Oh how I love glittering jewels. I love the way the sparkle and tempt the eye and give off a look of glamour and elegance and over the top drag queen inspired finesse. I am so thrilled that statement necklaces are here in a big way. While I love simple, clean and classic jewelry, a bright and dazzling visual kick in the caboose is always welcome.
Rare is the trend that is accessible to plus size women at the time of its' crescendo. We often get trends ages after they have peaked. But, luckily for us, we can pretty well walk into any store that offers these pieces and walk out lighter in the wallet, but happier in the spirit.
The inexpensive pieces from stores like forever21 and H&M will be made from epoxy for the most part. This makes them light and durable and affordable. This also makes them plastic, easy to scratch and lacking visual depth that cut glass and crystal offer. However, if you are not committed to this trend and just want to dabble, you want to snap up a mall find.
If you are in love with this trend and want something different than everyone else, the only place to go is Etsy. They will have vintage pieces, repurposed vintage creations and vintage inspired necklaces all higher in price than a mall store but much better quality. The pieces made in the 50's and 60's are oftentimes hand cut czech glass with stones that are set as opposed to glued in place. With any vintage item, you get the mystery surrounding the story of the piece. Who first bought it? Where did they buy it, and for whom? Was it a whim or prized piece that was saved up for? With mall pieces, the story originates at same place: a factory in China.
Banana Republic used to have amazing quality pieces that rivaled the workmanship of J Crew and Kate Spade. However, the economic slump of the last few years have not been kind to Banana Republic and in an effort to keep customers coming by lowering prices, they have in turn lowered quality. This has made their jewelry a small step up from fast fashion stores and they no longer keep it under glass showcases, letting us know it is less prized than it used to be. But in turn, they are much less expensive than they used to be. J Crew on the other hand has hand cut glass prong set pieces that can be worn year after year. However, they are often several hundred dollars. With fashion jewelry you truly get what you pay for.
Here are the necklaces starting from the top:
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