Fall is here. And I am ready to wear some clothes that reflect the new season. I found lots of tips about transitioning your wardrobe from summer to fall on line and I realized that you really need to transition your costume jewelry too. Some of the biggest concerns my clients have is that they cannot find certain pieces of jewelry and thus forget what they own, and then waste money on pieces that they don’t really like or duplicate something they already have. Â I have to confess that my costume jewelry gets heaped up in some pretty embarrassing piles and I want to share my strategies on how to get your jewelry organized for the fall season and help you identify what you need to freshen your wardrobe. Here’s are my recommendations to get your jewelry regrouped and back together, and accessible for the fall season. I hope I can help your transition your costume jewelry so that you can:
- Figure out what jewelry you have and what exactly you might need to buy
- Get dressed faster
- Be excited about your clothing and jewelry reflecting who you are
- Feel confident, put together and beautiful
Set aside some time to resort, organize and stow your summer jewelry and get your fall jewelry front and center with easy access. Do not race through or think you can get this done while you get dressed one morning. Schedule and plan this task ideally on the same day or weekend that you are transitioning  or switching out your summer clothing for your fall wardrobe. The time to allow will vary depending on how large or small your costume jewelry wardrobe is. Most of my clients need about an hour or two for this part of the project.
First: Get Inspired. Before your roll up your sleeves, create a plan of what you want your jewelry to look like for the season. This is a fun step. Create a folder or Pinterest board and compile your favorite fall looks, accessories and jewelry for the fall season. Identify the colors and pieces that inspire you. Think about fall colors and trends that you like. What colors that you associate with fall do you have a preference for? What have you seen in fashion magazines? Online reports and trends? What have your favorite bloggers and influencers highlighted for fall? Have you been inspired by a movie, or something you saw while you were out shopping ? Put a reference to any of these things on your board. And it’s perfectly fine to create several boards if that works for you. They might be sorted by color or trend. Have fun with this. It’s also really fun to see jewelry that you already own or in some cases forgot that you have something just like that.
Second: Remove all spring and summer feeling jewelry from the most readily available position in your jewelry box/rack or organizer. (In my case I had some big piles on my vanity. Yikes!) This would include things that speak to classic, American holidays such as Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day red, white and blue. Store these in the back of your jewelry box, or rotate them away from your most accessible jewelry section. This is all going to depend on how you store your jewelry. I like to store my pieces in small zip lock bags and then store them in a shallow tray. The clear bags allow me to see the jewelry while protecting it from dust and damage. The shallow trays help keep pieces organized and I like to keep “like” items together. So, I store all my obvious summer jewelry together. These are pieces that I only wear in the summer. Again red, white and blue motifs, coral, novelty items that just really say beach, sand, surf, shore, etc. This is also a good time to weed out anything that you don’t care for anymore, is broken or missing pieces. If you are simply tired of something, pass the jewelry on to someone else or donate it. If it’s broken, determine if you want to repair it, craft with it or toss it. Create 5 separate piles:
- Keep – Â Store those in the back or bottom of your jewelry box. What ever your system is, put them aside in a place that will is of least importance and accessibility. You most likely won’t reach for these pieces for months, so they just don’t need to be that handy.
- Repair –Â Take those items in this week and get them fixed. Once they are done, put them in with the other summer jewels.
- Pass on or donate – Give these pieces to your friends and or relatives or donate them to your favorite charity shop
- Craft – You crafters know who you are. Broken jewelry can be the beginning of some very fun projects for you and your family. If you are not a crafter find someone who will have a ball with broken costume jewelry.
- Toss – If a piece is really just broken down or totaled, throw it away.
Third: Pull out all your classic, season-less, go to pieces. Put them in a 6th pile. This would be things like gold chains, silver bangles, faux pearls. What ever you identify as your core pieces.
Fourth: Check out your classic or core jewelry pieces. Is everything there? Did you get all your jewelry from summer suitcases, travel totes and beach bags out and put back with the rest of your collection? I suggest a double check if you traveled at all this past summer. Better to locate those pieces now rather than be scrambling or worried trying to find a particular piece later this fall.
Fifth: Have your inspiration boards or tears handy and go through all or peruse your jewelry and “shop” your jewelry box. Pull out all the pieces that are colors and shades that you want to wear right now. Look for pieces that that are similar to what you put on your inspiration boards. Keep those together and these will be your fall fashion pieces. Look for true autumnal motifs, novelties: leaves, acorns, classic fall colors and colors and shades that were on the runway. (This all may seem arduous, but stick with me gals, I promise this will save you time in the long run. And it will be so much easier and more fun to get dressed in the morning.)
Sixth: Evaluate your core pieces and your fall season pieces together. Use the tears or Pinterest boards and see what you have that comes close or replicates the looks you like. Or what colors did you take note of? Do you have something that is that color or goes well with that color? Can you combine any jewelry pieces to “Get The Look”? This is one of my favorite tricks. Combining and fashioning pieces together to recreate a runway look. Take a look at your clothing. Lay a few things out. Put the jewelry with the clothes. Will the pieces look good with your clothes? Is there a color that pops and looks great on a contrasting color? It’s always fun to be surprised that some piece of jewelry that your never thought would look good on a particular fabric, color or garment and once you put it together, you are blown away at how good some things can look together. This is play time. Give yourself 30 minutes to try some new combinations, whether its combining necklaces or stacking some bracelets together.
Seven: Access what your need. Make a list of the pieces you would love to have to compliment your fall 2015 jewelry wardrobe. Consider your budget and plan out how to get the most look for the money. Often times with the addition of just 1 or 2 costume jewelry pieces you can update your wardrobe and really update your look. Yep, that’s why I love jewelry!
Eight: Set your fall jewelry wardrobe up for success. When things are at the ready, organized and handy you wear them. Get the piles off your dresser. Find a jewelry organizing system that you like and serves you. Here are some great solutions for jewelry organizing . So, what ever your organizational strategy is, stick with it. Keep your classic/core pieces in a convenient place together so it is easy to find the earrings that relate with the necklace. Next to this group, keep your fall stuff. The benefit is that you can easily access your go to pieces or your fall pieces and mix them together.
Now, keep in mind these are suggested steps. You might not need to do each one.
Are you ready to officially switch out your summer jewelry and cue up your fall pieces? Was this guide helpful? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below. And share this with your friends who would appreciate it too!