What outfit is complete without jewelry? Jewelry is the discrete highlight that activates your outfit, it’s the subtle counterpoint that enhances your features and it’s a statement about who you are and what you believe. Fashion jewelry, perhaps more than any other kind, is able to walk multiple paths and transcend multiple styles. Good fashion jewelry can be an effective complement to your little black dress just as it can be the perfect accompaniment to a T-shirt and jeans. The beauty of fashion jewelry is its versatility but that doesn’t mean you can just slap any old combination of pieces together and make them work. You need to have some sort of rationale behind your choices so below we’re going to get into the dos and don’ts of fashion jewelry.

12 Tips That Will Help You Rock Fashion Jewelry

From floral studs to simply gold hoops fashion jewelry comes in a dizzying array of designs, materials, sizes, shapes and colours. The right fashion jewelry will put the finishing touch on your outfit while the wrong piece will have people silently wondering “What was she thinking?” Here are 12 tips that will ensure you always look your best when wearing fashion jewelry.

Keep it Simple

Nothing says “I don’t know what I want” quite like a blizzard of shapes, colours and styles. Rule one then for making fashion jewelry work is to simplify. If you’re stepping out in some comfy jeans and a T-shirt a long necklace by Two A makes the ideal accompaniment. If you’re getting all biz-ay with sequins make sure the jewelry you wear is simple in its design, muted in its colour palette and yet bold enough in size and shape to hold its own. If your outfit is made up of big blocks of neutral colours make sure your fashion jewelry has a bit of colour and is more detailed in its design. This way it will pop without overwhelming anything.

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Think Before Selecting Earrings

Depending on how wisely you choose them your earrings will either be the perfect complement to your outfit or a major distraction. The simplest way to create a disconnect with your earrings is to choose a pair that doesn’t suit the shape of your face or that either overwhelms your thin neck or gets lost against your fuller neck. Before you put on earrings you have to ask yourself what you’re trying to do with your outfit and then make sure your earrings work to enhance the vibe. Also, and this should go largely without saying, if you have delicate ears never overburden them with big bold earrings. Remember, every component of your outfit, including your fashion jewelry, should be an element of balance and harmony.

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Less is Often More

If you’re after the Bourbon-Street-during-Mardis-Gras look then by all means pile on the jewelry. If, however, you’d rather look like you’ve got your style act together keep in mind that more is not necessarily better, unless we’re talking about chocolate or money. Chain necklaces that hang low and confront a belt are a no-no. Likewise, sparkly pieces have their place but too many of them will quickly overwhelm. As we mentioned above the goal of any outfit should be to achieve a balance that allows every component to shine. So resist the urge to showcase too many pieces of fashion jewelry at once and instead seek tonal, proportional and stylistic balance. You may be surprised how few pieces of jewelry you actually need to do that.

Reject Uniformity

We’ve seen some gals sporting fashion jewelry that by itself may be fine, but was apparently chosen because it matched their clothes. We suppose this could be looked at as achieving a certain type of balance but actually it’s not. It’s just boring. While there’s little doubt that playing it safe and having everything match is better than choosing accessories that stand out for their inappropriateness, we would nonetheless encourage you to aim a bit higher. If you need to take a bit of time and research concepts like complementary colours and shapes. Then go pick up some new pieces that will create balance rather than simply blend in.

Go Easy on the Trendy Stuff

It’s good to have a piece or two of trendy jewelry in your box as a way to demonstrate that you’re in touch with the times. But if most or all of your pieces are trend-a-riffic you’ll either have to replace everything next year or walk around looking like a time capsule. The old saying that “style is always in fashion” is never more true than when talking about fashion jewelry. Most of your pieces should be trend-neutral. That is, they should be expressions of timeless ideas regarding design, proportion, materials etc and not simply copies of some celebrity’s poor choices.

Don’t Max Out

Making a maxi necklace work isn’t as simple as just choosing one and putting it on. For example: if you have a shorter neck and you’re wearing a high neck blouse and you try and wedge a maxi necklace into the available space it’s just going to look awkward not stylish. On a couple of related notes, try and resist the temptation to wear maxi earrings with a maxi necklace. No one will see anything else when they look at you. Also, remember that chokers are great but if they’re too tight you’re going to look more masochistic than stylish.

Splurge a Little

While fashion jewelry is by definition affordable you should nonetheless have a few pieces that cost a bit more and will always be in style. A simple pearl necklace, for instance, is a timeless ally that you’ll be able to call upon over and over. In short, a higher end piece among the more fanciful items is a simple, elegant way to elevate your entire outfit. If the design is simple and sophisticated the possibilities are endless.

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Complementary Stones

It’s not necessary to make sure that all stones in your various pieces of jewelry are the same. On the contrary, you want to mix things up a bit to keep them interesting, with one major qualifier: they should complement each other in colour, shape and size. Remember you’re trying to create a complete outfit and that means using things that work off of one another to create a look that’s more than the sum of its individual parts.

Use Bracelets Strategically

If you feel that your hands or perhaps your hips are an area you don’t necessarily want to draw attention to then either don’t wear bracelets or wear simple ones whose affect is more subtle than eye catching. Lots of spangly, bright coloured bracelets are only going to draw the eye to an area you’d rather deemphasize. The reverse is also true. If you feel you have beautiful hands and your hips make the rockin’ world go round then you can draw attention to these attributes by wearing lots of bracelets or fewer bracelets that nonetheless have a lot of visual pop. So there you have our 12 tips for looking your best when wearing fashion jewelry. Now we’re going to take a look at how to select fashion jewelry that will work for you and which pieces of fashion jewelry we feel are must-haves.

Choosing the Right Fashion Jewelry For You

Let’s go through a few things to keep in mind when contemplating whether to buy a certain piece of fashion jewelry.

First: Does it work with the shape of your face?

Because when people look at things - whether those things are paintings, buildings, or faces - they look at the whole thing you can control the impression they take away by balancing one thing against the other. For instance; if you have a round-ish face you’ll want to steer clear of round earrings and instead go for slender earrings that dangle. If you have a more rectangular face rounder earrings will help balance things out. If you’re fortunate enough to have an oval shaped face however, then the world is your oyster because just about any earring shape will work.

Second: Does it complement your figure?

While jewelry won’t make you slimmer or give you a few extra curves where you might want them the right jewelry can make you appear slimmer or curvier or taller or shorter or whatever. We touched on the ability of bracelets to call attention to your big beautiful hips or to draw the eye away from your hands if that’s what you’d like to do, but there’s more to the power of fashion jewelry than that. The right fashion jewelry can:

1. Make your waist seem smaller
2. Make bust seem larger or smaller
3. Bring the proportions of your face and body into harmony with one another
4. Create harmony between your outfit and your shape
5. Draw attention away from areas you’d rather not highlight

You’d do well to remember this simple truth: detailed or bright jewelry will draw the eye to where you want it. No jewelry will keeps eyes off those parts you’d rather not draw attention to.

Third: Proportion is everything

Why is it some buildings “work” and some don’t? More often than not when a new building doesn’t really work it’s because it’s out of proportion to the buildings around it. It’s either so big that it dwarfs the rest of the buildings in the area or it’s so small that it looks like it was designed by someone who had never seen the site. Jewelry is the same way. If you want to look bigger than you are just wear jewelry that’s too small. Not only will you appear to be much larger but the piece of jewelry will get lost in translation and no one will be able to appreciate it. Likewise if you’re slender or petite you should steer well clear of clunky, chunky fashion jewelry as it will overwhelm the nuances of your svelte shape and perhaps even make you look fragile or sickly. Here are a few proportional guidelines to keep in mind.

• If you have a small face make sure your jewelry is small and a bit dainty as well. Big earrings or necklaces look completely out of sorts. Likewise if you have a bigger face you’ll want to wear larger pieces of jewelry because the same dainty jewelry your small-faced friend is wearing will only make your face look bigger than it is.

• If you have a larger bust you’ll want to wear larger necklaces because a small necklace will only make your bust seem bigger than it already is. Conversely if you’re a slender gal who wishes to make her bust appear a bit larger wear a small, dainty little necklace. If you’re slender but aren’t interested in making your bust seem larger simply wear a cascading necklace, though one with delicate components.

• Make sure any watches and bracelets have a complementary proportional relationship with your wrists and hands. You can try and make a fashion statement by wearing an oversized watch on your thin wrist if you like but it’s going to be about the only part of your outfit anyone sees when you go out.

• Long slender earrings will have the effect of slimming down your neck and making it seem longer than it may be. Also, try and avoid earrings that create horizontals at the neck line. These disrupt the entire flow of your outfit and have a jarring effect. Also, if you want your neck to appear longer and more slender a long necklace that hangs toward your bust is an easy way to do it.

What Fashion Jewelry Items Should You Have?

Finally we’re going to give our opinion regarding the fashion jewelry items we believe you should have. This is not a scientific list because, well, fashion isn’t scientific and therefore your opinion on the matter may differ from ours. That said, here goes:

• Simple pearl necklace
• Hoop earrings
• A selection of fun casual earrings
• Dressy earrings that match your face type
• Gold and silver bracelets
• A long necklace
• A short necklace
• A watch with a gold, silver or stainless steel band

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive list, just a starter set for those wanting to invest in some fashion jewelry. Building any type of collection always begins with the essentials and that’s what the above items represent. Keep in mind that if you’re purchasing gold or silver to be worn near your face that warm coloured metal like gold works best with peachy skin tones and silver, in general, is best suited for those with a cooler tone to their skin.

The Two A  jewelry Approach

At Two A our designers explore the contrast between natural and geometric forms and employ a variety of standard and alternative materials and techniques in order to create jewelry with a raw, organic power and sensuality. We delve into the materials we use and look for new and innovative ways to harvest their expressive potential. Our jewelry is not meant to highlight our genius but to enable the wearer to achieve a higher level of comfort and style. In addition, while we’re committed to helping our customers look and feel their best at all times we’re also committed to the environment which we all share. We’re modern and traditional, classic and cutting edge, playful yet serious, distinctive yet somehow familiar and always tasteful and sophisticated. We believe in the power of strong yet nuanced natural motifs and their ability to both nurture and inspire. And we believe, above all, in you.

Find out more by calling Two A  jewelry on 1-905-889-7934.