5 Myths about wearing jewellery you've probably heard at least once

In an age where people have more information, freedom and autonomy, it's surprising to think that there are myths that cloud our everyday fashion choices. Here are 5 you've probably come across and how to completely dispel them.

1. You can’t wear silver and gold together!?

It’s supposedly a fashion faux pas to mix two different tones.. At least that was the unwritten rule when I was growing up. It was almost as though the fashion police were waiting to give you a written warning if you dared to leave the house in a gold necklace with silver studs. But, modern day says YOLO! Ok celebs first said yolo and we all fell in line. In all seriousness stars have been at the forefront in setting trends we now adhere to today and wearing multiple types of bold, flashy multi coloured jewellery is seen on everyone from your favourite rapper to supermodels.

2. Hoops are for the ghetto..

And the bigger the hoop, the worse (supposedly) - especially if you’re black! Not trying to get “political” but it’s important to understand that hoops originated in Africa and have been a staple part of many black women’s outfits before it became a fashion trend, so it is still puzzling that hoops have this stigma attached to them despite it being used by so many worldwide. This timeless piece of jewellery vary in size, patterns and price tags, like these everyday wear hoops. Big or small, hoops are your friend and can turn up any basic look in an instant!

3. You can't wear bold jewellery to work.

This is for my office workers. For some reason there's this notion that wearing zero to little jewellery shows ‘professionalism’. Your work attire matches the type of work you do and should always be in line with the companies values, for example, you wouldn't wear high heels and a pencil skirt if you were a PE teacher, therefore practicality is of course a given here. But let's say you work in the typical office environment, how you dress should be an expression of you regardless (unless looking like plane Jane rocks your boat). Bold pieces can really make a difference to your appearance, confidence and has the ability to elevate your look. There is nothing in the work handbook that discriminates against being your truest self and if that means rocking your big, oval shaped, teal pendant then why not?

4. You shouldn’t wear anklets because they’re linked to slavery times?

Anklets aka ankle chains or ankle bracelets have been given various meanings over the years and was even mentioned in The Bible. Ancient Egyptian women of all social classes would wear anklets as a decorative ornament (trendsetters). In Indian culture anklets are usually silver with chimes and served as a reminder that unmarried women were entering the vicinity. Nowadays, they are worn by all women for spiritual, traditional and fashionable reasons. In other cultures, anklets are used for dances, performances, currency and important ceremonies, however they have also been traced back to an era where slave trading was prominent. This myth refers to the iron chains, shackles and weights slaves were forced to wear in order to prevent them from escaping, which is why it seems a taboo to wear something similar as jewellery. This one should be handled personally, yes anklets have been used negatively in the past, however in the words of Shakespeare 'nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so'. It is essentially up to us to turn any negative to a positive - one way being through self expression in our fashion choices.

5. Less is more.

Everyone knows that if you want to keep it classy then less is more - Coco Chanel.

100% true, however, I don’t know about you but I like to mix up my looks and some days I don’t want to be classy, some days I want to just pile it on and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact when done properly this look can be more than trendy, especially for festivals, holidays and party looks where more is more! Essentially, we shouldn’t allow unwritten rules and myths to dictate how we want to express ourselves. We are multifaceted beings and switching it up is part of the adventure called life. Don't let anyone tell you what you can or can not do or what you can and can not wear because you only have one life to live and it’s yours - that's the end of my Ted talk.