Jewelry and accessorizing - YouLookFab Forum

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Jewelry and accessorizing

marianne

I've been thinking about accessorizing lately. It's always been one of my weakest spots, jewelry in particular. I am very impressed at the ways many of you use jewelry to complete your outfits and I would like to work on this. I own very little jewelry, and most of it was gifts. I don't wear earrings or rings, so for now I am trying to focus on necklaces, but I have the hardest time finding things that I like and that would work for me. First, I am often attracted to delicate jewelry that ends up getting lost on my frame. A lot of "statement" necklaces look kind of garish to me when I see them close. For example, I liked this necklace on AT site:
http://www.anntaylor.com/catal.....ctId=16688
but when I saw it in person, I didn't like the way the plastic black pieces looked... maybe my eye needs to adjust. There is also a cost issue - I am not comfortable spending much while I am in this learning process.
Would you have any suggestions for me? How do you select your pieces? Do you have a plan for a particular color or style when you shop? Are there any "flop-proof" options I should consider?
And the final question - would you agree that jewelry is indispensable for a stylish look or can it be done without it?

Dressing

17 replies

Latest reply was from Nicole

Anonymous

Marianne, You've posed many good questions. I got dragged into the world of jewelry by a sister who has become very skilled at making jewelry. We have to go to bead shows (in my city) and I started to see things I love.

For necklaces try on lots of styles and sizes some place like Kohls or Target just to see what is your best size. My sister looks wonderful in very chunky stone beads and big silver pieces. Those overwhelm me, but I'm not the dainty type either, so something in between works best.

Pay attention to lengths that work best because they can form a vertical line if long or shorten a long neck if short, etc. The necklines of your clothing and bust size will also make a difference. My sister likes long necklaces but not those that get lost in cleavage or wrapped around a boob when worn. I don't have that problem but tend to wear 16"-18" the most to give a pop of color near my face and peek out from under a button up shirt or cardi but lie above a cami.

As Angie has shown, pearls can go with everything and come in many styles. If you like more glitz, look for some Austrian crystals. If you want more casual, look for turquoise, jade, onyx, quartz, coral and many other natural stones. They are not expensive and better than plastic. You can get the beads at places like Hobby Lobby. They look great with some silver, but can be paired with gold or just on their own.

I'd suggest a color that goes well with your eyes or skin tone. I wear different necklaces in the summer...more shells and white...than in the winter. Then I tend to wear pearls more. My most used beads are a simple red coral strand, an acid green dyed stone strand, turquoise, and a strand of mixed stone and glass beads in oranges, golds, browns, and some green. In other words, the strands that give that pop of color to an outfit. I made all of these myself except the turquoise that my sister made. Have fun.

Anonymous

For your last question about jewelry being indispensable for a stylish look, a sister is allergic to metal and does very well at accessorizing with scarves and with bangle bracelets that aren't metal. Her scarf usually makes an outfit look polished and pulled together.

Antje

Veteran

Great question. I don't think jewelry is a "must" for a stylish look, but it sure can help pull things together, add color, and express personality.

If you want to experiment, I'd start with an inexpensive necklace that features your favorite color. There are so many different styles to consider, so don't give up yet just because you didn't like the AT one - which I agree looks very nice. (I myself have also turned away from many necklaces with plastic beads; maybe that's just not your preferred style.)

A great place for necklaces is Chico's. Their clothes target an older demographich than you, but their accessories are really nice. I buy earrings there a lot, and when I went shopping with Sihaya recently she told me that she gets most of her necklaces at Chicos, so we went in and I bought my very first necklace. I'm thrilled with it; it's actually a leather band with a pendant, something I never expected I would like but somehow it looks just right. Anyway, they have a great collection of necklaces under $50 in many different styles and you might just find something you like. Or you might get clearer on what you don't like, and that's a good step, too

I also see wonderful and affordable necklaces in small neighborhood boutiques. I know you live in a different neighborhood, but just in case you ever make it south, I like the jewelry at "Jaywalk" in Madrona and "Andaluz" in Columbia City. I bet there are good boutiques like that in QA, too, but you'd have to ask a local friend.

Debbie

great question Marianne! I struggle with this too. I am trying to learn what I love and what looks good on me.

I am finding it fun to experiment and I love both answers on this thread. So helpful.

I would have never thought to look at Chicos---- so that is a great example of letting no retail stone go unturned!

Thank you!

Shari

Why don't you get some magazines such as In Style and People Style watch to browse for accessory looks you like. Then you can rip out the pages and look for similar items when shopping.

I love jewerly and I am cheap, so I have taken to making a lot of my own stuff. I take said ripped out magazine pages and imitate them. One reason why is proportion. I have a big chest so many of the long necklaces don't sit right. I like the same look at about 26", which sits right above my cleavage.

Etsy is wonderful for artisan made jewerly at all price points.

And I have to agree about Chicos - great accessories.

marianne

Thank you ladies, I really appreciate your advice! I feel like I need some plan in my head for tackling this, and your answers are extremely helpful.
I actually heard before that women with a small chest shouldn't wear long necklaces but it sounds like they don't work for big chest, either?

Alecia

Veteran

I love jewelry. I'm not sure if I accessorize "correctly", but I have some amazing pieces that I love and that make me feel good to wear. It's wearable art. A couple of my favorite stores for said pieces are in ylf hubs!

Twist has a store in Seattle and Portland. Here's a link to the website: http://www.twistonline.com/Default.aspx I personally love the stuff by Beth Orduna. She's a California artist but I've had to trek to Seattle to get her stuff. Crazy.

And in Austin is Eliza Paige: http://www.elizapage.com/

Ultimately, for the more expensive stuff, I don't look for things to make outfits. I look for things that make my heart flutter. Then I build outfits around that. One practical thing I do pay attention to is the length of necklaces. I can't have pendants that are on 18 inch chains or they fall in too suggestive of a spot. So I go for shorter chains.

Nicole

Veteran

Marianne, perhaps you need to start with an oversized yet simple pendant to get yourself used to seeing yourself in jewelry. It would be a step up from delicate dainty jewelry, but not such a dramatic change to a full strand of bold beads. My favorite pendant came from Kohls--it's a large dark green "stone" encircled in a silver rim. I'd say it's about 2 to 2.5 inches in diameter. I get a lot of compliments on this piece and always feel ultra sophisticated when I wear it. I could probably give up all my other pendants and only wear this one, if I had to.

I totally hear you on not wanting to pay for an investment piece until you know what you will love....I highly recommend you browse Etsy.Com for ideas.

I just saw this one on there and I absolutely love it:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listi.....d=15356013

Debbie

I have a VERY stylish friend who always looks great and who purposely lets her necklace hang in her cleavage she says " to give them something to look at".

This would be something she would prob wear to dinner with her husband or out at night to a dinner/dance.

I love her attitude.

Debbie

Alecia

What is a ylf "hub"?

Debbie

after being on the eliza page website for 30 secs I found a $220 necklace I love!

Thanks a lot! lol

Anonymous

I found this help for choosing necklaces. You'll need to scroll down to the necklace part complete with pictures of do's and don'ts:

http://www.cafeglam.com/page/2/

You'll also see an amazing picture of Helen Mirren.

marianne

Thanks Joy, I do love that picture of Helen Mirren! The necklace tips are great, esp. the illustrations.

Nicole, I do like the idea of a pendant, and I really like the one you posted. I tried browsing on Etsy before but I get overwhelmed very quickly and I don't have a good idea how things would look IRL. I think I'll try to hit some local shops as Antje suggests. And thank you Alecia for the Twist link - although that's not quite in my budget. That's another thing about my jewelry shopping attempts - I always end up liking the most expensive things in a given selection

HL, ylf hub is a place with more than 1 ylf member, like Seattle or Austin.

Debbie

I really like what White House Black Market has right now. I was in the store last night.

It is not cheap though but very nice and classic I think.

shiny

Veteran

Great question.

First, my suggestion is to dress up in an outfit that you would like to accessorize with jewelry. Then hit a major department store that has a large jewelry selection. Most major department stores will offer a full range - from relatively inexpensive costume pieces, on up to expensive investment pieces.

Bring a friend if you like feedback. Try on tons of jewelry and see how it goes with the outfit. Experiment. If the store isn't too busy (try going early in the morning), ask a salesclerk for suggestions. You don't need to buy anything - this is all about experimenting and learning what works/doesn't work, what you like, don't like. Once you get a better sense, then you can go online or hit bargain shops.

If you do happen to find one awesome necklace that works well with the outfit you wore while shopping, then take it home and see what else it works with in your closet.

And on future shopping trips, wear it. I have been finding lately that when I wear a particular necklace, I tend to somehow naturally gravitate towards clothing that would work with it.

I do think if you are shopping in a specialty store like BR, AT, ATL etc it is smart idea to look through their accessories to see if anything works with any items you have decided to purchase. I've kicked myself on numerous occasions for not doing this, because later I can't find anything to work quite right.

With a few exceptions in my early career, I only started wearing necklaces fairly recently. Necklaces weren't really my "look" for a long time - mostly because they tend to be too long for my petite frame. But they can be shortened and if you can't be bothered to take them to be shortened, and it's not an expensive piece, you can always tie a knot in the chain to shorten it.

During my non-necklace phase I was much more into earrings and bracelets. I had a long brooch phase in the late 80s/early 90s.... and I am searching all over the house because I tucked them away somewhere for safe-keeping.... now that they are back in style I want to bring them out again!!!

I find jewelry all over the place:

- department stores
- specialty stores
- designer knock-off stores
- arts festivals
- my sister (who makes jewelry as a hobby)
- even places like Claire's.... cheap as can be, usually breaks, but can be an inexpensive, harmless way to give a style a try.

I do not buy online because I absolutely have to try on first - for a petite person scale is absolutely critical.

Department stores are, in my opinion, the best place to start.

Debbie

Claires can really do the trick.

I have a wealthy and very stylish friend who scores at Claries a lot of times!

Nicole

Veteran

Marianne, I hear ya on getting overwhelmed at Etsy. I do too.

Like Shiny, I look at jewlery just about anywhere. I've had good luck at Kohls, Marshalls, TJ's and Macys.