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How to Wear Statement Jewelry Without Overdoing It

Sophie Blake tells you how to wear this season's bold baubles.

More art than accessory, Sophie Blake’s structured jewelry fits right in with the minimalist look of fall fashion. We asked the Fairfax designer—whose wares are available at the Sophie Blake store in Merrifield’s Mosaic district—how to wear the season’s architectural baubles.

Jewelry is trending less intricate and more architectural. Why?

People are going back to simplicity. They want to strip down the elements of fashion and focus on design and structure and texture and shape.

We’re also seeing more yellow gold.

Yellow gold becomes popular in the fall because there are more jewel tones in the color palette. Bordeaux is a very popular color right now, and I couldn’t imagine pairing Bordeaux with silver.

What clothing brands pair well with this style of jewelry?

Givenchy, Prabal Gurung, Jason Wu, and Helmut Lang. Helmut Lang is the perfect example of the duality of my brand: When you look at a piece, it may not have crazy hanger appeal, but as soon as you put it on, it transforms.

How would you style an open choker?

Wear it with something with an open neck. A boat neck or scoop neck works.

What about a larger cuff?

Don’t wear it with rings—that becomes too much. But I would pair it with long earrings.

How do you shop for clothes to wear with your pieces?

When I build my closet, I look for a classic piece with a bit of edge. Does this have an interesting structure, an interesting cut? I’m not a pattern person.

Can these edgier jewelry styles be worn in the workplace?

You can have very classic and conservative pieces in your closet, and if you want to make your look more edgy, you can do that through jewelry. When a woman walks into an office wearing a great pair of statement earrings with a classic navy suit and pumps, people notice that she is experimenting with her jewelry. She’s self-confident.

This article appears in our November 2015 issue of Washingtonian.

Associate Editor

Caroline Cunningham joined Washingtonian in 2014 after moving to the DC area from Cincinnati, where she interned and freelanced for Cincinnati Magazine and worked in content marketing. She currently resides in College Park.