You’ve seen the people who just look effortlessly put together. Everything is coordinated from head to toe, and they’re perfectly accessorized. If you look at yourself and wonder, “Why can’t I do that?” — well, we’ve got two things for you. First, you can. Second, the people who look that way didn’t get there overnight. Unless they’re crazy rich, then they probably did, but so be it. That level of cohesion is still achievable, even if you’re on a budget. In this article, we share our top tips for creating a jewelry collection with timeless pieces you’ll love to wear. Read on to find out where to begin.
Take Stock of What You Have
Before you go out and get anything, look at what you already have. Do you like it? If so, why? Do you not wear what you have? Why not? Once you get those questions answered, you can move forward with more information. If you don’t have any jewelry, start with a few basic pieces of everyday jewelry and get comfortable with those before moving on.
Look Around for Inspiration
You probably know what you like generally, but it really helps to get inspired by those who’ve already done the legwork of building a jewelry collection. Equally as important as inspiration is looking around and learning what you don’t want. Both are important pieces of information on this journey, so be ruthless about it. Don’t tell people to their face that they’ve inspired you to never look like them, but you get what we mean.
Consider What Colors Look Good on You
Do you know what colors flatter you most? If you know that already, awesome. If you don’t, now’s the time to figure that out! Consider your skin’s undertones, and once you have that figured out, everything will actually get pretty easy. Isn’t that great? From there, you can start to make smarter choices about the jewelry that flatters you, as well as the outfits in general that’ll make you look your best.
Start With The Classics
Nothing wrong with starting with the basics. They’re classics for a reason, so you want to take note. Simple bracelets, necklaces and earrings will always look good, so you won’t look back on the investment with regret. Granted, you may realize you don’t love them eventually, but their universal appeal means there’s always someone willing to buy them from you.
Pick a Metal You Like
This is a big thing starting out. You can get pieces in tons of colors, but it’s going to make matching difficult if you aren’t already adept at matching colors. Maybe start by looking at your wedding ring set. If you know you like gold, get a gold set and a couple of matching pieces like a necklace and earrings. From there, you can build out. Once you have one metal down, you can slowly add in a second and even a third one to balance out your color palette and add extra flair.
Buy a Few New Pieces (but Just a Few)
This is where people can get overwhelmed. You start to learn a little more about jewelry, get excited and then go buy a ton of stuff. That can be fun in the moment, but it’s guaranteed to be overwhelming. You made some impulsive decisions, and now you’ve got pieces you don’t know what to do with. When will you wear them? Start small and work your way into it.
A good rule of thumb is going to be something in the range of a few new pieces a year at most. If you’re just starting out, you might be able to buy four or five in a year without it being too much but err on the side of less being more.
Try New Styles
Just because you’re starting slowly doesn’t mean you can’t try new things. It also doesn’t mean you have to be tame with your style. Try new things! Your best bet is to find stylish friends and borrow some of their stuff if at all possible. If that’s not possible, though, you may have to take some risks on purchases. Then, you can be the stylish friend who people borrow from. Real fun circle of life moment there.
Get Outside Advice
You can read all the articles you want and try on tons of pieces, but sometimes you just need a second set of eyes. Get a friend who will give you honest feedback about your look. Hopefully, it’s polite and honest feedback, but the honesty is paramount here. You might think something looks awesome, but it just doesn’t work for you. Conversely, something you might think is a little much may look fantastic on you. You just need some outside input.
Take Care of Your Pieces
Taking care of jewelry isn’t hard. It just requires some simple routine maintenance. Once you’ve got your pieces, commit to a weekly cleaning schedule. If you’re reticent about your cleaning routine, you’ll only need to dedicate half an hour or so each week to keeping everything in top form. Keeping them in a jewelry box is also critical.
That’s really all there is to it. We hope this guide will help you curate a forever jewelry collection. Now get out there, get inspired and get shopping!