The Jewelry Lovers Guide to Building Your Collection

Are you a jewelry lover but don’t know where to begin building your collection?

• Maybe you’ve got a few favorite pieces and wonder what to add to elevate or refresh your style?
• Are you starting fresh with a whole new cohesive collection?
• We’ve got your back (and your neckline, wrists and earlobes too)!

Keep reading for our effortless, collection-building tips.

Growing or starting your jewelry collection should be fun and easy!

Step One: GETTING STARTED

We suggest starting with one must-have piece that makes your heart flutter in a WOW kind of way and then building from there.

This could be a necklace or a pair of earrings that you can see yourself wearing multiple ways with many different outfits.

You might start with our Callisto Necklace. It’s one of our longest necklaces, so it can be worn and layered with your other favorite necklaces. The Bronze with silver option makes this necklace versatile enough to wear with jeans and a t-shirt or to the office.

You could also start with a distinctive and sexy pair of earrings like our Indra Shimmer Earrings. They’re designed in bronze and silver, so they go with pretty much everything!

Step Two: ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION

Now you’re on a roll! Start building on your foundation by adding pieces that are versatile enough to be worn multiple ways but also pair well with your other Kristen Mara jewelry AND with your favorite pieces from your personal collection.

If you love to layer, you can effortlessly add a shorter necklace to wear with a longer one. We love to pair one of our shorter necklaces like the Petite Talia Necklace with a longer one like the Aurora Necklace.

To make layering easy, when you shop the Kristen Mara website, you’ll see we’ve divided our necklaces into categories by length so you’ll never have to wonder if they’ll work well together:


Next, choose a pair of earrings to coordinate with your layered look. We love the Ancient Crescent Earrings and our Everyday Goddess Earrings because they go with anything. All of our earrings are designed to complement our necklaces.

The rule is there are NO rules. The Kristen Mara easy, down-to-earth vibe means that you can combine your favorites, and they will always pair well together.

Step three: KEEP IT GROWING

Now that you’ve put together a beautiful foundation of staple pieces, the rest is effortless and easy! Anything goes here, so have fun experimenting with different looks or combining silver with bronze.

We love playing with mixed metal pieces because they pull together warm and cool tones so beautifully.

Choose a mixed metal necklace like the Awakened Light Necklace. Then add one or two pairs of earrings to mix and match. The Grace Earrings in Bronze and the Radiance Mixed Metal earrings would work beautifully with the necklace to give you multiple different looks.

Don’t forget to show your wrists some love too!

Our Kristen Mara bracelets are designed for all-day comfort and easy pairing with our other pieces. A simple, beautiful bangle can add a little spark to any outfit. Pair a bronze and a silver Saturday Market Bangle for a bit of jingly style. Or, start with our mixed metal Terra Bracelet and add a bronze and silver bangle or cuff to spice things up.

Are you refreshing your wardrobe and starting with a blank slate?

Here are the staples we think you should have:

Two to three necklaces of different lengths (short, mid-length, long). If you love the look of mixed metal, you can maximize your combinations, pairing other mixed metal or solid colors.

Two pairs of earrings. Choose one pair of hoops and one pair of dangles because you never know what mood you’ll be in. Plus, you’ll have more pairing options if you have at least one of each. Again, we love mixed metal for the endless styling combinations.

Two to three bracelets, including at least one or two bangles, because these pair exceptionally well with your other bangles, beaded or chain-link bracelets.

Wear what you LOVE and build from there!

There really are NO rules and there are no fashion police, at least not here at Kristen Mara. If you love it and it makes you feel amazing, nothing else matters.

Looking for a little more styling inspiration?
Check out two more favorite posts: Mix 'n Match and Favorite Essentials to Simplify Your Life.