If you’re a fashionista for whom every day is a catwalk, jewelry isn’t an option. It’s a way of life.
Which means it’s time to settle an age-old argument: should you wear gold or silver jewelry?
The good news is you have plenty of options to choose gorgeous jewelry. Here are a few of the most popular ways to select gold or silver, regardless of your unique look or the occasion.
Skin Tone
The most traditional guideline for choosing gold or silver jewelry is your skin tone. The gist is simple: silver is cool and gold is warm, so people with cool undertones will look great in silver while people with warm undertones will look great in gold. Ladies with a neutral undertone are blessed to look fabulous in everything.
So how do you know your undertones?
There are three undertones: warm, cool, and neutral. If you can see your veins, this is the easiest way to check your undertones. If your veins look greenish, you likely have warm undertones. If your veins look blue or purplish, you likely have cool undertones. If you can’t see your veins, you’re probably neutral.
However, the vein test won’t work for people with darker skin colors, so try a color test with neutral clothes instead. True whites look best on cool undertones, while warm undertones look better in off-white. Black tends to favor cooler tones, while warmer undertones complement brown better. If you have neutral undertones, you can get away with almost anything.
Silver or Gold Jewelry for Dark Skin or Light Skin
Then there’s the question of skin color, which is a completely different category from skin tone. People with dark skin can have a warm or cool skin tone just like people with pale skin.
With that said, your skin tone is a better determinant of whether to choose gold or silver than skin color. The only area where this gets tricky is darker skin tones from olive to ebony.
If your skin appears more ashen or gray, you could have a natural olive skin tone. Olive is a unique blend of undertones mixing warm and green, so you have more freedom to mix and match.
Darker skin makes jewelry stand out really well, but it can overwhelm silver. If you want something understated, opt for gold, and if you love silver, stick to statement pieces.
Makeup
Another popular option for beauty mavens is to coordinate your jewelry with your makeup.
Chances are, you know what makeup tones look great on your skin, which means you already have a makeup color palette to work with. From there, the key isn’t to be matchy-matchy, but rather to use the color wheel. Complementary colors are colors on opposite sides of the color wheel and thus create a lovely contrast.
If you’re rocking a smokey eye or black cat-eye eyeliner, white is the natural complement to black, so look for neutral, understated silver jewelry. If you’re wearing brown eyeshadow, gold will make it pop.
Outfit
If you’re reading this, we’d guess you’re a fashionista, so pairing your jewelry with your outfit is both fun and practical.
In clothes, as in makeup, the same basic rule applies: choose complements. Outfits with rich, warm earth tones and gemstone colors will pop when paired with gold jewelry. If your outfit relies on light pastels or cool colors like mint or baby blue, silver is the way to go.
Rocking all black everything? Gold or silver will both look striking. But if you’re wearing all white, stick to gold–silver will get lost in all that white.
Occasions to Wear Gold or Silver Jewelry
Let’s say you’re shopping for an occasion. But buying wholesale earrings from a retailer like https://www.wholesalesparkle.com/collections/wholesale-silver-earrings isn’t the same thing as buying high-end earrings from Tiffany, and you want to make sure your jewelry matches the occasion.
To make things simpler, we’ve split it into two broad categories: informal daytime jewelry and formal evening jewelry. You can wear gold or silver for each, but you have to know the right piece.
Daytime/Informal
Gold has a more luxurious reputation than silver, so if you wear it during the day, you’re going to have to keep it from overwhelming the occasion.
The best way to do this is to stick with small, light pieces. Think stud earrings in a conservative office environment or a pendant on a thin chain. In a more creative environment, you can wear larger earrings or layer two or three necklaces, but make sure to vary the lengths and textures to keep it interesting. You can also pair chunky bracelets with thin ones, but do your coworkers a favor and don’t wear noisy bangles.
Regardless of metal, save big statement necklaces for after hours, particularly the super glitzy disco ball ones.
Nighttime/Formal
For a formal event, you can feel free to make a big statement. Go all-in for sparkly stones or a statement necklace, but stick to one statement piece and keep the rest of your jewelry understated (otherwise, you’ll look like you’re playing dress-up in Mom’s jewelry).
The metal you choose depends on your skin tone and your outfit. Cooler colors usually benefit from silver, while warm colors look best with gold.
Look Fabulous for Any Occasion
If you’re a fashionista, the choice between gold or silver jewelry is just one part of looking your best every day. When getting dressed is an art form, there’s so much more to consider.
If you’re looking for more great posts to make every day your own personal fashion show, make sure to check out our fashion section. And don’t forget your best model walk!
