A Guide to Gemstone Jewellery: What to Know Before You Buy

What’s Your Personal Style? Find Your 3 Words

There’s not much point diving in to discover how to style jewellery if you’re not clear on what your own personal style is. If that’s the case for you, then this is the perfect first step to sort out your jewellery and other styling issues.

Maybe your wardrobe is a jumble of different styles, and you’re not sure how to pull it all together. Or you’ve bought jewellery and clothing that looks great in theory but just doesn’t feel right when you put it on. Or perhaps you know what you like, but you couldn’t really describe it.

You’re not alone. Even as a designer with years of experience, I found defining my personal style and figuring out what really works was just as challenging for me as it is for most people. The truth is, personal style isn’t just about following trends it’s about understanding.

The 3 Words Method: A Game-Changer for Personal Style

This simple but powerful approach will help you pinpoint your signature style and make more intentional choices. You don’t have to be a fashion tragic to find it incredibly helpful when working out how to dress and how to shop.

The 3 Words Method is the brainchild of fashion stylist Allison Bornstein. I came across the concept via the brilliant Articles of Interest podcast (the ‘How to Dress’ episode is a highly recommended listen, but all of them are great).

Your 3 Words will act as a simple guiding framework when choosing outfits, jewellery, and accessories, ensuring everything you own and buy feels cohesive and true to you. Keep reading for some examples of 3 Word combinations to get some ideas of the types of words that will work for this process. For this to work you need to step outside of fashion and trends.

How to Find Your Own 3 Words

Ready to give it a go? Below are some ways to discover your own style words. Do one, or better still, do all of them and make your decision at the end of the process.

Option 1: The Inspiration Board Method

Ready to give it a go? Below are some ways to discover your own style words. Do one, or better still, do all of them and make your decision at the end of the process.

• Create a private Pinterest board, saved folder on Instagram, collection of screenshots or a similar way to collate images.
• Collect images of outfits, jewellery, accessories, and general looks that appeal to you and that you can imagine enjoying wearing.
• After collecting at least 20 images look for common themes, for example:
• Identify three words that sum up these recurring themes: ensure they really resonate with you, are likely to remain relevant and aren’t about current trends.
• Again, you can also try the next option to see what it adds to your thinking before you decide.

Option 2: The Closet Audit Method

• Get out your favourite outfits: Choose the ones that make you feel confident and comfortable.
• Lay out your go-to jewellery pieces and accessories: Are they delicate? Chunky? Colourful? Statement pieces?
• Look for patterns: In fabric, colour, shape, mood and more.
• Choose the three words that describe what you love most about your personal style.
• You can also continue to the next option to see what else it adds to the process.

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“I obviously have a great love and appreciation of jewelry, thanks to my mother, much to the dismay of both my father and my boyfriends”

– Ivanka Trump.

Organise & Store Your Jewellery:

Now it’s time to organise and store your jewellery in a way that makes it easy see, access, and make use of. Here are some storage suggestions to get you thinking about what will work for you:

1. Keep favourites easily accessible:

I really don’t recommend using jewellery display stands that are out in the open. Free flowing air, dust and humidity are not your friends when it comes to jewellery – especially precious metals.
One idea might be boxes with added padding and perhaps clear lids. My personal preference is stackable and purpose-built padded jewellery boxes with different sections for different types of jewellery.
Go for whatever works for you that both protects your jewellery and allows you to access it easily and see what you’ve got with minimal effort. And it should fit your budget, of course.

2. Store delicate & problematic items carefully

Don’t let your metal or gemstone pieces rub or knock against each other when they’re in storage. This will cause dents and scratches. For delicate and valuable pieces, think about using individual soft pouches or small padded boxes to keep them extra safe.
For necklaces that are likely to tangle, use specially designed jewellery storage that will help with this. A great simple solution is to use drinking straws to slip chains through so that they can’t easily get knotted.

3. Sort by type, colour, theme or sets

Group similar pieces together in a way that works for you. The simplest way might be to have all rings, earrings, etc grouped together. This way when you’re looking for, say, a pendant necklace, you can see what you’ve got of that type and pick the one that works.

Alternatively group things by what you would wear together. Then you can quickly pull out a suite of pieces you want to wear with particular outfits without much thought. The downside to this method is that you may end up wearing the same sets repeatedly, so give your groupings a refresh occasionally.

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How This Helps with Jewellery Choices

To come up with my own 3 Words, I started by creating a private Pinterest board, adding outfits and accessories that caught my eye and which I could genuinely imagine wearing. After collecting a good number of pins, I started to notice patterns, certain colours, silhouettes, and textures kept popping up.
After also looking through my existing wardrobe and some reflection, I landed on my three words:

• If your words include something like ‘minimalist’, you might lean more towards delicate gold necklaces, sleek rings, and simple stud earrings.
• If your vibe is ‘bold’, then statement earrings, sculptural statement rings, and eye-catching colours may well be the way to go.
• Graphic – Bold and clear shapes, stylised imagery and patterns.

Written by

Themelory

Written by

Themelory

Christina Bohmova is a passionate writer and creative storyteller with a love for sharing insights on. With a knack for weaving words into engaging narratives, she explores everything from to interior. Through her blog, Christina aims to inspire, inform, and connect with readers worldwide.