Your Jewelry Breakdown

Oct 28, 2024

5 min read

Answering a major question: Is two-tone jewelry ever allowed? By Michela Flood

Anyone who knows me knows I come with 6 crystal bracelets on my right hand, and 8 clean and simple, thinner bracelets on my left, one of which is permanent and is said to stay forever.

On my hands, I wear a series of rings on each finger, and how I differentiate the ones per day is based on whichever ones I grab as I run out the door that day. In fact, funny enough, on my birthday my roommate counted 16, yes 16 rings on my hands. A fairly new addition to my stack is my Oura ring, an activity, and sleep-tracking device in the shape of a ring, perfect for a fashion and movement-obsessed girl.

In addition to my wrist stacks, I always wear at least one necklace (I love to layer necklaces for added dimension too) and wear a major ear game. To begin, I have my first and second ear piercings. The second hole is accompanied by earrings that I change every semester - very strategic I know, this is usually a staple piece, something neutral and classic that matches everything and does not require changing to match everyday outfits. Right now, for example, I am wearing simple silver “diamond” Huggies. Followed by a stack of ear cuffs, to create an illusion that I have more piercings than I do, in the summer the finishing touch is an anklet, something simple, clean, and classic. But, going to school in Syracuse, this is not an everyday piece.

With this said, it is clear I have a bit of an obsession with jewelry. For me, jewelry can elevate any look, and take it just a little bit further. I feel empty without my jewelry and there is some kind of essence, flair, and confidence that I think jewelry brings into a look, and I am so thankful to have so many fun pieces in my collection.

If you are a beginner to the so-called jewelry game and looking to bring some pieces into your collection and on your outfits, here are some suggestions for you.

Start Small

As with anything in life, it is better to start small and add more later. Incorporating a few pieces at a time will help you adjust to these new gorgeous accents, and see how they feel for you individually. I recommend one piece per area to start. Meaning, begin with one bracelet, one necklace, one ring, and one set of earrings. Then if satisfied with the accents, as I think you will be, you can add more pieces. Start by identifying which pieces you don't already have and from there curate a piece per area of the body. Choose a color or style you prefer and buy according to your style.

Hot tip: Initial necklaces, are always fun, and never go out of style, check out my favorite here. Or wear someone else's initials to make a funny conversation and confuse people!

Quality Over Quantity

Still, have Grandmama's pearls from the ’40s? Great, because they are going to come in handy right about now. There is something so sweet, so special, and so nostalgic about having a piece of someone else's jewelry.

For me, I have an M initial necklace that my grandfather bought as the first ever gift to my grandmother when they were dating. It has been passed down to me and is a favorite of mine.

With this, comes the concept of quality over quantity. Don't get me wrong, I love Amazon as much as the next girl, and most of my jewelry is very cheap because I wear so much.

However, buying a ton of jewelry because it's cheap is not something I suggest. Cheap jewelry can make skin green because of cheap copper metals. So unless you want green stains on your skin, and an overflowing jewelry box, stick with higher quality pieces. As such, quality does not mean very expensive, some of my favorite places for great jewelry for a reasonable cost are: Uncommon James, Gorjana, and EVRY Jewels.

Don't Base It Off Your Outfit

I think that oftentimes, the jewelry game gets confusing when this notion that all pieces have to match an outfit is created, this creates decision fatigue, making people think that because certain jewelry pieces don't match their outfit, they can't wear them, or worse, they will wear no jewelry at all. A nightmare in my book of style.

Don't lose sight of an amazing outfit because you are so focused on the look matching, just wear something any jewelry adds detail, and edginess to a look, something is always better than nothing.

Build a Staple or Capsule Collection

Have you heard of this new term and idea? The one about having a capsule collection in our closets?

This idea honors having a together, curated, itemized combination of fashion pieces that create a backbone to any wardrobe, creating a framework or allocation for standard pieces, that can then be built off of and enhanced with an initial set of pieces, to be extended and enhanced from.

Choosing pieces that can deter this idea of succumbing to trends, and collecting items that do not stay relevant for very long, works to serve as a framework for the outfits that can be built afterward.

With this the same rules follow for jewelry, the empowerment that lies in a staple collection of jewelry is immense, and having pieces that can be of a capsule collection, will help step into jewelry endeavors, creating a box full of timeless pieces, sure to serve as essentials in one's wardrobe.

To create a capsule wardrobe of jewelry, try items that stay away from the trendy narrative. Rather, find items you have a personal liking towards and would wear for years to come, additionally resorting back to the quality over quantity principle, the items purchased with reason, will be worn and utilized. A capsule collection allows a target set of pieces that can be switched, and tweaked, but can always be relied on because of this set, itemized, and curated place for pieces.

Two Tones

Not many things bother me, I consider myself a decently level-headed person, and I hope other people think this of me too.

However, there is an exception to my calmness: I have for you the stigma that we cannot wear silver and gold together in one outfit. This idea is incomprehensible to me, and I could not understand it less.

Who is to judge this, and who in the world thought sticking to one color within jewelry would even work anyway?!

Wearing both gold and silver in an outfit brings it out, makes the look appear 3-dimensional, and extends the colors beyond sticking to one color.

Two-toned jewelry adds contrast, and movement, and makes life significantly easier by allowing fashionistas to put anything on, without being limited to a tone, because we don't want to be limited by anything in this life, right?!

So please, for me, wear both gold and silver together, it will look amazing.

There you have it! 4 simple steps to follow to get the best jewelry, breakdown. I hope following these steps and this guide can help you curate a set of jewels that enhance all your outfits, but, most importantly I hope that when you do find some pieces, wearing them brings you more confidence than you ever thought possible. Trust me, jewelry is magic and it's all about choosing to believe!

Xoxxo,

Michela