I touched on metal mixing in my recent summary post about accessories. The guidelines I mentioned are seven years old, and although most of them still hold true for my own style, fashion has moved to the extent that it’s perfectly stylish to mix up any metal in any way in any outfit. For example, you needn’t match the hardware of your shoes and bag with each other, or with your jewelry. Your jewelry pieces needn’t metal match either. Nor the zippers and studs of your jacket and belt with your earrings or necklace. Or your belt buckle belt with your arm candy. Or your metallic shoes with the rest of the metals in your outfit. 

Although sporting a “melting pot of metals” in one outfit is now considered 100% stylish, you are of course entitled to your own metal mixing preferences. I certainly have mine, and I’d love to hear yours. I’ll go first. 

I’ve come a long way with my metal mixing recipe and preferences. In the mid ’90s and up until five years ago, I refused to mix my metals AT ALL, and only wore silver or platinum. I wouldn’t purchase anything with gold hardware, let alone mix metals in an outfit. Then in my late thirties, I started wearing my late Mum’s gold wedding ring on my non-watch hand as my way back into the world of gold. As crazy as it sounds, when I turned 40, I switched to Team Gold overnight. It was as if I needed to come of age all over again. Three years down the line and I actually prefer gold to silver against my skin tone. 

Today, I wear both gold and silver wedding rings and watches. I happily sport gold and silver hardware on belts, footwear, bags and jackets. I wear both gold and silver shoes. I very, very occasionally wear necklaces but when I do I will sport both metals there too.

As for mixing metals in one outfit, I’m happy to mix it up but still have my boundaries. For example, my watch and wedding ring that I wear on the same hand MUST be the same metal. No compromises. If I wear fine jewelry, I like the metals to match each other and my watch and wedding ring. But I will sport a moto jacket with silver hardware and wear a gold watch and wedding ring. I’ll also wear a silver watch and wedding ring with a gold belt buckle. And I’ll wear silver shoes with a gold belt, throwing in any metal with the watch, ring and bag. 

Lastly, to this day, I have never owned an item made of mixed metals. Whenever I pop on a mixed metal piece, like a watch, ring, belt, bag or shoe, I take it off favouring the single metal version. It makes little sense since I mix metals in an outfit, but there you have it. We all have our style idiosyncrasies. 

Over to you. What is your metal mixing recipe, and has it changed over the years?