Yahoo Finance How to style jewellery with your winter wardrobe
Of the few Woody Allen movies I adore, Hannah and her Sisters is very close to top place, and I confess it’s almost entirely due to the brooches and necklaces worn by Dianne Wiest’s character Holly. Set in a wintery New York over several Thanksgiving celebrations, the film sees Holly positively blanketing her garments with jewellery, wearing it both on and under an assortment of winter coats, jackets, scarves and hats throughout the film.
Whether it’s a neatly cinched tweed blazer with a huge gold floral brooch on one lapel, or a big Van Cleef & Arpels-esque flower pin on an oversized houndstooth overcoat, Holly’s jewellery wardrobe is a masterclass in cold-weather adornment, adding scintillation and sophistication to the most mundane of outdoor wear.
It’s a much needed sartorial boost for me each time I rewatch it and remember that an obsession with knitwear doesn’t necessarily mean putting my jewellery into hibernation every winter.
In fact, if there’s one thing an oversized brooch really needs, it’s something weighty to hold it up. A silk blouse can look insouciantly sexy with a pin at its lapel, but unless that pin is feather-light, it will tug at the fabric and rip. The solution is to sport a big brooch on the lapel of something woolly or leather – a blazer or coat, or a beret if you’re feeling particularly adventurous.
24kt gold-plated opal crystal Crab brooch, £450, Begum Khan (matchesfashion.com)
And for us big woolly jumper lovers, a thick knit can totally handle a brooch – just pin it high up towards the collar and to the side where the weave is tightest. I’m currently amazed by Turkish designer Begüm Kiroglu of label Begum Khan’s work – giant pieces featuring crabs and tortoises, prawns and hearts, all plated in 24kt gold which gives what looks like costume jewellery a luxurious vibe.
Sonia Petroff, a brand based on the beautifully reinvigorated archives of a 1960s Italian designer and socialite, has similarly weighty brooches, including a brilliantly bonkers, Schiaparelli-like gold wire-work lobster.
Fine-gauge knitwear can also handle chunky necklaces worn over-top – especially a super-fine, skin-tight polo neck. A couple of chains by Lauren Rubinski or Shay will do the trick, or Carolina Bucci’s new pendant The Eye on one of her chunkier chains.
18kt gold and diamond Weaving Dreams necklace, £POA, Daniela Villegas
For a more detailed look, Mexican jeweller Daniela Villegas’ new collection Threads of Love includes a necklace linking line-drawing like animals wrought in gold with diamond eyes – it’s like a mad scribble in precious metal. Note to self – necklaces against the skin in seriously cold weather are all very well as long as you keep your coat tightly buttoned up outside – snap-frozen metal banging against a bare chest is no fun.
Big rings and cold weather I disagree with – if they’re getting in the way of easing gloves on and off it’s not worth it, and rings over gloves is a terrible look. A ring of mine came off inside an oversized mitten once, falling out somewhere on the tube when I took the mittens off – lesson learnt.
18kt yellow gold, emerald, onyx, diamond and pearl Cleopatra's Vault earrings, £POA, Harwell Godfrey
Statement earrings you’d think were an obvious foil for the big chill, but there are several pitfalls. Wool tends to catch anything spiky and metallic, so lobes can end up being in a tug of war between you and your jumper, while even the metal of dainty stud earrings can give you freezer burn if it’s cold enough outside.
The answer? A puffer scarf. I never thought a puffer scarf could be the answer to anything, but it turns out it’s the answer to this – you can stay warm when you’re outside, but it won’t yank your earrings out as you take it off. So you have an excuse to sport giant earrings from Harwell Godfrey’s epic new Cleopatra’s Vault collection, all featuring Muzo emeralds, or Jacquie Aiche’s oversized watermelon tourmaline earrings from her Wildest Dreams collection.
18kt rose gold, morganite and watermelon tourmaline earrings, £POA, Jacquie Aiche
Which leaves us with bracelets, and even though they look fabulous once coats have come off, anything sizeable is just a massive pain to navigate all that undressing and redressing. I love the look of a pair of cuffs over a skinny knit, but getting them into a coat is a nightmare, and once you’ve spent 10 minutes in a panicked sweat in a coatroom wrestling your way out of a bangle-coat-sleeve-handcuff situation, you’ll know what I mean.
Jewellery lovers, you’ve been warned. Cold weather is here, so brooches, necklaces, and puffer-protected earrings it is.
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