping, don’t forget about materials like white shell, clear crystal or glass, and pearls. These are all neutral materials that go with most anything else you wear.
Now, you may be wondering …………
What About Adding Colorful Jewelry?
If working within a tight budget, I usually consider adding color or gemstones only after I’ve got a foundation of several neutral pieces in my chosen metals. When choosing more colorful pieces of jewelry, you need to ask yourself how many things will this go with in my present closet? In the past, I’ve purchased some beautiful colorful jewelry only to get home and find I don’t have many items to wear with that piece!
Usually, I’m drawn to my favorite colors when shopping for jewelry just like when shopping for clothing. The only thing I might want to be careful about when choosing pieces in favorite colors is getting too matchy matchy with the rest of my wardrobe.
For example, I have been known to wear a blush piece of jewelry with a blush top. While nothing is wrong with that, you may want to think of your jewelry as accent pieces that stand out – adding a different “pop” of color to your outfit. A green piece of jewelry would equally look good with that blush top and give it a whole different look.
This was a very helpful post. Would you consider as a followup to this, how to store your jewelry? It seems that the jewelry should be enclosed, but easily accessed. Just a thought.
That’s a great post idea! I had thought about adding jewelry storage and organization to this post, but it would have been quite lengthy. I will write that down on my list of post ideas and maybe have something on the topic in the near future.