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As we work towards that perfect accessories wardrobe that began with Can the US Ever Lead in Fashion, let’s talk accessory-jewelry for a bit. There is jewelry-jewelry and accessory-jewelry. I’m not trying to diminish that beautiful pair of diamond stud earrings you received as a gift, but let’s move forward to something that expresses our style.

How many of us really think of jewelry as part of our wardrobe? We see how celebrities use jewelry as accents (Kate Moss and her multiple strands of gold chains) but more often than not we tend to have just a few good pieces that we wear over and over again.

So how should we start buying without wasting money? Julie Liu is a Couture Jewelry designer in Chicago. When Julie helps clients to select or design a piece, she looks first at skin tone to get the colors right. If you look for items that complement your skin tone, those pieces will blend easily into your wardrobe. So if you look best in earth tones, skip the cool metallic and go for earthy pieces and vice versa.

Next, act like you are shopping for a new haircut. Look at your face shape. If it’s long, don’t go for drop pieces – stay with shorter, chunkier items. If you have a round face, go with pieces that have some length. It’s about balance.

Begin with one great statement necklace to go with jeans or casual looks. (You probably already have at least one good jewelry piece to wear for formal occasions). I am in love with this metallic bib necklace from Juicy Couture. You can wear this with jeans to give it pop. You can also keep this in your bag at work and put it on when leaving the office to change your look for evening.

Then grab one accessory-jewelry piece that is “IT” for the season. Two main trends right now are the ribbon tie necklace and the cuff. I like the cuffs with leather and studs because it’s a fairly subtle way to work in the leather/stud trend. Another hot trend is anything in hammered metal (distressed is “in” – jeans, bomber jacket, jewelry, whatever).

Always shop the sale section – stores have to clear out the previous seasons jewelry because it doesn’t complement the colors they are carrying at the moment, not because the jewelry is out of style. Shopping the sales section is also the best way of getting comfortable at adding jewelry.

I’m making a decision today that for the next week, I will select a piece of jewelry to complement or accent what I am wearing each day. Even if (especially if) its just jeans and a t-shirt.

After posting this, I found a great blog post on www.Boticca.com – Jewelry that Defines Us.
Boticca is in the U.K., but the information is relevant anywhere.