Prom season begins next month. First, there is the selection of the gown, followed by jewelry and accessories to match. As usual, neutrals such as black and white are popular for prom gowns, joined by pale pink, caramel, blue and purple. Like their fashion magazine aficionado mothers, many teenagers watch their celebrity idols to see what garments, jewelry and accessories their favorites are wearing and attempt to duplicate the look on a budget.
Here’s a breakdown of the most popular prom garment looks this spring with harmonizing jewelry suggestions:
Tiered Dresses and Bib Necklaces
Deborah Ann Wohl of True Blood wore a lovely pale blue lace and chiffon strapless Gustavo Cadile gown to the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards this year. Following up on the theme, actress and singer-songwriter, Demi Lovato was photographed in a pale pink/beige tiered strapless gown as well. See the image on this page.
Oftentimes, strapless gowns are worn without any neck jewelry. However, the image of Ms. Lovato shows how a well-chosen bib type necklace can bring pizzazz to a solid neutral. In this case, the jeweled necklace appeared to be part of the dress. However, the look can be duplicated with an oversized bib necklace.
Doing a search on amazon.com using the key phrase ‘bib necklace’ brings up a vast selection of suitable bib necklaces – many for under $100. A personal favorite is the 17-inch yellow gold overlay sterling silver hammered circle bib necklace shown on this page.
It’s marked down from $360 to $139.99 with free shipping. While it is priced over $100, this necklace looks killer with a plain white t-shirt and jeans for casual wear. So, the overall cost per wearing should be quite reasonable. Note: at present Amazon is running a promotion on this necklace reducing the price by $42.
Blue Gowns and Silver Earrings
Most blue hues look great with silver. Amanda Seyfried wore a lovely strapless ice-blue gown to the Academy Awards this year. This garment looks fabulous with hair pulled back into a chignon. Accessorize the look with drop-dead gorgeous but extremely inexpensive dangling earrings from Target.com.
Here are some suggestions. Find them on the Target.com website by doing a search for the exact item name as shown below:
- Crystal Heart Tasseled Hollywood Earrings for $34.99.
- Sterling Silver Graduated 5-Circle Drop Cubic Zirconia Dangling Earrings for $24.99.
- 14K Gold Over Silver Hammered Drop Earring for the prom attendee who prefers gold toned jewelry. Priced at $29.99.
White Grecian-Goddess Gowns and Egyptian-Style Bracelets
Take a clue from Fergie and push layered bracelets up mid-arm instead of wearing them at the wrist. A similar strapless chiffon gown with beaded waist is available at bloomingdales.com. The designer is Mignon; the price, $488.
If the jewelry collector doesn’t have suitable bracelets in her collection, do a quick Amazon, eBay or similar search. There should be quite a wide selection of gold plate, gold-filled and sterling silver bracelets to be had for a reasonable price.
Maire Loughran - Maire Loughran was born and raised in Rhode Island, the costume jewelry capital of the world. She learned the art of jewelry making at the ...
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