You want to branch out and upgrade your look. You don’t, however, want to look like you’re drowning in metal and in a constant state of confusion. You probably already know how to wear men’s rings (or at least you get the idea), we hope. We can work from there.
Luckily, it’s incredibly easy to upgrade your look with a few well-placed jewelry pieces — and we promise confusion will be minimal.
1. Do ─ Start Small
This is probably the biggest hurdle guys run headlong into when trying to branch out and wear jewelry. There’s this idea that you need to buy a bunch of pieces and then try to wear them all together like your suitcase is over the weight limit, and you’re now wearing three jackets in the airport. We promise you do not need to. That only causes the paralysis of choice and makes you give up on jewelry entirely.
Pick a couple of pieces and work from there. If you’re already eyeing men’s wedding bands, consider a watch that’ll complement the band you choose. When you get comfortable wearing both of those, you can add new pieces as you see fit.
2. Don’t ─ Go Overboard
This is almost the exact opposite of the previous problem. Instead of being so paralyzed by the choices that you give up, you just buy everything and try to wear it all at once. Both of those options are bad, but honestly, this one is probably the worse of the two. As a rule, you don’t want to wear more than five pieces at a time. Beginners should bring that number down to around three.
3. Do ─ Mix Metals
There’s a long-standing rule in men’s fashion that you can’t mix metals. If you just don’t like the look, no problem.
However, if you’re holding fast to that rule, you can let it go along with some other outdated men’s fashion rules. This is one of those style rules that doesn’t really serve a purpose anymore (and arguably never did). As long as you mix metals deliberately, you can pull off a really cool look.
4. Don’t ─ Feel Like You Have to Hop on Trends
Note: We did not say to avoid trends. If you want to get in on a trend you think looks cool, more power to you. However, don’t feel like you have to hop on a trend just because it’s what’s popular.
Before considering a trendy purchase, ask yourself if you’d still wear the piece if it fell out of fashion tomorrow. If you would, then have at it. If you wouldn’t, you just saved yourself some money (and future embarrassment).
5. Do ─ Wear a Watch
A watch is one of the easiest ways to make an outfit look that much more put together. Now, you want to know the different formality levels of watches and how to choose a watch that’s right for you. There’s certainly an art to deciding on a good watch, but if you know how to do it, you’ll look effortlessly put together. A good casual watch is a must for guys, even if you just own one or two.
6. Don’t ─ Overspend on Your Jewelry
There’s no reason to spend thousands on jewelry pieces. There’s really no reason even to spend hundreds if you don’t want to. You can get a silicone ring at a budget-friendly price and be happy with that for years. Of course, there’s a lot to be said for investing in good jewelry pieces. However, that’s usually reserved for when you know what you like.
Our best advice here is to start small and make budget-friendly purchases initially. Once you’ve worn the pieces for a while and gotten a sense of your jewelry likes and dislikes, you can upgrade and invest. Alternatively, you may just find that the affordable pieces hold up for your lifestyle, and you never need to spend hundreds on jewelry. Win-win.
7. Do ─ Keep Things Imbalanced
This sounds counterintuitive initially, but it’s a rule you want to keep in mind. Think about it in terms of design. Interior designers are always decorating in odd numbers when it comes to complementary pieces of wall art. Why? Well, there’s something about odd numbers and the imbalance of them that’s much more visually satisfying.
Why is that?
Honestly, we don’t entirely know. It’s just the way it works – look it up for yourself.
In jewelry terms, this means you don’t want the same exact number of pieces on each hand or wrist. Generally, you want to be weighted slightly to one side. Consider a bracelet on one side and a watch and ring on the other. There’s just enough imbalance that it’ll look much better than simply wearing a bracelet on each wrist.
Keep balance in mind when you’re wearing your jewelry in general. However, whatever you do, don’t wear five rings on one hand and nothing on the other. That level of imbalance is overboard.
Jewelry is really a game of trial and error. You’re gonna have some hits, and you’re gonna have some looks that you think back on and shudder about. It’s just a part of the process. If you start small, pick classic pieces, and slowly build your way up, you’re assured minimal cringing when you reflect back years later.
