Today’s Blog by Cynthia Sliwa
Concept #4
Have more than one outfit in your wardrobe. An outfit is a group of jewelry you wear together and can range from casual to dressy. Some pieces of jewelry will coordinate with many different outfits. Mix and match and see what works.
I’ve certainly known them and I expect you have too …the busy moms or professional women who throw on the same pieces of jewelry day after day, without giving them any thought.
The fourth point in our series on the six guiding points for any jewelry wardrobe urges jewelry wearers not to fall into that rut. Here are some thoughts on how you might help influence a customer to expand her jewelry wardrobe.
Consider: There’s something exciting about finding just the perfect item of jewelry. It flatters in size, detail, texture and color. It suits your personality. And it beautifully complements the necklines, sleeves and styles of apparel you prefer.
Naturally, you want to wear other jewelry that works with that perfect item. You find earrings or rings that match or coordinate in style, texture and color. You develop an outfit of jewelry.
An outfit can be developed by using as the unifying element any of the components or features found in any piece of jewelry, such as:
Metals
Gemstones
Colors
Textures
Shapes
For instance, an outfit might consist of pieces composed of platinum, gold or silver, with or without gemstones. Perhaps multiple colors of metal (perhaps tri-color gold) are combined, or multiple colors of gemstones (such as turquoise and ruby) are repeated in the jewelry. Pearls, coral or amber might be the focus, or Lucite, or leather. Enamel or glass may add bursts of a favorite color. The jewelry might have a matte or a highly polished finish. Design elements such as circles, squares or starbursts might be repeated.
No matter how perfectly it suits you, one outfit of jewelry almost certainly won’t work well for all occasions and with all ensembles you wear. That demure pendant may be far too fragile when the weather calls for heavy woolens and multiple layers. The heavy chain may look ridiculously large with breezy summer fashions. And neither is going to do a thing for evening wear.
Just as you wouldn’t wear the same pair of shoes from the beach to the boardroom to the ballroom, so too, jewelry can and should be chosen for the occasion and the apparel it is adorning. Developing outfits of jewelry that work together for various occasions is a smart way to build a jewelry wardrobe.
Today’s Jewel:
You can help your customer develop jewelry outfits in several key areas. You can help her:
- Find that perfect item of jewelry, around which to build an outfit. Of course, you do this all the time!
- Find the matching or coordinating pieces that work with that key item and create the outfit. This is opportunity for add-on sales, whether at the time of the original purchase or later.
- Show her the versatility of any of the pieces in any outfit by showing her how it works with other styles or types of jewelry for an entirely different look.
- Expand the versatility of the customer’s jewelry by means of accessories such as enhancers and earrings jackets, giving your customer even more options to enjoy the jewelry she loves.
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