Charlotte’s Ultimate Necklace Lengths Guide
From a young age I have loved to experiment with different jewellery pieces. My passion began when I was playing around in mum’s jewellery box; I would adorn myself with all these Indian-inspired jewels, coloured gemstones, and all the various necklace lengths she had. From there my love and experimentation with jewellery has grown.
At By Charlotte we love to layer and stack our jewellery, I design each collection with the idea of layering pieces from other collections together. The By Charlotte woman is a free-spirited bohemian, she loves to have fun with her jewellery, there are no rules as to what goes with what, we like to mix n match and experiment with our accessories to find new and unexpected ways to wear them. Whether you are looking for inspiration on layering, or you tend to overwork the whole idea of layering, or you feel like you are too nervous to mix and match jewellery, I am excited to share below my tips on how to layer your necklaces with my necklace length guide.
1. A Guide to Necklace Lengths to Help You Layer
The key to layering is playing with your necklace lengths! Layering necklaces of the same length is possible but will lead to your chains tangling, aim for an inch or two in length difference which will create a more organic look and will decrease the chance of tangling. When designing my collections, I try to incorporate various sizes each season to enable effortless layering. Below is my guide on By Charlotte necklace lengths, the key styles in each variation and few suggestions what to layer them with.
The key to layering is playing with your necklace lengths! Layering necklaces of the same length is possible but will lead to your chains tangling, aim for an inch or two in length difference which will create a more organic look and will decrease the chance of tangling. When designing my collections, I try to incorporate various sizes each season to enable effortless layering. Below is my guide on By Charlotte necklace lengths, the key styles in each variation and few suggestions what to layer them with.
Choker:
At 16 inches, this size hangs right above the breast bone and sits against the throat. Our choker is the most versatile as the sliding clasp always you to wear this pieces at different lengths.
Our Enlighten, OM and Hamsa chokers are a perfect length to start your layering.
When worn at the choker length, it sits the furthest up your neckline you can layer it back with any of the below lengths, each creating a different look.
Princess:
At 18-19 inches, this sits on or below the collarbone.This length is the most common length for layering. Mix up the layers with different stones and symbols. For a casual summer look try our Blessed Buddha necklace layered back with the Hamsa Choker, or try out Lucky Lotus and Star Bright necklace for a casual, but fun evening look. If you really want to sparkle, pair our Heavenly Aditi and Celestial Light necklaces together for an illuminating but refined look.
Matinee:
At 20-24 inches, the Matinee is a little lower hanging. It should sit somewhere below the collarbone, but not far enough to touch your bust. This length is great to pair back with the princess length for a classic layered look. Our adjustable Divine Lotus and Heavenly Lotus necklaces are the perfect Matinee length. I suggest layering our Heavenly Lotus with something simply, a signal pendant necklace such as our Bloom Necklace.
Rope:
At 36-42 inches, the rope necklace is quite long. This necklace length is perfect for long layering over sweaters and high necklines. Tie this back with a matinee or princess length for a classic look or go dramatic with a choker. Our Divine Moonlight dazzles against our spirited Enlighten necklace.
Lariat:
At 17 inches, the necklace sits just above your collarbone with a stunning 12 inch drop. There are three Lariats throughout the collections, our 14kt Gold Heavenly Aditi lariat, the Path of Light lariat and the 14kt Empress lariat necklace. When layering with a lariat, keep your styling simple, the lariat will always be the focal point with its dramatic drop. Try layering your lariat back with our Enlighten Choker for a classic subdued look.
2. My tips on How to experiment with your necklace layers
3. How to choose the perfect necklace lengths for your outfits
2. My tips on How to experiment with your necklace layers
When it comes to experimenting with your accessories, the most important thing is to have fun. Be creative with mixing styles, lengths, and colours, this makes the look much more organic and interesting.
Mix Your Metals:
You don’t have to wear all gold or all silver accessories. Don’t be afraid to mix your metals, play with sterling silver, rose and yellow gold. Mixing a variety of metals creates a more natural and interesting feel. Personally I love wearing gold jewellery, but I love to mix n match with rose gold to create accents in my accessories. The rose gold blends perfectly with my gold pieces, for example I love layering my necklaces, two gold and one rose gold together, this add depth to my accessories and draws attention to them.
Mix Your Colours:
Also mix your different stones, if you have a favourite garnet piece, an opal, rose quartz and a crystal piece, wearing them all together will be meaningful to you and will simultaneously create a more interesting eye-catching look. Don’t be afraid to mix colours either, wear your turquoise, garnet and rose quartz pieces together or play with different shades of the same colour with our mother of pearl and opal.
Remember there is no correct way to layering, it's an extension of your personality and should reflect who you are. Be playful and try new options, accessorising is supposed to be fun. I can’t wait to see how you all layer your necklaces. Make sure to share your creations with us!
3. How to choose the perfect necklace lengths for your outfits
When choosing your necklace lengths it's important to think about what you're going to wear as your outfits neck line has a large impact on this.
If you're wearing a v-neck top or dress choose a princess length necklace with a pendant attached, this will draw the eyes upward toward your chin. You can also wear a longer rope length or lariat necklace, this will serve the same purpose as the pendant necklace.
For a boatneck were matinee or rope necklace, this will balance the high horizontal neckline.
An open collared shirt pairs back perfectly with a choker and princess necklaces. For a classic look layer two princess necklaces in the same metal.
Longer necklaces should be worn with crew neck shirts. This will give the illusion of a lower neckline without ever having to reveal a thing.
Go elegant with a long and short necklace on a strapless top, and mix your metals for an extra pop of glamour.
Go elegant with a long and short necklace on a strapless top, and mix your metals for an extra pop of glamour.
