← Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
Her Style Podcast | Shopping, Color Palettes, Fashion, Wardrobe, Outfits, Clothing
217 | The Best Jewelry Pairings for Your Personal Style and Various Necklines
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Welcome back to HER Style Podcast! In today’s Q&A Thursday episode, I’m answering a fantastic question from our friend, Sandra, about how to know which accessories work best with which necklines as well as when to add big, bold jewelry and...
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Welcome back to Her Style Podcast. In today's Q and A Thursday episode, I'm answering a fantastic question from our friend Sandra about how to know which accessories work best with which necklines, as well as when to add big, bold jewelry and when to keep your outfit on the simpler side. If you've ever questioned yourself when it comes to completing your look, then crank up the volume and get ready to take notes. I'm about to deliver some foolproof advice so you can accessorize your outfits with confidence.
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Welcome to her Style Podcast where we're all about empowering you to show up and get dressed every day with confidence. I'm your host, Heather Riggs, a 15 year and counting certified image consultant and color specialist ready to build a wardrobe and a personal style you love. Let's get started. All right, we are going to have some fun today.
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We're talking about one of my favorite favorite fashion elements, which is accessories and specifically jewelry. And even more specifically, we're going to talk about earrings and necklaces today because I got the best questions from our friend Sandra. She dropped a sweet little note in my inbox and she said, I've been binging your podcast. You give such wonderful tips and you're so generous with your content. Thank you so much and I will just interject quickly. Thank you Sandra for your sweet compliments and for listening to her style podcast. And she also said, I would like you to cover something if possible. I'm honing my style, but I realize times I'm not sure what are the best accessories for my outfit. I love big and small earrings and necklaces, but I also like simplicity and know that for some outfits, simpler is better. Do you have any tips for what jewelry to wear and with what kind of tops? And Sandra, you know I do. I'm always happy to help you solve every style conundrum right here on her Style podcast. So I'm really appreciative that you sent these questions in and I hear you about the idea that less is often more. I generally follow this principle myself when it comes to accessorizing my outfits. And of course the late great Coco Chanel famously said, before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off. But I don't think that there's a right or wrong to this and that's why it is so important to figure out your personal style goals first. So I love that you said you are honing in on your style and starting to figure out what that looks like for you. And some of my clients have an especially creative or dramatic style. And often an overload of jewelry and accessories can be just the thing to pull it all together and ensure that the artistic or show stopping effect that they really want is created in their overall look. So if you are still trying to really get crystal clear and pinpoint your signature style, I do recommend that you go to the trouble and the fun of creating a style mood board for yourself. Pinterest is my preferred resource for this, but you can start looking for some recurring themes in the outfits that you're saving to your style mood board. This is how I pinpointed the fact that I really wanted to look for some silk scarves to add to my wardrobe. Last spring and summer I noticed a a ton of them in my mood board, but I realized I didn't have a single one in my wardrobe at the time. So this can be a really helpful exercise to start looking for similarities and maybe some gaps in your existing wardrobe as it relates to accessories and even more specifically jewelry if that's something that you're concerned about. So you might want to see whether you tend to be gravitating toward layered necklaces, big bold statement earrings, stackable rings, colorful costume jewelry, just some really simple understated silver or gold necklaces, all those kinds of things. It's helpful to start looking for some apparent themes in your overall mood board and then leaning into that when you do your shopping and styling for the season. Now, for me personally, because I like to gravitate toward less is more, I will typically either do a larger necklace or a larger earring, not both, although you certainly can if you do have a more dramatic or creative personal style. I also have some mixed feelings about matching sets. I think it really depends on the pieces themselves and how they relate to your personal style. I do own some matching sets, but I will typically break them up so that my look doesn't feel too matchy matchy. Unless we're talking about really small stud or drop earrings with an elegant matching necklace for a special occasion look, I definitely think that can be so elegant, but on a daily basis that's not something that I typically do with my jewelry. I do, however, love having some variety in sizes and types of pieces though, as well. Just like you, Sandra, I don't think that your jewelry choices need to be the same every day. I know I talk about the importance of being consistent with your personal style, but when it comes to jewelry, it's absolutely okay to have a little bit of fun experimenting and mixing things up. So if you find yourself drawn to large and small jewelry. I think that's amazing. That's really good insight to hold on to. And I would just ensure that you're building a jewelry collection that does have both elements so you can lean into each side of your accessory style depending on a few different factors. So let's really start the conversation here. I want to walk through a couple of things that can help you to choose which accessories to bring into each individual look. The first thing that's really important to keep in mind is your personal features. I do want to refer you back to episode number 32 where I gave five tips for flawless accessorizing. Because the best way to pick the perfect jewelry for your outfit is to keep your personal features in mind. You don't want your accessories to overpower you again unless you have a dramatic style or to get completely lost in your look. So it's really wise to keep the scale of your facial features and the overall stature of your figure in mind when you're getting dressed and when you're choosing the best pieces to finish your outfit. Now, for sake of time, I'm not gonna recap that whole episode today. I just want you to hit play on that one either. Right now, if you wanna pause this, go check out that episode and then come back to this one or just cue it up for your next podcast listening session. There's a ton to learn in that specific episode number 32, but to expand on what we covered in that episode and address your questions more specifically. Sandra, I think it's also important to consider the mood that you want to create with your out for your day. If you wake up and you're feeling really playful, or maybe if you're feeling a little tired, or if you're having some winter blues right now and you want to boost your energy, maybe you could add a fun necklace and a bright pop of color. Or if you want to show up in a more reserved and supportive role for your day, you could keep your jewelry really simple and laid back. If you want to uplevel your outfit, maybe you want to slip on a higher end designer necklace or the pearl earrings that you inherited from your grandmother to make your outfit feel a lot more elegant and refined. I want you to choose jewelry that enhances the story that you want to communicate or the impression that you want to make with your appearance for the day. So that's one important element to also keep in mind is your overall mood and the aesthetic that you want to bring to the table in your outfit. You can also consider the other items that you're wearing. I think this is really critical. You're going to have to use your best judgment for this one. Keeping Coco Chanel's suggestion in mind, less is often more. So if you are wearing a really bold shoe and you want that to take center stage, or if you opt for an eye catching print in a dress or a blouse, or if you're wearing a really dramatic exaggerated silhouette or some other standout element in your outfit, you might find that your look either needs an equally exceptional piece of jewelry. Sometimes delicate items are going to get lost in the midst of a bold outfit, or you might decide that adding an oversized necklace or a big statement earring is going to be too much. So you really need to take a step back here. Look at your outfit in a full length mirror. Ideally you will have one in place in your bathroom or your bedroom or somewhere in your house that you can take a peek before you walk out the door in the morning and ask yourself, is there too much going on here? Do I need to take something off? Or do you want to let another element in your outfit take center stage and downplay your jewelry that day? Or maybe a big piece of jewelry is going to be the perfect finishing touch and you need to create that better balance in your outfit. Whatever you decide, I want you to trust yourself. And if you are in doubt about putting on a piece of jewelry, just don't do it. Let it go. Leave it off for the day. Because the most important thing is that you love and feel confident in your look, whatever it is. And then of course, the last thing that you do want to consider, especially when it relates to necklaces, is your neckline. And to your point, Sandra, I do agree that certain necklines work better with certain styles of jewelry than others. So we're going to do a quick deep dive on the various necklines. I'm going to give you my best recommendations about what I think works well. Remembering that this advice doesn't negate what I just said, it's equally essential to keep your personal style, your physical features, your mood or your outfit goals, and the other elements of your overall look in mind as well. And again, this is coming from someone who wears a very simple chain necklace every single day. I really don't take it off. So that's an easy, foolproof option as well. If that works for you, just to wear some really simple, basic everyday jewelry that you don't have to think about. If you are someone who prefers low maintenance outfits, if you have a really natural, effortless style this might be a good sweet spot for you, but if you do want to mix up your jewelry, here are my thoughts about what works best with some of the most common necklines. I'm not going to cover everything. This isn't an exhaustive list, but I think it'll give you a good overall perspective. And I will also add quickly that I think you can always make an oversized statement earring work. So the real question when it comes to various necklines is which necklaces work best. So I'll share a few earring tips along the way, but our bigger focus in the rest of this conversation today is going to be on necklace and neckline pairings because I know that can get a little bit tricky. So the first neckline style is going to be a button down shirt and depending on your style preferences. Again, I like wearing a simple everyday chain or pendant necklace. This is going to be an easy foolproof option for any button down blouses. But if you have a more dramatic style, I think you could wear a heavier beaded or statement necklace that pops underneath an open collar. Or if you want a more alluring touch and you like to leave an extra button or two unbuttoned, then you could even wear a long Y or lariat necklace which is going to help to draw the eye down to your chest if that's an area of your body that you do want to highlight and you feel comfortable with that. Now if you're layering a sweater or another higher neckline over your collared shirt, then I would probably just opt to focus on earrings instead. And again, I think anything goes when it comes to earrings and button down shirts. I can't think of anything that wouldn't work with a collared shirt, so I would defer to the other tips that I already shared to make the best decision about that. The next type of neckline that I want to cover is turtlenecks, and for a really classic look I would probably steer clear of a necklace and just focus on earrings instead. I think that you could do a longer chain necklace if it suits your style to where it would sit under the folded fabric of the turtleneck, but I tend to prefer simple stud earrings or even a longer hoop earring is really going to help to highlight your neckline and draw the focus there. A long drop earring would also have the same effect, so any of those options would be really great with a classic turtleneck. Now similarly for mock neck tops which are going to be simpler and lay more flat, they're not going to have the folded over material that is going to make it a little bit easier. If you wanted to add a necklace, I think you could do that more easily with a mock neck top, but otherwise I would follow the same general recommendations here. If you are opting for a boat neck top, which is more of a horizontal cut across your neck from shoulder to shoulder, with a high cut top like that, I would 100% opt for earrings rather than a necklace which is just going to detract from the elegance of a boat neckline. Depending on the rest of your outfit, you can keep your earrings really simple and understated, or you could add a pop and a bold statement to help draw the eye up to your face. This really depends again on your personal style and your outfit goals. If you're doing a crew or round neck top, I love layered chain necklaces for these styles. You could also do a longer pendant necklace here or you could just wear a bold or a simple earring as it suits your desired outfit goals and style. But again, if you're doing a V neck or a wrap top, I think a simple chain or pendant necklace of course works really nicely here too. And again, any earring should be fine with an open V neckline as well. For more of an oval or U neckline, you could opt for a choker if that suits your style. I think that does work better with a more open and rounded neckline like an oval or U neck top. Statement necklaces generally also work really great with these style of tops. Or of course a simple everyday chain is perfect if you want to keep it more minimal. And again, at the risk of sounding redundant, I think anything goes as far as earrings. All right, let's keep moving on. So if you're going to do a square, a sweetheart or a camisole top, I would maybe consider doing a choker here as well if that's a style of necklace that appeals to you. But I also think a pendant necklace that falls kind of at that midway point in the open space of your neckline can be especially flattering. You could also do a simple stud earring or you could pair some huggies with that in a coordinating color or a great metallic color. Whatever works best with the necklace. Now, when you're wearing something like a halter top or a neckline that is a keyhole or even a cold shoulder, anything that kind of comes up high at your neck and then drops down at the shoulder, that is going to have a lot going on at the neck. So what I recommend here is skipping a necklace. It's just going to be too much. It's going to be competing and feel a little bit heavy and cumbersome in that area. So instead I would highly recommend that you just focus your attention on earrings. You could do a big statement earring here, but I would probably keep it on the shorter side again, just so it doesn't feel too crowded and busy against these higher and more complex necklines. And that would be again, for anything that's like a halter, a keyhole style, or a cold shoulder neckline. Those are a little bit more complicated and they have a lot going on at the neck. So I would just do a shorter big or small earring, something that's away from the neck with one shoulder or asymmetric tops. I think you could do a really simple necklace here, but with the angle of the neckline, I think it's better to focus on earrings again. And in this case you could do a longer dangle or drop earring because there's a little bit less going on right at the neck. But I do think it can often be too much to add a necklace into the mix there. And then the last one that I want to cover is off the shoulder and strapless top. And I do like a pendant necklace or a statement necklace here. But you could also really just let your collarbone and shoulders stand out by leaving your neckline bare and adding in a beautiful earring instead. I think it definitely depends on your personal style and whether you want to add some coverage up top if you're feeling more insecure about showing so much skin or if you want to highlight your skin and that area of your body. Either way, I would recommend keeping your necklaces on the shorter side when you're doing off the shoulder and strapless tops. So let it kind of fall in that area that's exposed with your skin. But otherwise I think it can be a really great idea to keep it bare and focus more on earrings instead. That one's very much dependent on your personal preferences. But Sandra, I hope that this was helpful, kind of diving into some of the different necklines and other things to keep in mind when you're choosing your jewelry. I love these questions. Thank you so much for sending them over and for listening and binging her style podcast. It really makes my day to hear that you're enjoying the show, friend. If you have a question that you'd like me to feature in an upcoming Q and A Thursday episode, I want you to head to herstylellc.com podcast. Leave me a quick voice memo using the Speak Pipe plugin or of course you're welcome to send an email to supportherstylellc.com just like Sandra did as well. Friend, thanks so much for listening today. This has been so much fun covering all things jewelry and I look forward to meeting you back here for another episode in just a couple days. I'll see you then.
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Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to stop copying everyone else's style and start dialing in your own swoon worthy signature look, head over to take my free 5 minute personal style quiz which you can find at the link in the show notes. If you've enjoyed our time together, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe to her style podcast so you never miss an episode. Finally, I invite you to make this a two way conversation and send me a DM over on Instagram eatherriggstyle to let me know how I can best support you on your style journey. I'm always here for you in style and service until next.