Defining Your Jewelry Staples for your Capsule Wardrobe

I bet when you think of the “staples” your mind goes one of three places. Your pantry (gotta have rice), your closet (everyone needs a white tee, they say), or to those little metal slivers that hold our paper packets together. 

And of course, you’d be right! But today I want to talk about staples in terms of your jewelry. A staple, one that isn’t meant for holding papers, is something that is your GO TO. Like all the time. You use it or wear it to death. 

There are tons of lists out there that tell you what staples or basics you need in your wardrobe, and they mostly go around and say “every woman needs 3 white tees, a pair of skinny jeans, and a beige trench coat”. Yeah, not me. 

What I want to do today is walk you through the process of finding what YOUR staples are, specifically in your jewelry. 

I’ve found that while I initially thought I loveddddd to have a ton of jewelry and all the variety to suit my every accessory whim, I actually really wear the same types or even the same pieces of jewelry on a pretty regular basis. 

I have certain pieces that just feel like me, or that just seem to go with absolutely everything. To me, that’s a jewelry staple. 

For example, I love my pieces from Rellery (can you say affordable and quality?) because they are unique enough to be interesting but not so loud that they’re always making a statement and you’d tire of them easily.

• My favorite are the flower necklaces

• And I love a good, simple hoop earrings

How did I come to these pieces? 

Well…trial and error and a lot of buying jewelry that sat unworn in my closet. 

But, I recently cleaned out my jewelry and asked myself these questions that were helpful in letting go. I think these questions/my process would be helpful for you to either clean out your own jewelry OR start your collection and not get quite so tempted. 

Either way, I think you’re ready to dive in! 

What types of jewelry do you forget you’re wearing?

Let me explain. 

I often forget I’m wearing a necklace. I forget I’m wearing earrings. I never forget that I’m wearing rings or a bracelet. 

All day long, my mind is thinking in the background about this bracelet sliding up and down my wrist, banging on the table, falling off, and on and on. 

The same goes for rings. I hear them clinking on glasses, they start to feel tighter at the end of the day, or they’re the wrong size and slipping around so I’m constantly worried I’ll lose them. 

Those things keep me from reaching for bracelets and rings. I don’t like to have my mind occupied by silly and annoying thoughts. I shouldn’t have to be frustrated, no matter how small, by the jewelry I’m wearing (or any clothing, but that’s another matter). 

So, think about what kind of jewelry you totally forget you have on until it comes time to undress for the day. Or, think about the jewelry that you’re constantly aware of, if that’s easier. 

I used big types, like bracelets and earrings as my categories of jewelry. 

But you might get more granular. You might forget about choker necklaces, but long pendant necklaces drive you up the wall. Lightweight dangly earrings could work for you, but not studs. 

The key in this part is to divide into some sort of categories that make sense to you, but don’t dwell on the actual pieces, like a specific choker necklace that has a red butterfly pendant. We’ll get to that! 

Make Mini Jewelry Capsules

After you’ve determined the pieces that are so a part of you that you forget they’re even on your body, it’s time to make mini capsules of jewelry.

Essentially, you’ll take each of your favorites and create a little set of each. So, if you love choker necklaces, you would create a small set of choker necklaces that each fill a purpose. The size is up to for each mini capsule, but I recommend striking your preferred balance of statements and timeless pieces.

I’ll give you a couple of examples, because it can be a little confusing.

Example Jewelry Mini Capsule 1

Let’s go with my example of loving choker necklaces for this one. I pretty much only wear this type of necklace, so I think it would make sense to have about 6 of these.

1. A thin gold chain (timeless)

2. A gold chain with Cuban links (timeless)

3. A choker with a small circle pendant (timeless)

4. A beaded choker (Statement!)

5. A black choker with a bird pendant (Statement!)

6. A mixed metal/chain necklace (Statement!)

Example Jewelry Mini Capsule 2

For this one, it would be dainty bracelets. I don’t wear bracelets very often, so I would make the majority of them statement pieces and have less of them, probably around 4.

1. Gold bead bracelet (timeless)

2. Woven and beaded bracelet (Statement!)

3. Vintage charm bracelet (Statement!)

4. Modern friendship style bracelet (Statement!)

And that’s it!

If you determine your tried and true staples, it’ll be a cinch for you to make those mini capsules.

My favorite part about creating these little mini bits is that you aren’t trying to fit someone else’s box of what you “should” have. You also get the option of incorporating some trendy pieces as your statement and switching them out as your tastes change (or maybe you fall in love and keep them for life!).

It truly makes my life so much easier to have less jewelry, and I feel ten times more compelled to actually wear the things I love when I don’t have to dig through a pile of cast offs (I’m still working on my jewelry storage, okay?).