Super Sunday - Styling the Statement Necklace

Happy Superbowl Sunday Everyone!

I'm not exactly sure that this is a holiday in the true sense of the word holiday...but why not?

As I was preparing to get ready to head over to our friends house for their annual Superbowl party, I took a look through my closet and decided to go with a cute but casual pair of high-waisted skinny jeans, white tee and my new beige flannel boyfriend shirt that a snagged for just $10 bucks at the Old Navy winter clearance sale. As I was finalizing my OOTD, I decided to add my chunky jeweled necklace for a bit more interest, and a bit more edge.

Really pleased with the overall look, I got the idea to do a post about switching up the way one traditionally thinks of styling (ie, adding accessories to help style the look of an outfit), and share how you can make a statement necklace the inspiration for styling a couple of outfits around. Additionally, I wanted to share my ideas for how a really pretty piece of dressier jewelry can work with a whole spectrum of looks, from formal to casual to downtown hipster cool.

Here is the necklace that I started with:

I picked this up for next to nothing last fall while I was visiting a friend in London at the popular discount high-street store, Primark. Its chunky and weighty and was the center-point for the looks you will find below.

Typically, you would expect to pair such a pretty piece with some sort of formal wear or a dressier outfit such as this pretty gold and bronze brocade dress:

Dress - Zara (old)

I like the idea of pairing the pewter based necklace with the gold and black dress. It's a less obvious choice and I think it looks pretty cool!

Just because the necklace is pretty however, doesn't mean it's wear has to be limited to dresses. I think that the piece looks great styled with the casual outfit below:

T-shirt - Joe Fresh (similar)

Jeans - Winners

Flannel Boyfriend Shirt - Old Navy

Booties - Calvin Klein

I also love it with a pair of cropped wool dress pants, sleeveless tee and gladiator sandals - a perfect outfit for an afternoon of shopping or meeting the girls for brunch. And for those of you in more creative industries, this could be a great look for the office with or without a blazer thrown on top:

Tank - Old Navy

Pants - Old Navy

Shoes - Sam Edelman

My favorite look by far, plays homage to my inner "downtown hipster" and involves the unexpected combination of textures and fabrics shown below - pairing the ultra dressy with the super casual in a fun, flirty, feminine way. Add a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers and away you go!

                                                        Denim Jacket - Zara TRF (similar)

Booties - Nine West

Sunglasses - Ray Ban

Typically we look to our accessories to "accent" our outfits. But I think you could come up with some really unique looks and get more distance from your existing wardrobe by starting with a great statement piece of jewelry and then styling your outfit around your accessory!

I'd love to hear your ideas for "styling your statement pieces"!

Editor's note: Due to the forecasted snowstorm presently hitting Toronto and Southern Ontario, the original outfit that inspired this post never actually saw the light of day. I did however, enjoy a great superbowl party-of-four at home with my husband and daughters (what....a...GAME!) and now have 3 great new outfit ideas that should cut my "get-ready" time by an entire 5 minutes the next time we go out :) - You're welcome honey!!!