Jewelry is Personal 💍

Yes, jewelry is personal! My journey through jewelry started when I was really little. Most of it was inexpensive vintage pieces passed on from grandparents--this was before knowing I look terrible in gold, and definitely before I cared. My style progressed to printed wristbands, beads, and sparkly, pastel butterfly earrings as a tween, and those items were so on trend at the time! Then in high school, of course, I did the goth phase. But no one ever told me that jewelry is personal.

Looking back, I know I was trying really hard to have a particular style--one that mimicked the tweens in fashion catalogs--rather than just experimenting. Even when I transitioned from lockets to chunky beads, I always thought it had to be one or the other, I could never mix gold metal with bright plastic. So here's a fun fact: just like clothing, you can also layer jewelry like crazy! Worst case scenario, you look silly in a photo and it's a fun story later on! Style is about you, what you like, what you feel comfortable and confident in, and no one is ever born knowing what that is.

Here are some of my favorite tips for finding your personal style...

If you have a hobby or passion, try charm bracelets. They start as a basic chain and clasp (toggle clasps are much less likely to break than lobster claws), and you can collect charms that attach to the chain. You could have a charm bracelet entirely devoted to animals and another charm bracelet entirely devoted to soccer, or you can have one bracelet that displays everything you love. This kind of jewelry is personal for sure! Careful though, charm collection can get expensive.

If you're interested in knowing whether gold or silver is more complementary, stand outside in the sun and look at the veins on the underside of your wrist. If they look blue, you probably have a cool skin tone and will glow in silver. If your veins look green, that indicates a warm skin tone--you can rock gold! And don't forget about rose gold, green gold, and bronze! If you're into metals there're a lot to try and most of them will tarnish to a new color over time, so unless your personal style is cool-toned metals only, there's no reason to not mix them!

Another way jewelry is personal is that the best sizes, shapes, and lengths depend on your build.

• Very thin jewelry on an athletic build can look out of place, while large, chunky jewelry, if you're petite, can look clunky.
  
  
• Long and Y-shaped necklaces can be very slimming (and make you look taller!), but they also catch on things (I may have closed one in a kitchen drawer once).
  
  
• If you feel like rings make your fingers look short, it's because straight lines widen. Try an S-shaped ring.
  
  
• Long, dangly earrings are very glamorous on round faces, large hoop earrings look amazing on diamond-shaped faces, and long, diamond-shaped earrings look fabulous on square faces.

I have a friend who collects jewelry with turquoise beads and stones--which, BTW, look stunning with wardrobe base colors (black, white, gray, navy). Personally, I'm obsessed with white crystal studding, but some of my favorite pieces don't fit this description. Also, I can't count how many of my friends never wear jewelry but still look pretty cool (even not wearing jewelry is personal)!

Style is how you tell the world who you are and what you like without ever saying anything. When I say "jewelry is personal," I mean that it's up to you. Just you. Yes, you can most definitely draw on inspiration from your friends and favorite pop stars, but how you choose to wear an item and what you choose to wear or not wear with it, that's style.

See you next week!