A couple weeks ago, Janice at The Vivienne Files featured a sloth family necklace in her post accessorizing a rust & beige capsule wardrobe. Isn't it adorable? My photo doesn't do it justice. I was very attracted to it to begin with, but somehow when I saw that the artisan had named it the Slothlórien Necklace, I was sold. Here's what the product description says about that: "In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Lothlórien or Lórien is the fairest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth. Slothlórien is this creature's paradise and refuge." Cute animals plus classic fantasy pun? Irresistible! (This necklace is still available at Wolf & Badger for $32 plus $10 shipping in the US. This is not an affiliate link; if you like, click on Janice's post for an affiliate link to support her site.)
When it arrived, I was thrilled with it except for one thing: the necklace clasp is a box clasp, in which one end of the chain has a piece that slides and locks into a "box" on the other end (like this). That means that the normal type of necklace extender that works with a typical lobster clasp won't work with this necklace. And that means I am stuck with the necklace at one length...unless I can find a box clasp extender that is compatible with this necklace and isn't expensive...or I can manage to find/make a dual-end-clasp extender that bypasses the clasp and connects the two ends of the chain directly (which chain is of a size/type that is not conducive to this). And since the sloth piece is attached directly to the chain, I also can't remove it like a pendant from one chain and put it on another. I wish it were possible to easily adjust the necklace length, but it's not, so I will have to face wearing this necklace as a bit of a challenge.
Given the brown and rose gold colors of the necklace, I immediately thought of wearing it with a new (purchased on sale last December) lightweight short-sleeved shirt in ivory with soft, mostly-warm-toned stripes.
And because I am ALL ABOUT the layered necklace / neckmess / neck mess look right now, I added a few other mixed-metal pieces until it looked minimally complete. (Some of you are like, Um, have you ever looked up the definition of the word "minimal"? That's a legit question. No, I have not, actually. But I know what it means, and for me, this is a kind of minimal look in terms of a neckmess!) I am very pleased with how it turned out. The ring chain and floral necklace are almost like one piece, perfectly filling the neckline. The sloths lay at their artisan-dictated length just below that, and I added the palm necklace to give the layers a bit of additional verticality. I often end my neckmess at the neck, but I'm starting to more frequently think about lengthening the look. I love how this mixed-metals approach works with this shirt, and am always happy to have a nature theme going.
I was so delighted with the result that I didn't even take a full-length photo of my outfit, but you're not missing anything. The Slothlórien neckmess is where all the action is!
From the advice I've read about layering necklaces, it seems about 80% of people say "stick to one metal for a cohesive look" and about 20% of people say "mix metals at will, it's all good." I personally am a fan of the mixed-metals look, but I do get it that it can be hard to create one that looks intentional. This is one of the reasons I glom onto pieces that are made from mixed metals. Adding even one piece that was created with multiple metal colors goes a long way to making your mixed-metal layers look deliberate and integrated.
Do you layer necklaces? Do you stick to a single metal color or do you mix things up? Do you seek a cohesive/intentional look or are you good with a laissez-faire, "I threw this on without even thinking about it" insouciance?
Also, right now it seems that about 90% of layered necklace examples I come across are entirely gold-toned. What's that about? Is that just the current trend?
I link up with:
Shelbee at Shelbee on the Edge (Mondays; 3rd Thursday)
Mica at Away from the Blue (Mondays)
Debbie at My Random Musings (Mondays)
Leelo at Beauty by Miss L (Mondays)
Roxanne at Glass of Glam (Mondays)
Laura at I Do deClaire (Tuesdays)
Emma at Style Splash (Tuesdays)
Jess at Elegantly Dressed & Stylish (Tuesdays)
Gail at Is This Mutton? (Wednesdays)
Shelly at The Queen in Between (Wednesdays)
Jodie at Jodie's Touch of Style (3rd Thursday)
Carrie at Curly Crafty Mom (Thursdays)
Ada at Elegance and Mommyhood (Thursdays)
Jacqui at Mummabstylish (Thursdays)
Suzy at The Grey Brunette (Fridays)
Nancy at Nancy's Fashion Style (Fridays)
Michelle at My Bijou Life (Fridays)
Erika at A Little Bit of Everything (Fridays)
Rena at Fine Whatever (Saturdays)