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.

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