Do you constantly find yourself wondering what jewelry pieces ought to go with a certain dress, top, or outfit? We have prepared a detailed guide that helps you do the best pairings.
Let’s face it, jewelry has almost always been a touchy topic for most, especially when it comes to pairing it with the right dress for an occasion.
Truth is, there are a lot of factors that go into determining what pieces suit your chosen dress best. These factors could range from anything between the color of the dress, the neckline, your facial structure, and so many other things.
So, how should you know what jewelry pieces to pair with a dress? Here is a quick guide.
Accessorize your dress; Detailed Guide
1. Dress for the occasion
One of the most important factors to consider when getting jewelry with which to match your dress is the occasion you hope to attend. The jewelry you pick will have a direct impact on the way you will interact with your environment.
For instance, if you are going to work and are likely to do lots of typing on your desk, you do not want to have too many wrist accessories such as bangles as they will be a hindrance to your work.
Also, if you are going dancing, overly long earrings and necklaces may be very uncomfortable. If you are dressing for church or a wedding, you want to keep things elegant; clean, and composed, so button earrings and tiny necklaces with small pendants will do the trick.
2. Wear statement pieces to draw attention to your face
You might be wearing a bomb dress to an occasion, but sometimes, it may draw attention away from you so that having conversations with friends and acquaintances becomes difficult.
If you still want to wear an attention-grabbing dress, you can also use jewelry to draw attention to your face. Do not be afraid to wear beautiful earrings, especially those that sparkle if you are attending an event at night or outdoors in the sun.
The statement earrings will do well to complement your dress and to also draw attention to your face with ease.
3. Consider your skin tone
Even though it is overlooked, skin tone plays a major role in just how well your jewelry will compliment your dress. You do not want to wear pieces that look just as your skin does since they will scarcely be noticeable.
Different skin tones go well with different jewelry colors. For instance, people with warmer skin tones can easily sport jewelry that has a pop of color such as orange, green, and yellow stones.
Cooler skin tones work best with purple, blue, or red pieces, and metals such as white gold. If you have darker hair or matte skin, gold accessories will work exceptionally well for you. Silver manages to cut across all skin types and can be worn by all skin tones comfortably.
4. Pair simple jewelry with busy patterns
We can all agree that patterns are a tricky path to tread. While pairing clothes of different colors may be difficult to do, pairing busy dress patterns with jewelry is a whole other ball game.
Here is the simple trick; the more complex the dress pattern is, the simpler your selected jewelry should be. The best type of jewelry for busy patterns is anything that is one solid color, and preferably on the metal spectrum.
Try wearing a simple watch, a solid silver bracelet, or gold bangles and earrings. Pick the color, however, with your skin tone in mind. You should also consider what type of fabric you are wearing.
5. Consider your dress fabric
Just like your dress’s pattern, its fabric can influence, in a big way, how you are going to accessorize. Heavier fabrics such as wool call for minimal jewelry since their heavy nature is already visible to the eye.
You can, however, wear statement pieces such as earrings that are long but very slender, and necklaces that do not have many layers. A single slender chain with a small pendant will do.
For lighter dresses made with such fabric as chiffon or silk, you can go slightly heavier with the jewelry, so long as it does not have busy patterns. You can accessorize such a dress with cluster rings and layered necklaces, as well as multiple bangles and bracelets.
6. Consider your dress’s neckline
Even though we did not begin with this point, it is probably the most important of them all. Your dress’s neckline goes a long way in determining what kind of jewelry you are going to wear, especially your neckpiece and earrings.
If you are wearing a classic round-necked dress (otherwise called a scoop neck), you can wear a double-chain pendant and earrings that do not dangle too low. V-neck dresses work well with v-shaped necklaces that have triangular pendants.
With a boat-neck dress, you will do well to accessorize with a long necklace or chain, but a square-neck dress will go well with a low-profile pendant.
The beautiful sweetheart neckline works well with medium-length necklaces, preferably one with pearls or beads. If, however, you are wearing a halterneck dress, you should steer clear of neckpieces and accessorize with earrings and bracelets only.
This neckline, however, does exceedingly well with long slender earrings. A collared shirt will do well with a long double pendant neckpiece, while a strapless dress goes well with a choker necklace.
7. Get your bracelets to match your dress’s sleeves
If you want to go the extra mile to look more intentional, you can try matching your bracelets to your dress’s sleeves.
If you are wearing a sleeveless dress, you will do well to pair it with a thick leather cuff, but if you intend to wear long sleeves with thick fabric, a thin delicate bracelet, preferably a metallic one, will do the trick quite well.
In case, however, your sleeves extend below the elbow, do not wear any accessories on your wrists as your hands may look too busy.
In short, shorter sleeves allow more jewelry while longer ones call for less of the same or none at all.
7. Decide on a focal point
If you are a fan of wearing big and bold jewelry pieces, one rule of thumb by which you should go is to never wear more than one of the same at a time.
If, for instance, you have a jewelry set that has a large pendant and large earrings to match, do not wear them together, however tempting that may be.
If you want to draw more attention to your face, go on and wear the large earrings, but be certain to pair them with a simple necklace. If, however, you wish to draw attention away from your face, you can wear the statement neckpiece and pair it with tiny earrings that do not call for much attention.
Remember, if the necklace is too chunky, you can skip the earrings altogether, especially if your hair is not up in a bun or drawn behind your ears.
8. Pair bold dresses with bold jewelry
You read right. Most times, people assume that bold clothes such as fur coats ought to be paired with simple jewelry, but this notion is slightly misguided. Boldness, in this case, is not to be confused with big or chunky jewelry.
Simply put, if your dress draws attention to itself with little effort, it does not mean that your jewelry should not either. You can wear bold jewelry such as tribal neckpieces from various parts of the globe, brass and copper earrings and bangles, watches with beaded straps, as well as other similar artifacts.
Such accessories will have your dress look bolder, and they will not make a statement about your fashion alone, but about you as a person too.
10. Do not be afraid to discard all the rules
Yes, this is meant to be a guide on how to pick the best jewelry for your dress, but nothing here is cast in stone. You will agree that sometimes we dress from the gut, and some trends just feel right.
Do not, at any point, be afraid to ignore the rules and make your own path. Experimenting is your friend, and so is the internet.
Go on and do as much research as you possibly can, and experiment with as many colors, patterns, metals, beads, and other materials as you will. Fashion should not always be safe, so go for what feels right. You will nail it.
Conclusion
When stepping out of your home to go to work, church, a concert, or any other event, making a good impression is almost always one of the most important things.
The truth is, the right dress with the wrong jewelry or accessories can spell disaster, but you need not fret. There are many trends from which you can borrow, and they will allow you to stand out and stay comfortable wherever you are.
Do not, however, be afraid to experiment, as long as it will not cost you a job interview.
Read more fashion tips here or here!
Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. She writes a lot of designs&brands posts with very actionable tips.