How To Layer Necklaces

If you clicked on this article, you may be wondering how the Pinterest girlies and style icons layer a million necklaces while still looking chic and put together.

Here is a comprehensive and fool proof guide on how to layer multiple necklaces. For the best necklace combos, follow one or more of these 3 rules.

1. The Rule Of Sandwiching

YES you can wear gold and silver jewelry together and YES you can combine dainty and chunky pieces. It's allllllllll about balance. If you want to wear many different pieces together, build it like a sandwich. That means the top piece and the bottom piece should be similar in size, texture, or color.

Also, your chunkiest necklace or chunkiest pendant will likely look the best as the very bottom layer of your stack. This is because of how our heads and necks play into The Rule Of Sandwiching. When we style ourselves, we need to keep our features in mind, as they affect the overall look. Because our heads are larger than our necks, we want our necklaces to end larger on the bottom to balance our heads. (Big on top, big on bottom.) Of course it is more than okay to wear a chunky choker with a simple pendant necklace, but you will want a large or medium sized pendant if you do so. Having a chunkier bottom layer follows the eye's natural want for grounding and a strong bottom base. Using the necklace proportions in this way will also slim and lengthen the neck as it creates an hourglass illusion, but for your neck instead of your waist.

2. The Rule of Contrast and Space

To have layering that is both interesting and put together, you want to give each necklace some space. If one pendant is on top of another one, that could be a cool look, but I wouldn't recommend it for beginners who are trying to layer more precisely and intentionally. To make your styling look intentional, each necklace should be a different length. The space in between each layer could be minimal, such as layering 2 chokers together, but they should have a clear position they are meant to be in, even as you move about your day or night.

Here is where contrast comes in. Using my above example, if you want to layer 2 chokers, it looks great if they have different textures. If one necklace is just slightly below the other and a completely different texture or color, it adds a contrast that looks really cool. Wearing all the same color and texture can make an outfit boring, even if you layered on 50 necklaces. If they're all the same, it makes the outfit look like it's too much and not enough at the same time.

3. The Rule of Odds

An odd layer of necklaces can often look better than an even layer. Although there are of course exceptions, a lot of the time 3 necklaces will look better than 4 necklaces. 7 necklaces looks better than 6 necklaces.

If you are going to wear an even number of necklaces, 2 for example, wearing an even number of necklaces works best if we also apply The Rule Of Contrast and Space. Therefore, 2 necklaces would look best as a choker and a long necklace or as 2 very different sizes or colors.

Thank you for reading. Of course there are many exceptions to these rules, but this is a good place to start for more interesting layering techniques. Feel free to drop any thoughts, comments, or questions you may have in the comment section and have a wonderful rest of your day or night :)