Be Jeweled: Types of Necklaces

June 5, 2013

Heading to the jewelry counter can be overwhelming. Between all of the various types of jewelry – from earrings to bracelets to necklaces, in varying sizes, shapes, and colors – you can easily become frustrated when trying to find a new piece for your collection.
While I typically don’t refer to my jewelry in much more description than long versus short, today’s post is a great primer of the styles of necklaces available in the market.

Image Courtesy of Kaye N Kelly

	Collar Style (12-13″): Collar necklaces fit tightly around the neck, just above the Adam’s Apple and look excellent adorning long, slender necks. This style works well with a strapless necklace.
	Choker Style (14-16″): Choker necklaces also fit snugly around the neck, but sit just below the Adam’s Apple. The choker will work with a strapless neckline but because it is slightly longer will work with a number of other necklines as well.
	Princess Style (17-19″): The Princess Style is the most popular length for a necklace and hangs over the collarbones. It works with high and low necklines and is seen through a number of styles from more delicate pendant necklaces to more loud statement pieces.
	Matinee Style (20-24″): Matinee necklaces are slightly longer than the Princess style, and should rest on the chest just above the cleavage line.
	Opera Style (25-34″): The Opera Style necklace hangs over the bustline and comes in a variety of lengths. Depending on how tall you are and length of your torso, you may want to go with a longer version as opposed to a shorter version, and vice versa. Due to the length of the Opera necklace, you typically cannot double the strand however, it is popular to wear multiple strands and layer necklaces of similar length/style.
	Rope Style (40+”): A Rope necklace is extremely long and can be doubled or even tripled to vary the length of the strands. It is very popular with long pearl strands.Lariat Style (48+”): Lariat necklaces are even longer than the Rope style, and are many times knotted in the front.