My daily #jewelryuniform.

There’s a challenge going around Instagram right now, asking people to post a photo of their favorite daily jewels to the hashtag #jewelryuniform. It’s totally fascinating to see how the pieces that jewelry lovers admire coincide with what we actually wear in our daily lives.

I’ve been challenged by designer Dana Bronfman to share my #jewelryuniform and – as so frequently happens – I have a lot to say, so I decided to share mine as a full blog post rather than just an IG snap.

I’m captivated by why people choose to wear the pieces that they wear, so I’m going to tell you alllllll about why I choose the jewels that I find myself reaching for day after day.

I’ve never worn these all together – I think that would be too much, even for me. But a rotation of these pieces is what makes up my #jewelryuniform.

When you work from home alone like I do, there’s no reason to get dressed unless you’re leaving the house or need to remind yourself that you’re a real adult human. (I often work at coffee shops for just this very reason – there’s an incredible sense of unreality that can set in when you work by yourself, in your own private space.) Some days, when I do stay home, I don’t wear any jewelry except for my wedding ring, which I rarely remove.

Most days when I get dressed for real, I’ll layer a necklace or two or three, and I rarely leave the house without a full complement of earrings, unless I’m going to the gym (I never, ever work out in jewelry). I’m not much of a ring stacker in real life, even though I love how it looks on Instagram. I usually keep my rings one per finger, 2-3 per hand. Sometimes I’ll add a plain, thin gold band on my thumb.

There you have it: my #jewelryuniform.

Here’s the full low-down on every single one of my #jewelryuniform pieces, going vaguely from left to right and top to bottom:

My husband, the lovely Mr. DitL, gave me this Victorian locket for Christmas last year. Inside, instead of a photo, I keep the note that he wrote me when he gave me the gift.

I bought this lizard charm in the airport in Turks and Caicos, when Mr. DitL and I were heading home from our honeymoon. I’d spend the whole honeymoon fascinated by the island’s population of lizardlike creatures, and when I saw this pendant in a gift shop I couldn’t resist it as a reminder of one of my favorite parts of one of my favorite trips.

My Marla Aaron gold babylock, which was a 30th birthday present from me to me. For me, the lock represents strength and determination. Sometimes I wear it because it holds my charms well, sometimes I wear it to remind myself that I am brave and strong.

This cool looking fob was a prize in a polo match in 1905, probably at an English boarding school. I don’t really know why I love it so much. The trophies I won as a child (for things like “being the best roommate at camp” and “being a team player” in tap class) were lost in the fire that destroyed my parents’ house when I was younger. Maybe that’s part of why I like other people’s heirlooms so much.

My solid gold t-rex. He is incredibly special to me. T-rex is casting of another necklace, a costume piece that was so cheap I wore out three of them before having a jeweler remake the design for me in 14k. The easiest way to explain my t-rex is to tell you that it represents a number of inside jokes/references between me and my husband, including but not limited to the decorations from our wedding. T-rex is always with me when I travel, even if I’m not wearing him.

This Elisa Solomon opal eye necklace is the newest piece here – I’ve only had it for a week. It reminds me to look for the good in things. Monday’s post is going to tell you much more about Elisa and her fabulous jewelry, so stand by.

This is my itty bitty Augis charm, which I’ll also be telling you all about in an upcoming post!

This rhodolite garnet pendant was a birthday present from Mr. DitL some years ago. I love that it’s so small but luminous and rich in color.

This stunner features a Georgian emerald and diamond flower on a modern gold belcher chain. It was made by two of my IG friends and was my 30th birthay present from Mr. DitL. My 30th birthday was pretty awful (injury, hospital, stitches, etc) but I wore this necklace on my couch while recovering from those events and it reminded me how lucky I am to have so much love in my life.

My Victorian niello watch chain. I’d been wanting one of these for ages, but they’re usually pretty expensive. One day I was browsing Etsy and I saw this baby listed for an unbelievable price. I knew it might be too good to be true, but I bought it anyway – and got lucky.  The spring ring doesn’t work perfectly, but I love it anyway, with its intricate links and gorgeous details.

This pile of tiny gold bands. I bought these from Etsy ages ago for something like $7 each. I wear them all the time, and every once in a while I lose one and it’s okay.

My ChnicharMaloney ring. This super-simple piece in yellow gold with a few diamonds goes with literally everything. It’s always the final touch any outfit needs.

My Victorian turquoise and diamond snake ring. If you’ve seen this ring in person, you get why I love it. This snake has so much personality, and the rubbed-smooth inside of the gold ring feels like butter on my finger. He was also my first jewelry purchase after I left my day job to blog full time.

This Art Deco sapphire and diamond shield ring is just so fabulous and easy to wear. I bought it from a dealer I had a fabulous conversation with.

This Victorian twining snakes ring was a Christmas present from Mr. DitL a few years ago. He hates snakes, and we joked about how he could learn to get over that enough for me to have some snake jewelry – then he presented me with this. One snake has an opal eye; the other, a diamond. It’s from Leola Revives.

I bought this Victorian turquoise fan ring from a dealer I adore, at a time that was technically after hours at a show that I attended on a whirlwind 20 hour NYC trip with Andrew and Nichole. Bourbon was involved, but I don’t regret the purchase and I never will.

This Art Deco cocktail ring was my first purchase from the fabulous Maejean Vintage. It arrived with a hand-written note telling me that its original owner had been a lovely older woman named Frannie.

My Art Deco flip ring! I first saw one of these at The Antique Guild, the very first time that I ever visited a jewelry store to introduce myself as a blogger and asked if I could take pictures. I wanted one ever since, but didn’t find one in my size that felt like it was meant to be mine until this one popped up at Nalfies. Technically also a 30th birthday present to myself (I was a generous self-gift giver this year).

This beautiful, lacy Edwardian ring was one of the first antique pieces that Mr. DitL ever bought for me. It’s from The Eden Collective. He saw me admiring it and remembered it when the next gift-giving occasion came around.

This little emerald and diamond ring was the first Victorian piece of jewelry I ever bought. It’s from an antique store in Kensington, Maryland. Mr. DitL and I spent my birthday in Kensington that year. I was stuck in an awful walking boot/cast thing at the time, in recovery from a procedure for my torn plantar fascia. We had a fantastic day anyway.

My Anthony Lent micro man in the moon studs. These were gifted to me as a thank-you for my Anthony Lent Instagram takeover. They’re itty bitty and perfect and they remind me warm, beautiful nights filled with possibility.

My parents gave me these heart shaped opal earrings years ago and I still wear them allllll the time. I love the chubby opals in their delicate settings.

Mr. DitL gave me these pave diamond studs for Christmas early in our relationship. They go with everything, and I love how they catch the light.

These little kite shaped earrings actually have no special associations at all. I just really like their shape, and how they complement whatever earrings I pair them with. Same for the threadlike, Melissa Joy Manning open hoops you can barely see at the bottom there. They’re just very simple and I like how they look paired with other earrings.

My looong vintage chain from A Brandt and Son! I bought this at the very end of a wonderful trip to Philly with Mr. DitL. I’d been traveling a lot on my own, and we decided to run away for the weekend, just the two of us. The chain feels amazing when worn, and I often pair it with my gold Victorian locket.

Pretty much the moral of the story here is that I love jewelry (which you knew) and that I’m really very attached to my husband (which should also not be a shock).

So now you’ve seen my #jewelryuniform – I want to see yours! I tag all of you to get on over to Instagram and post a photo of your daily favorites for me. Be sure to use the hashtag so that I can find your #jewelryuniform post!

xoxo,
Becky

PS: Thanks to Tura Sugden for starting this great hashtag!