Like most things in life there’s no easy answer. Except possibly, “maybe”.
In pageant competition, it always starts with your gown. Your jewelry’s task is to first, accent and frame your face and make sure all eyes are on YOU - and do that while perfectly accenting your gown. Ideally of course in a perfectly balanced manner so as to be visible enough to draw attention to you, but not so big that they overwhelm you. You don’t need earrings that wear you, or look like they can receive satellite signals.
Balance. Color. Size, form & line.
If your gown is relatively simple color wise - a solid color, no stoning, or perhaps one color plus clear Crystal (“silver” or “diamond” crystals) or Crystal AB (those glorious iridescent rainbow coated crystals) there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find a perfect accent from one of the many jewelry collections designed for pageant competition today - including of course, the Stefanie Somers Collection.
If your gown has stoning, usually crystals set into prong settings sewn onto the gown, get comfy with some good light and make some notes. Here’s what you’re looking for:
First of all, what color are the SETTINGS?
Usually they’ll be a silver color, but increasingly we see gold tone being used. Whichever it is, that’s how you want your jewelry plated: white or yellow, silver or gold, palladium or 14k gold.
In general, you want to stay with the color on those settings, because it does set a tone, even though you can’t actually see the settings.
Set that setting/metal information aside for a moment.
Now let’s look at your Crystals.
Lots of dresses will have only Crystal or AB: clear, diamond-like crystals, or iridescent rainbow coated crystals. If that’s what you have your task is easy. You may have some small seed or bugle beading as well, this is of no consequence if there are crystals present.
If there are pearls on the dress, make a note of that.
Is there color? Is the color a clear, “straight”, i.e. no iridescence, color, or does it have an oil-slick-like finish? The iridescent, or AB colors can be tricky to identify, even for a pro. Move the stones back and forth and look for the color underlying the “flash”- it may be subtle.
Your gown - and your fashion sense - will usually fall into one of three scenarios.
SCENARIO #1:
Your gown has only Crystal, Crystal AB, or a monochromatic color palette (shades of pink, or shades of blue, etc) often with added Crystal and/or AB Crystal. We see lots of Nude/Champagne and almost-black stoning, plus lots and lots of pink!
You’ll still need to pay attention to getting the colors right - is that “blue-purple” or “red-purple”? - but overall a tonal look is fairly easy to accent. Rarely is a custom colorway needed.
SCENARIO #2:
Your gown has a multi-tonal palette (for example, pinks, blues and purples), but you only want to accent a single color - in our example, you want to pull out the blue. Maybe to make your eyes pop!
Usual suspects here are pastel groupings, jewel tones (sometimes with black), mixed royal/teal/emerald, and beautiful icy mixes of nude/white, sometimes with shades of aquamarine. Each of these offers an opportunity to pick a single tone or tonal palette to create a great look without going full custom.
SCENARIO #3:
Your gown has a multi-tonal palette and you want the full effect of a custom look that matches your jewelry colors to your gown colors.
Occasionally when a mix is popular you’ll be able to fix earrings to echo even the most out there blend. If you’re not having that kind of luck and you crave the perfect match, a custom colorway is your path to perfection.
Custom COLOR is not the same as custom DESIGN
It’s important to point out that custom COLOR is not the same as custom DESIGN - not in our world. While Custom design can be a pricey proposition, custom color generally isn’t. Depending on the complexity of the design and possible rarity of the crystal there may not be any upcharge at all. After all, every piece we make at SSC is made to order, so it’s just a small move to create your jewelry precisely as you need it.
What IS vital for a custom color - for SSC or for any designer you choose - is great photos so the colors can be clearly deciphered. We’ll talk about that in a future article!
You can check out our color charts here to give you a headstart. Don’t see your color(s)? Send us large, clear, crisp well-lit photos (no fluorescent light please) and we’ll do our best to help ID the crystals.
Learn more about SSC Custom Colorways here, or hit the Chat link on your screen!