Styles for Prom 2008: How to Choose Prom Jewelry

by Amy Drescher

Pulling together your prom look is a lot of fun…you’ve probably been poring through magazines and talking with your friends about prom fashions for months. If you’re reading this article, good for you! You’re one of the few who truly understands that finding the perfect prom accessories is just as important as finding the perfect prom dress. Every fashion diva knows that accessorizing isn’t supposed to be an afterthought! Accessories can make or break your look, and prom is like a high school version of the Oscars®. So before you walk down that figurative red carpet, you need to seriously think about your entire ensemble. I’m here to help…

I’ve been in the fashion industry for a long time, and over the years I’ve learned a thing or two about accessorizing. As a buyer for a leading pearl jewelry store, I’ve spent years scouring the globe for new jewelry trends, meeting cutting edge jewelry designers, working on new pearl and gemstone jewelry collections, writing a style blog, editing countless fashion articles and being interviewed by myriad fashion reporters. By far, my favorite activity is advising brides about bridal jewelry, and the very rules I apply to my bridal clients work equally well for promgoers.

Before I spill my rules for accessorizing, I want you to consider the look you’re after. It all starts with your prom gown. Think of it as the base upon which you’ll layer the rest of your look. Before you go dress shopping, consider your personal style. How would you describe yourself? Are you trendy, sporty, fun, fresh, funky, romantic, cutting-edge? Into vintage? High-fashion? Whatever your style, think about how you want to portray that at prom. Got it? Good. Next, think about what styles look good on you. Do you have great calves, a killer clavicle, a swan neck, toned arms, luminous baby browns? Think about what you want to highlight. Your personal style coupled with your personal figure-flattering considerations will guide your dress shopping. For example, if you’re cutting-edge and want to highlight your killer calves, choose a bold, short sheath dress. If you’re romantic and want to show off your great shoulders, choose a pearl pink strapless gown with an empire waist. Lucky for 2008 promgoers, the choices are endless. This year, the most popular prom dress is short, long, tea-length, full, sleek, sequined, and simple. It’s subtle, jewel-toned, sparkly, muted, romantic, gothic, ghetto and retro. It’s sleeveless, strapless, plunging and high-necked. In short, anything and everything goes for prom 2008. What fun!

OK, now that you’ve got your dress, you’re ready to add some sparkle. At last, here are my rules for flawless prom accessorizing:

1. Accessories should complement, not compete. When it comes to fashion, knowing how to accessorize is uber-important. If you have a gorgeous prom dress but pair it with gaudy accessories, guess what? You’re entire look will fall flat. Go too far and you’ll just look tacky, scale back too much and hel-lo Plain Jane. How to accessorize perfectly? Consider this rule of thumb: Simple dresses carry off bold, statement-making jewelry. Busy dresses require subtle jewelry. Sleek dresses sans embellishments are like blank canvases. They can carry off funky, diva-inspired jewelry, like a giant cocktail ring, gobstopper-sized mother-of-pearl beads, a wide cuff or chandelier earrings. If you love bling, wear a simple dress as backdrop and go to town. Conversely, in-your-face dresses speak for themselves. They’re a focal point, and prom jewelry shouldn’t compete. Keep accessories simple by choosing pearl studs, a pearl pendant or a diamond tennis bracelet (real or fake). The trick is to pull your look together without overwhelming it. Remember, though, rules are meant to be broken. If something works, it works, no matter what the rules say.
2. Don’t be too matchy-matchy. Last year, prom gowns were all about metallics and jewel tones. Whether you decide to go with one of these gowns this year, or another bold color, don’t match your jewelry to your gown. There’s nothing more boring than an emerald green dress with matching emerald jewelry. Trite! Instead, choose pieces in a complementary color. Think how pretty that green dress will look with yellow gems…or how fab luminous lavender pearls will look against a shiny metallic gown. Remember how fabulously Marcia Cross’ huge turquoise earrings set off her white dress at the Emmy’s? Cameron Diaz pulls off the trend well too. If you’re not sure how to get the look, read fashion magazines for inspiration.
3. You can have too much of a good thing. It’s one thing to have great accessories. It’s quite another to overwhelm your look with unnecessary bling. Look in the mirror. Do you notice your accessories first? Your dress? Your hair? You should notice YOU. You don’t want your jewelry, or anything else for that matter, to overpower you. Pick one or two standout pieces—like chandelier earrings and a cocktail ring, or earrings and a cuff, but don’t do a bold necklace and dangle earrings. You don’t want to be all about the jewelry.
4. You get what you pay for. Unlike your beautiful prom dress or those gorgeous dyed shoes, jewelry is something you can wear long after the last prom song has faded. If you’re going with classic accessories and you’ve got a little money to spare, it’s okay to splurge a bit on, say, a timeless piece like a white pearl necklace. (Try round freshwater pearls; they’re gorgeous and affordable.) But beware trendy pieces. They’re fun to wear, but have a shelf-life that’s shorter than Paris Hilton’s skirts and are so not worth the investment. Spend enough on trendy pieces so they won’t break during the fast songs, but don’t overspend on something you won’t wear again. A big faux emerald cocktail ring probably won’t be in fashion forever, but good quality classic pearl pendant or pair of diamond studs will stand the test of time.

Good luck putting together your unique prom style. As you’re walking out to your waiting stretch limo on the arm of your date, I’ll be thinking about you and how fab you look. You’ll be the envy of all your friends. Have fun, Prom Queen!



A graduate of the Gemological Institute of America’s Graduate Pearls program, Amy Drescher is a fashion writer and accessories buyer for http://www.moonriverpearls.com. Visit her blog at http://www.amysstylecafe.com. She welcomes your questions. Reach her at adrescher@moonriverpearls.com. (ArticleAlley)