If you’re an avid PB reader, or you’re one of our followers on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen my fingers adorned in one-too-many rings. Rings are my thing, and if I don’t have at least two on each hand, I feel totally naked! My (very fabulous) grandmother was—and still is—very into jewelry, so from a very young age, I started loving and acquiring lots of jewelry myself. She was always very generous, buying all of her granddaughters earrings, rings and everything else you could imagine, jewelry-wise. I credit her for my love of accessories, purses included! Back in high school, she wouldn’t dream of buying me a piece of jewelry in yellow gold, and in the age of the ever-popular Tiffany & Co bracelets, silver or white gold was all I would wear. However, in the ten years since I graduated high school, I have begun to love yellow gold more and more, and I even had a few old pieces re-dipped in yellow gold instead of the original white gold state I acquired them in.
Because of my wide variety of jewelry, I’m constantly mixing pieces, wearing some yellow gold and some white gold or silver. For my graduation from college, I picked out a silver David Yurman bracelet and ring and chose the stone citrine, which is a deep golden-yellow color, because I love that it ties in well with gold jewelry. That being said, I bet you know where I’m going with this. I have no issues mixing my jewelry, and in turn I don’t pay much attention at all to the hardware of my bags. Even if I’m wearing all gold jewelry, I won’t steer away from taking out a bag that has silver hardware. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
Where I can’t be bothered to be miss matchy-matchy, my roommate is on the fence. One too many times, we’ve been ready to walk out the door for a night out and turned right back around when she’s realized that her Gucci Marmont doesn’t match with her silver jewelry. Time after time, I roll my eyes and proclaim that it doesn’t matter, before humoring her and offering up whatever bags I have with hardware that matches her current bling. So tell me—and my bestie Ro!—do you insist on matching your jewelry to your bags hardware?
Absolutely match them-some of my clothes have metal on them too, around neck, sleevse etc, so I always match purse hardware to all the metal I’m wearing including shoes. To me it doesn’t look “finished” to have them unmatched unless both colors of the metals are on your arms.
Yes, I do try to match. It makes me feel a bit ridiculous because literally no one cares or would notice besides me. When I don’t have time to switch purses to match the jewelry, I actually feel bad about it. It’s like I failed fashion or something.
Yes! My thing is necklaces, and whatever necklace I’m wearing has to match the hardware on my bag.
Either way is fine with me. Do you also lend your good bags to friends? TPB friends?
No, never! Fortunately, no one has ever asked. Not everyone understands that good handbags need to be handled gently.
Sorry. I ought to have identified that inquiry as one typed in jest. My humor can be too dry.
Totally agree about not lending my bags out. To me, the thought of someone else’s items being placed in my bag would be the equivalent of lending my underwear out. Not to mention I would be hypersensitive about any outlet marks or scratched occurring.
Ha! I mix metals with my jewelry because I wear whatever I’m in the mood for. I’d go crazy trying to match my jewelry with the hardware on my bag. To be honest, I’ve never given it any thought.
I like the warmth of yellow gold so all my jewelry is yellow gold. I gravitate to gold hardware because it suits my taste. If that’s “matching” then yes, I match!
ABSOLUTELY NOT! No need to match.
Agree completely
I gravitate toward matching but not as a hard and fast rule (too difficult). One approach I’ve found that makes it more comfortable for me is to wear at least one piece that has mixed metal so everything goes with it in one way or another (i.e. stacked rings or bracelets in white, yellow and rose gold). Provides a tie in for everything else.
I used to be very bad at this, meaning I once bought the same bag twice in silver/gold hardware, so that my jewelry matched. I felt like a blk bag with silver hdw was less formal and more downtown casual or industrial looking; and gold hdw was more classic and uptown. I’ve since gotten over that and mix metals.
I wear mostly gold. And pretty much only get gold bags. Or gunmetal. I don’t really like to do gold with silver. But it depends on the amount of hardware on the bag. I also really like gunmetal bags now. They can go with either.
Since I prefer GHW for my bags and silver jewelry, mismatching is always the case for me.
And I know how you feel about your rings! If I am not wearing a pair of studs earrings I feel totally naked. I remember one time I somehow forgot to wear a pair of earrings and went to the nearest department store before work to buy a pair.
Me too! I have a nice David Yurman silver collections, but somehow always end up with gold bags. It’s fine though.
I have silver and gold jewelry on me at all times so I guess I’m never matchy matchy. I actually very much enjoy the fact that now it is more OK to mix metalls as I struggled when I was younger to choose what piece to wear with what and when!
Yup. I have to match. I’m more into silver and gunmetal hardware on bags, although my boyfriend bought me my first gold hardware bag, I quite like it. It’s a lot more dressy than my silver ones. Now I’m struggling on whether to get a Reissue in gold or ruthenium!
No because I am already too busy matching the colors of the stones I am wearing with my nail polish 🙂
Of course not. I don’t match shoes to a bag or jewellery to a bag’s handle or zipper. No offence but it seems like a lack of creativity to me.
I wear almost exclusively rose gold jewelry, so none of my bags will ever “match” my jewelry!
Never:) I wear the same jewelry everyday and even it doesn’t match:) I like controlled cacophonies!
I used to but not anymore. Too much effort. I just try to match my bag to my outfits but hardware/jewelry matching is secondary.
I do. Seems more elegant
I never knew people paid such attention to their bag hardware and jewels. It does make sense, but I’m one of those ppl who cbf.
I like matching my jewelry to my bag’s hardware, and I especially like to put on tri-tone gold jewelry so I don’t need to worry.
I admit to feeling uncomfortable mixing in my own ensembles–unless, of course, I wear jewelry itself that mixes gold and silver tones! That seems to resolve that uncertain feeling I have.
But I do think it’s fine for folks not to match, as long as the proportions on the jewelry or bag do not “scream” gold or silver. In other words, I think the aesthetic can be thrown off by the combination of an ostentatious gold and silver choice. But not always, and that might just be me . . . .
I won’t buy a bag unless it has gold hardware, since I wear exclusively gold jewelry.
I prefer to match, but it doesn’t always happen. Like others have mentioned, I have a few pieces of jewelery that have both yellow gold and silver together, which helps if I’m mixing metals.
I prefer to match, but it doesn’t always happen. Like others have mentioned, I have a few pieces of jewelery that have both yellow gold and silver together, which helps if I’m mixing metals.
My engagement, wedding, and celebration (for my son’s birth) rings are all platinum, and I wear a white gold necklace and monogram pendant with my son’s initials everyday, so I tend to wear platinum, white gold and silver during daytime to match them, and consequently my “daytime” bags have to have white metal hardware. My husband recently purchased my first Birkin for my birthday, and I told him it absolutely had to have palladium hardware. I was carrying a Chanel jumbo everyday to the office recently, and its gold tone hardware drove me crazy. I sold it a week ago and will be purchasing the same bag (Chanel caviar jumbo) in a few days, but with silver hardware. I wish it didn’t bother me when my jewelry and bag don’t match, but it does. I usually wear gold jewelry in the evenings, so my smaller, “going out” bags have gold hardware. Same goes for my belt buckles and any sort of metal (buckles, studs, rivets) on my shoes, they have to be consistent with my jewelry and handbag or else I get overly focused and obsess over it. Some people can mix metals and look stylish, but I’m not one of them. I end up looking messy. I just don’t have a good eye for it.
I normally don’t match my bag to my jewelry. I wear what I want and that’s it.
FYI typo in your headline (debated shld be debate)
First, can I just tell you I love your blog!! I tell people about it all the time….it’s the best place to go for product details and feedback from others before you make that big purchase. I really enjoy reading other peoples feedback on it. In the end – I buy what I want and like but you guys are great!!
Second, I thought I was the only person who thought this way!! I’m so glad you hit on this topic!!
It was a difficult transition to mixing my jewelry and bag metal. At one time I only wore gold. Gold wedding ring, watch and any all other jewelry so my bags had to have gold hardware. At some point about 13 years ago I moved to a platinum wedding ring, mixed metal watch and from that point on I would wear either all white gold or all gold and my bag had to match whatever color I chose for the day. Now, I mix and match everything, but there has to be the right “combination” and my bag has to match the “prominent” color choice. I know it’s crazy and I spend way too much time thinking about it all. Never mind traveling… I’ve had to carry multiple bags and shoes to match up with my jewelry. Which reminds me, no one mentioned matching their handbag’s metal to their shoe metal, or the bag color to the shoe color… It can be never ending!
I do match them at more formal outings but otherwise tend to mix. The more i match all jewelry-bag-shoes-belt hw the dressier it will look i think.
I love this discussion because I’m a stickler for matching my bag hardware with my bling. A good deal on a gold hardware Chanel jumbo Size is 2.55 is offered to me and it’s absolutely driving me nuts thinking about the hw being in gold and not silver or ruthenium. Reading these comments made me feel confident that it’s okay to mix hardwares after all 🙂