what to wear: necklace stories
I love jewelry stories. Layering rings, bracelets and necklaces goes way back for me. In middle school, I would wear my add-a-beads with a smaller monogram necklace. I still have the stories from that period in my collection. Fast forward to my more updated stories ~ Building necklace stories or groupings does not come easy to a lot of women. Hopefully I can break down the elements of what makes a great story.
There are two ways I like to build necklaces.
One is a collection that I call “charms.” This can be two or three necklaces that hit at the same place, either short or long.
The other is the “staggered” story. In this story, the key is balance, scale and proportion.
– The first and highest necklace should be your most delicate. Sometimes this one almost floats above your collar bone.
– The second can be more of an open chain but needs to not overly out-scale the one above it.
– The third can be your focus piece and would most likely hold a pendant or a group of elements together.
There are jewelry lines such as Kenneth Jay Lane and Stella & Dot that take the guess work out for you and create these groups so all you have to do is put them all on at once. I prefer a more organic approach and creating something that is unique to each individual.
One of my pendant groupings has a knot that was my mother’s – I believe it was a scarf knot (you would slip the ends of a silk scarf through the knot and slide it to the desired location). I took this knot and slipped it on a chain along with two other necklaces which I interchange according to my outfit. Personalizing your story is a nice way to have something of meaning with you. Another signature piece of mine is a locket that was given to me by my grandfather when I turned 21. I sometimes build this piece into a story as well.
Building your own story can take time to find all the correct elements. I’ve worked with my clients to help them find a story within their collection. Sometimes this requires recreating a single earring into a pendant, or taking a necklace and turning it into a group of bracelets. Look at your jewelry and see if you have a piece that you have been longing to wear and consider building it into a group for either your neck or arm.
A few of my favorite brands to build stories with…
Heather Hawkins (The Shoe Hive)
Rachelle Celine (Kiskadee – and I also sell on TulleBox)
Julie Vos (Coco Blanca)
Anna Beck (The Shoe Hive)
ASHA by ADM (The Shoe Hive)
Nashelle (The Shoe Hive)
Below are a variety of stories created from The Shoe Hive and Coco Blanca.
[portfolio_slideshow]
