a layered take
Photo credit: Callan Swenson
I’m busy helping clients pull together fall wardrobes right now. This has me thinking about one of the richest, prettiest ways you can accessorize the season’s 1970s shapes and berry hues: Layering jewelry.
No, this doesn’t mean packing on every bracelet in your bureau or piling on necklaces with the reckless abandon of a toddler playing dress up. While in many cases, more is more, you should keep a few rules and tips in mind. We teamed up with local style writer and blogger Alison Santighian of DC Celine to show off how to mix up your jewelry game plus how to layer some cool fall clothing styles, too.
NECKLACES:
– When wearing more than one necklace, choose different lengths to create a cascade effect (and keep your Tiffany chain from tangling with your J. Crew beads).
– Don’t be afraid to mix metals or materials. Pearls look chic coupled with more rugged metal chains, a vintage locket paired with new glass beads smacks of hippie cool.
– Keep in mind that certain necklaces — pendants, strings of beads — layer better than others. A so-called statement necklace, aka anything that comes across like a collar, isn’t going to play well with other bijoux.
Necklace outfit credit: Shirt, Kiskadee; pants, model’s own; necklaces, top to bottom, Coco Blanca, Kiskadee, The Shoe Hive; pumps, The Shoe Hive; earrings, The Shoe Hive; bag, model’s own.
RINGS:
– A hand stacked with multiple rings reads posh, pretty and style savvy. Try wearing more than one smaller ring on the same finger, and when choosing several rings for one paw, look for commonalities — a color, a shape.
– If one of your rings is a big, chunky cocktail ring, it might look best solo. Or, wear one oversized dazzler on your ring finger with a tinier ring on your index finger.
– Keep mobility in mind; if your day job involves hours at the keyboard, you might want to go for multiple necklaces instead.
Rings, from top to bottom on close up shot; Initial ring, The Shoe Hive; gold band, Coco Blanca; geode ring, Kiskadee; white ring, Coco Blanca.
Ring outfit credit: Shirt and rabbit fur vest, The Shoe Hive; leggings, Kiskadee; shoes, The Shoe Hive; cork bag, Kiskadee
BRACELETS:
– An armful of bracelets might be the easiest way to dip into jewelry layering. It’s difficult to stack too many bangles on or to get this look wrong.
– When piling on bracelets, keep in mind how they’ll move together in mind. A chunky cuff and a thin leather wrap-around piece would look out of sync while a handful of bangles in different materials and widths shouts arm party.
– Raid your mom’s (or grandmom’s) jewelry box. Donning a vintage piece with modern bracelets creates an eclectic vibe—and it’s a conversation starter, too.
Bracelet outfit credit: Dress, Kiskadee; leather vest, blue bag and booties, The Shoe Hive; black leather bracelet, shoe hive; gold bracelet, Kiskadee.
Jenn Barger is a stylist with DC Style Factory (dcstylefactory.com), where she helps local women and men tame their closets and polish up their wardrobes. She comes to styling after nearly two decades in style journalism. As the founding editor in chief of the Washington Post’s Fashion Washington magazine, she dressed models on photo shoots, got to know all the local boutiques and generally immersed herself in D.C.’s style scene. She now uses her knowledge to assist other people in looking better and feeling better about themselves. Her time as a journalist means she thrives on meeting new people and getting to know them, something working as a stylist does for her every day. Her specialties include vintage clothing and gift shopping.
When Jenn isn’t working with clients or trawling local boutiques, she still writes design and travel articles for publications like Washingtonian and DC Modern Luxury (jennbarger.com). She and her husband are avid travelers and dinner-party throwers, too.
To contact Jenn with questions or to enquire about hiring her, email her at jenn@dcstylefactory.com.
