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Fall Jewelry Trends 2016: Are you ready to see what you already own to get the look or DIY?

Last week I wrote about the fall jewelry trends for 2016 (check it out here) and as a follow up, I’m going to show you how you can take some jewelry inspiration from the runway and reinterpret it with jewelry you are ready have or creating a similar piece of jewelry with bit, baubles, ribbon and velvet your might already have on hand. If you are a crafter, flea marketer or both, I am sure you will see some ideas that get your juices flowing or tickle memory on a charm or memento that’ just been waiting to be up-cycled or re-purposed. I want to also emphasize that almost all the jewelry shown in this post is second hand or vintage. As soon as I saw the runway show photos for fall, I made notes about what to be looking for when I was out and about at my local thrift stores and flea markets. I am showing second hand pieces, or pieces you may already own because I believe everyone can have a fabulous jewelry wardrobe no matter what your budget. So, as you will see I found some fabulous pieces that are either right on trend or just right for changing them up a bit whether they were mismatched earrings (hello single earring trend!) or, a cool talisman style bauble or charm eager to reunite with compatible baubles to form a striking, fashionable new piece of jewelry. Read on for my results.

Chokers

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Chokers are the number must have this fall. They will instantly update your clothing, and your whole look. And they are really flattering. Try to find a choker that is a tie style as it will be far more comfortable than something that is set at 1 or 2 options as a closure. If you are at the fabric or craft store, try to select a ribbon width that will be flattering for you. JoAnns has been sold out on the 3/8th of an inch wide black velvet ribbon for a few weeks, so for this post I could only get the 1 1/2 inch wide velvet. The last photo shows a hard necklace that I covered in black velvet a few years ago. It’s embellished with vintage jewels and will be right on trend this fall.

How to get the look:

  • Measure your neck and add 10 inches for a simple cut and add a brooch DIY. For example, my neck is 14 inches, plus 10 equals 24 inches. So I cut a piece of velvet at 24 inches.
  • Trim the ends at an angle. by folding the ribbon in half, lengthwise, and cut from the finished edge to the center fold. The cut should be an open V shape. This way you don’t have to sew anything, with this type of cut, commonly used to wrap gifts, it will be neat, clean and not prone to unraveling.
  • Tie the velvet ribbon around your neck and make the bow. Hold the brooch up to the ribbon and determine where you want it to be positioned. Mark the spot with your finger and remove the ribbon.
  • Secure the brooch onto the ribbon at the marked spot. Make sure you don’t have too much slack, meaning fill the sword of the brooch with a good amount of velvet when you thread the sword through the ribbon. If you only stab a small section of ribbon your brooch will most likely not lay well; in other words it will slide around or flop forward, which means not a good look. You will end up adjusting this all day because it won’t hold the right position around your neck.
  • What’s the right position? I am glad you asked! the best or most flattering or right position is just off center or off center. This is the most flattering way to wear this look.

Metal Chokers

chokers runway fall jewelry trends 2016 fall jewelry trends metal chokers metal-chokers-2

Metal Chokers are another way to wear this trend. They can either sit on the neck as shown on the models above or they can sit right at the base of the neck. On the far right I have 3 vintage, gold tone necklaces that would totally capture that look. One is a hard choker necklace that twists open, the next is a sculpted or twisted matte gold bar, that will also sit right at the neck. The bottom is a fleur de lis motif with tassels that can sit either on the neck or just at the base.

Ribbon Choker and rhinestones

fall jewelry trends 2016 chokers velvet leather chain satin bow dolce gabbanafall jewelry trends satin ribbon choker rhinestone buckle broochribbon-and-rhinestone-2

I loved the ribbon choker necklace as seen on the model in blue, above. I went to JoAnns and found some ribbon that work well back to this look. I did not care to make a pale blue color so I chose more fall and holiday colors such as red and black. I easily found some vintage rhinestone brooches and belt buckles that worked well here. On the model far right, you can see the pearl stick pin, and can you believe I found something so similar just a few days after I saw this photo? Go back up to the velvet chokers above to see the pearl stick pin.

How to get the look

Don’t make the whole necklace out of ribbon. Just make the double bow with 2 tails as shown, You will need at least 1 yard of ribbon to create this look.

You can either slide or pin each brooch to the center of the bow. Or if there is no way to pin it on, you can glue it on . Also, I recommend trimming the ends so you don’t have to sew anything.

Talisman and Charms

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The talisman or charm necklaces and bracelets are really easy to put together. Just find a chain, piece of leather, or something to tie or secure your worldly talisman charms to. As many of you know I used to reconstruct vintage jewelry and create new jewelry so i had plenty of cool baubles and chains on hand.

In order to create these looks you will need:

Jump rings – size will depend on how your are assembling your pieces

Pliers – you can get a good pair of jewelry pliers at any craft store or bead store for about $10/12 dollars. These are a good investment if you have a fair amount of jewelry as they are really handy for a quick fix or repair.

Chain – or something to be the necklace or bracelet. You can find good pieces at the thrift store or or flea market. And you should be able to get a really good deal if something needs a minor repair – just be sure you are comfortable fixing something. Often times things just need a quick and easy repair.

Baubles – now is the time to raid your jewelry box and locate all those cool charm you never knew what to do with. Try assembling them in a group of 3 (just like flower arranging – odd numbers are better), don’t do more than 5 or you will risk looking like the high school janitor. i really like the model photo far left and how her necklace is a mix of metal flower and keys.

In the round photos above I show just a few of the charms or pendents I have on hand and on the right here are a 2 pieces I found at the flea market that hit the Talisman trend right on: the green bead and gold charm necklace is from the 1980s or early 90s, very cool. The bracelet has a London theme and features famous London sites and icons, also a very cool vintage piece.

talisman

I found this piece this summer and it has the finding on the back to easily put it on a necklace. I can’t wait to mate it up with a few other things to replicate the looks above. I love the royalty and lions motif on this big disc!

Pearls and Chains

fall jewelry trends 2016 chains pearls charms layered neckacesfall jewelry trends 2016 chains pearls punk fall jewelry trends pearls Chanel choker necklacesfall jewelry trends pearls necklaces pearl layered pearls

Pearls have so much staying power, its no wonder they look so good and are one of the top jewelry trends for fall. The look on the far left is super easy to do. I found a fabulous silver chain and already had the pearls, so I combined them and cannot wait to wear this with a chambray shirt. The model photo far right shows a staggered look of 3 necklaces. I love the antique look of these necklaces and found an awesome second necklace ( in the circle photo, left) that features bold chains, antique finish, pearls and one chain that has a bit of a safety pin link design. So, this necklace speaks to several trends this fall: peals with an edge, punk rock and over size with leather and other media. The other trend for pearls is piling them on or just wearing a classic strand layered in with a blouse. Surely you have at least one strand of pearls? The pearls in the lower right hand photo are all costume and I had them all on hand. The necklace on the right is my go-to for creating any kind of Chanel look

Brooches

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Brooches are big again for fall jewelry trends and as I said last week, the best way to get an awesome brooch is to shop vintage. You will find a far better variety, and craftsmanship than if you limit yourself to just sourcing a brand new brooch. As you can see in my photo I found a fun delicate pair, just like the model on the far left. The pair is shown in my photo at the bottom, a tiny key and wishbone brooch paired with a safety pin brooch. I had to get the miliarty star brooch as I thought it was too cool – also loved that it was hanging on a gross grain ribbon. The fleur de lis is just a fabulous geometric brooch, in an almost rose gold tone. I love how these 2 key brooches pair up, far right.

Bracelets

bracelets pairs singles cuff fall jewelry trends 2016 matching pairmatching bangles giraffe pair of 3

I love the single bracelet or wearing the matching pairs. Its a nice break from years of arm parties. I found the 3 giraffe motif bangles at a thrift store, They are so chic and I cannot wait to wear them over the sleeve of a sweater.

Brooches in your hair

brooches in the hair as hair accessories gold rhinestone floral fall jewelry trends 2016brooches in hair fall hair accessories gold flowers black satin ribbon

I found some fantastic, vintage, gold brooches that would work really well to mimic the Dolce Gabanna brooches in your hair look. The black satin ribbon that I bought just needs to be folded over and doubled and secured with a few stitches. Use a bobby pin to catch the the lower bow and secure it to your hair. You will need 18 inches of ribbon to make 1 bow. Feel free to mix it up a bit like the model did including safety pinks and rhinestone brooches.

Earrings

shoulder duster earrings statement fall jewelry trends 2016vintage shoulder duster earrings gold tone silver cherubsshoulder duster earrings fall jewelry trends 2016 vintage new

Fall jewelry trends included lots of great looks in earrings. One of the key looks is a comeback from the 1990s – the shoulder duster. So, dust off those shoulder dusters ( I had to say that). And you can find excellent, vintage 1990s shoulder duster earrings in the thrift stores and flea markets. The gold marque drop earrings in my photo is a pair I picked up last year and i cannot wait to wear them. The gray beaded earrings are one that I bought in the early 1990s, and I think they are just right for this fall with a hint of french flair with those cherubs! The right photo has 2 vintage pairs of earrings that I already owned. The top, green pair I got at JCrew recently and the lower earrings are about 4 years old by Oscar de Larenta

Do you have some jewelry that you can use to create any of the fall jewelry trends 2016? Got some shoulder duster earrings from the 1990s? What are jewelry trend for fall 2016 are you most excited to wear? Please share your photos or leave a reply below.

Happy crafting and DIYing and here’s to wearing old/new and high/low for fall jewelry trends!