Ask Belle: Statement Necklaces on a Budget
May 29, 2013
Belle~
I hate bubble necklaces and every woman in DC owns one. Cocktail dress, bubble necklace. Â Tee shirt, bubble necklace. Â Business suit, bubble necklace. The old JCrew ones from seven seasons ago, the $25 ones from the flea market. Â Can a bubble necklace save any outfit? Â Most of the women I meet seem to think it can. Â
Please, please, please, I am begging you…show these women some “statement” necklaces that don’t make my anger bubble over…deal? Â K, thanks, ‘preciate it.
~H
I have to admit, this e-mail made me laugh out loud. Â It’s a bit harsh, but the writer is right about the bubble necklaces–they are everywhere. Â And while I have seen women wear them well, they are definitely being over-utilized.
Right now, my favorite place to look for jewelry is Nordstrom’s under-$50 section. Â They have this cool black/white/gold bib necklace and this fun python-accented piece. Â I also love the modern look of this ‘cross hatch’ statement necklace with all its twists and folds.
Other pieces I loved?  This faceted-gem necklace has a bright green color and is $38.  I like the mix of textures and colors in this necklace, and the diamond pattern in the metal-work on this one. But my favorite was this Chico’s necklace with layers of tiny beads all strung together.
If big, chunky jewelry isn’t your cup of tea, I’m really into long station necklaces right now. Â You can layer them together or wear them on their own. Â I happen to own this Arden B. druzy necklace (I bought it at Eastern Market, so I’m confused as to how that happened, but I digress). Â I also like this simple silver one and this gold one with leaf accents.
And as for your anger regarding bubble necklaces, take a breath, because if the fashion bloggers in my RSS feed are any indicator of staying power, they’re not going anywhere, anytime soon.
Thank you! I thought I was the only one who hates bubble necklaces!!
Oh my gosh, this is so funny! H is spot on.
What’s with all the hate against bubble necklaces?
What is a bubble necklace?
I’m with Beth. If they are “everywhere” then why have I never heard of them and why did Google return several different results so that I STILL have no idea what this rant was about?
Try searching for “bauble necklace” instead. That’ll give you an idea of how prevalent they are.
19 of the first 20 images from a google image search for “bubble necklace” are of the necklace the letter is talking about, just in different colors.
Here’s an example of a bubble necklace: https://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/jewelry/necklaces/PRDOVR~92687/92687.jsp. Once you see one, you start to notice them everywhere.
This is the best picture. They’re huge necklaces with circular enamel “bubbles”. They were cute for a minute, but now they’re used to save any outfit. And they’re a bit of a weird length for flat chested girls and a bit too big for larger chested women. I put one on a couple of years ago, when J.CREW first sold them, and thought, “Whoa, heavy.”
exactly, what are they? Show a picture.
https://www.google.com/search?q=bubble+necklace&oq=bubble+necklace&aqs=chrome.0.57j0l3j62l2.2475j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
So, so true. South Moon Under has some nice different ones in multiple colors (think geometric, angular, collar) for under 40.
I hate them too!! Thought I was the only one. I honestly think they flatter nobody- except maybe the stick thin and beautiful Jcrew models who wore them 7 seasons ago!
To those who don’t know what they are-I bet you do and just don’t realize what they are called.
Right in line with the haters. 1 – they’re a bizarre length, at least for this chesty girl. And 2 – they’re just too over-worn. I love reading blogs (especially this one!) to get ideas…but the whole idea is to make them your own. When 1 out of every 3 women on a DC sidewalk is wearing some version of this necklace – it’s time to kiss the trend goodbye!
Etsy also has a great selection of statement necklaces that are not bubble necklaces. I’ve been happy with the prices as well – which are a little cheaper than some of the ones featured here.
Every time I see a bubble necklace I really want to say, “Well I bought mine years and years ago before they were cool.” Makes me feel less like a cliche for owning one. I don’t hate them, but they’re way, way too common now. Mine is collecting dust. They’re also very heavy.
I really like my “Valley of the Sun necklace” (Google the phrase in quotes to find lots of different colors from lots of different stores). They’re definitely becoming more common but not unbearably so yet.
I’m also a big fan of buying J.Crew, Kate Spade, and Stella & Dot necklaces on eBay.
bauble bar had their version on sale for $15 and my coworker bought one in EVERY COLOR. ugh.
I really liked them for a minute but I saw everyone else had one. It is truly a bizarre length and too much for my taste.
It seems like a lazy statement necklace to me. Like, buy one in every color lazy. I’ve been looking for a red statement necklace forever but can only find bubble ones.
I bought a red coral necklace years ago that makes a wonderful statement with almost any of my clothing. Have you tried those? Etsy has a bunch of them in all kinds of styles. https://www.etsy.com/search?q=red%20coral%20necklace&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US
I love statement necklaces, and I am so. flipping. happy. I didn’t buy a bubble necklace when J.Crew came out with them. I would be pretty frustrated right now with their ubiquity.
This may be a hard question to tackle over a blog – but do you have any tips for avoiding fake/cheap looking costume jewelry?
I feel I can spot it when others have it on – but have a much harder time when I’m trying to pick out accessories for myself.
TOTAL SIDE NOTE – Thank you so much for making the links open in new tabs! GAME CHANGER! 🙂
Hilarious! I disliked them when they came out and actively hate them now. I am really surprised about their staying power.
The best statement necklace I have is a 100″ strand of huge(10-12mm) pearls. They were $100 on etsy, but I wear them all the time in different ways.
I lusted after the Jcrew bauble necklace for years, last year I finally bit the bullet and bought 2…that was about 2 days before the bauble necklace blew up in DC and every single lady had one last summer. Because of that, sadly, I never wear my necklace in DC. But, I have worn it a few times when I go home to NC and women FLOCK to me asking me where I got it and say they’ve never seen it before. So, this must be just a DC trend.
I travel around the U.S., and it seems to be a trend everywhere. Ridiculously popular in the South, quite popular in the Midwest (less so in Chicago, though). Perhaps it’s less popular in NC, though?
I will be in DC in 2 weeks and will be sure NOT to forget my bauble necklace, LOL, and will be counting how many I see :p
I hadn’t heard the tterm (not sure if it’s erached Europe yet), so I Googled….. and the random image I clicked on for illustration led me to http://www.prettymints.com, where they have indeed some bubble necklaces, but lots of other rather nice looking things. (I think this one is fun, though perhaps not for serious business meetings: https://www.prettymints.com/products/color-block-statement-necklace-in-yellow – it comes in othe colours, too)
I live a block from Eastern Market and it seems like every other vendor that’s out there on the weekends is selling those necklaces! Needless to say I was sick of them a looooong time ago.
I’m not against bubble necklaces, but I like Amrita Singh’s India-inspired designs for statement necklaces. I have this one in a dark cobalt blue and it’s gorgeous. https://www.amritasingh.com/jewelry/necklaces/bridgehampton-necklace#.UafRzmTErW4
Sadly, they are all over the South. I can see how it could kind of work for teens and college girls. But it is very over done. VERY.