Design Art and Photography

By Beth Braverman

Savvy clothing shoppers look for key pieces that complement the items already hanging in their closets.

Smart jewelry consumers should take the same approach to compiling a jewelry wardrobe, according to authors Cynthia Sliwa and Caroline Stanley. In their new book, Jewelry Savvy: What Every Jewelry Wearer Should Know, the jewelry industry experts offer consumers tips on finding jewels that flatter their faces and bodies, how to best wear the jewelry they own and how to add to their existing collection.

“The concept of jewelry wardrobing is that you have the perfect jewelry with pieces that work together for you for any occasion in your life,” says image counselor Sliwa. “Good retailers know their customer and know where the holes are in his or her wardrobe.”

Retailers can also use their display cases to show how various pieces of jewelry work together as a whole. Mixing pieces from different designers and various price ranges into one display can get customers thinking about ways to mix and match pieces they already own with new jewelry purchases, Sliwa says.

“Retail jewelers should also have a full-length mirror in the store,” she adds. “That will allow a customer to see how one piece of jewelry relates to the whole person and the whole look.”

The book also offers customers instructions on how to find jewelry that best complements the physical features of those wearing it.

For example, Sliwa and Stanley recommend that full-figured women avoid thin, linear earrings; while petite women should look for small, delicate earrings and necklaces that fall at the base of their throat; and tall women should select multistrand necklaces and wide cuff bracelets.

They point out that chunky rings make wide or long hands seem smaller and multiple bracelets shorten the appearance of arms.

“All people have noticeable features,” Sliwa says. “We can use jewelry to highlight or distract from those features.”

Beyond figure flattery, the book also discusses the role of personal style in jewelry selection.

Customers with a “sporty” personality might desire stud earrings; “traditional” personalities might prefer pearls; and “feminine” personalities might opt for vintage pieces, according to the book.

“There are many visual clues as to a person’s personal style when the customer walks in,” Stanley says. “Retailers can use those style clues to select pieces that will work with the customer’s style.”

Still, third-generation jeweler Stanley concedes that a customer’s jewelry selection may differ from the choices recommended by the sales associate.

“In the end, whatever the customer wants is what they will buy, but some customers really want the expert advice,” she says.

The book also encourages readers to work with jewelers to construct their jewelry collections, either through self-purchases or by creating wish lists for family members and significant others to use when buying gifts.

While Sliwa encourages readers to remain aware of current fashion trends, she reminds customers to make fine-jewelry purchases that also reflect their personal style to ensure that they will continue wearing the pieces after the trend has passed.

Sliwa and Stanley place earrings at the “top of the hierarchy of jewelry that every woman should own.”

They recommend shorter earrings for those with square jawlines, shoulder-dusting earrings for those with long necks, and delicate wire earrings for those with smaller ears.

For more information, visit Jewelrysavvybook.com.

Tips on building a jewelry wardrobe from Jewelry Savvy
1. No two wardrobes are identical.
2. An item’s price is irrelevant.
3. Consider having a signature piece of jewelry.
4. Have more than one outfit in your wardrobe.
5. You don’t have to have just one of anything.
6. Any jewelry you wear every day should be something you love wearing.