Recent Jewelry Trends
Courtesy of Ellie Vail
Written By: Makena Ruggia
In 2022, jewelry is often a staple to add personal flair to an outfit. Particularly on the gender expression front, jewelry is moving away from gendered stereotypes and becoming more fluid. For luxe brands, styling jewelry comes in stacking.
Stacking and layering different pieces comes with trial and error. As fashion is an art form, it takes trials to create a statement with different pieces. Take the cover art for example. The designer is Ellie Vail, a firm mostly invested in womenswear, feminine expression, and minimalism, but working on an expansion into gender neutrality and maximalism. The model wears three gaudy rings on each hand, the thickness of each band mimicking gold knuckles. This gives the style a more masculine feel, however, the placement of the model’s hands portrays elegance. This balance shows the lengths stylists are going to ensure gender fluidity in expression.
In the ring world as well, colored rings and gems are growing rapidly in popularity. TikTok content creators donned rings made of various crystals like the first image shown above, and as users across the platform learned more about crystals and spirituality, crystal jewelry increased in popularity and suddenly brands were putting out rings made of crystals and rings with gemstones embedded in a gold or silver base. Brands like Asana Crystals and Moon Magic, with ethical ESGs in mind, created such rings and sold them virtually. Other established luxury brands like Swarovski took on this fast trend and designed rings to capitalize on the new interest in crystals. Also shown above are resin rings, another choice for adding a pop of color to your fingers.
Moving on to bracelets, as summer and pleasant weather rapidly approaches colorful friendship bracelets and crystal-beaded bracelets are coming back. Since warmer seasons tend to favor pastels, that color palette remains trendy in bracelet wear. Crystals that might grow in popularity range from greens and blues, agate to lapis lazuli. These are easy to purchase from local crystal shops (supporting small businesses!), buying online, or even at craft stores like Michael’s to make your own! If you’re looking for authenticity in crystals, however, stick to verified websites and crystal shops.
In the necklace and earring world, gold, gold, and more gold remain the top choice in layering. Chain Link necklaces similar to the bracelets in the cover photo are all the rage currently, most stylists choose to layer them tightest, then underneath have looser, thinner chains underneath. Ellie Vail has great choices on this front as well, but retailers like Target tend to sell dupes for cheaper.
As jewelry becomes a more neutral means of expression, it is becoming more commonplace in styling, and firms are expanding their lines to meet the demand for less common gems. Best advice: find brands that transparently and ethically source their materials, and find pieces that reflect your most personal style.