August 24, 2023
The timeless elegance of a white Oxford shirt is an essential staple in every woman's wardrobe. Its enduring appeal never wanes, despite the ever-changing whims of fashion trends. To keep this classic piece versatile and fresh, consider enhancing it with some carefully selected jewelry pieces. Here are six exquisite items that can elevate your favorite white button-down from simple to stunning.
Explore our entire collection at John S Brana Handmade Jewelry to discover more stunning pieces that can transform your white button-down shirt into something extraordinary. Our diverse selection caters to all styles and occasions—whether you're pairing your favorite blouse with a sleek pencil skirt or opting for the classic jeans-and-button-down look.
December 10, 2015
Date night is when you break out your pretty dresses and skirts and slip into your sexy shoes, so that you can feel and look your most beautiful and alluring. Jewelry can help to put the perfect polished touch on your date night outfit, and we've put together this list of our nine favorite pieces for getting you ready to go out on the town with that special someone.
November 20, 2015
Whether you're preparing for an engagement portrait session, professional portraits or family photographs, you want to look your best when you arrive at the photographer's studio for your session. Wearing jewelry can add interest to your photographs and make for lovely compositions, but you need to be choosy about the pieces that you choose to show off for your photo opportunity. Here is a quick guide on how to select jewelry to wear for photos.
- Necklaces - The right necklace can complete the neckline of your outfit in a photo, but the wrong one can distract from your face. Photoshoots aren't the time for wearing your favorite statement necklace. Instead, stick to a simple chain with a pendant that has a unique shape and a colorful gemstone. Our Smoky Quartz 14K Gold-filled Pendant or our Checkerboard Cut Amethyst 14K Gold-filled Pendant are lovely choices with their scroll-work settings and sparkling stones.
- Earrings - The earrings that you choose for your photographs should complement your facial shape. The goal should always be to create the illusion of a more oval-shaped face, so choose narrower earrings for a wider face and broader ones for a narrower face. Putting more weight at the bottom of the earrings can balance a narrow chin, while the opposite is true for a narrow forehead. Experts also recommend choosing colored earrings that complement the temperature of your skin's undertones. For example, a warm colored gemstone like the pale green of our Prehnite Hammered Copper Chandelier Earrings would be perfect for a woman with warm golden or peach undertones.
- Rings - If you're going for an engagement portrait, your engagement ring is sure to be featured in your photographs, but for all other types of portraits, your hands may or may not end up in the shot. Wearing a beautiful cocktail ring with an attractive, colorful gemstone will ensure that your hands look lovely if they are captured in the shot. Pick a ring with a very large gem, such as our 11 ct Pear Cut Amethyst Sterling Silver Cocktail Ring (pictured below) or our 18.5-carat Cushion Cut Mystic Quartz Sterling Silver Cocktail Ring.
- Bracelets - If you're posing for group pictures, there is a good chance that your wrist will be visible as you put your arm around your spouse or your child. Wearing a simple precious metal cuff or bangle bracelet that is wide and textured will perfectly complete the photo. Looks to try include our Texturized Nu Gold Anticlastic Bangle Bracelet for a yellow gold look, our Linen Texturized Aluminum Cuff for a silver look or our Fluted Copper Cuff for the look of rose gold.
In the John S. Brana Handmade Jewelry collection, you'll find an array of beautiful pieces that will have you dressed to impress in your portraits. You may even want to bring along different necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings to change your look for various shots.
November 17, 2015
One of the trickiest parts of accessorizing outfits is finding necklaces that are perfectly suited for the neckline on a top or dress. To help make it easier for you to create great outfits, we put together this guide to selecting necklaces for different necklines.
1. Turtleneck - Turtlenecks can be very difficult to style with necklaces, as you don't want to wear something that is too tight around the collar area. An excellent solution is to put a simple chain like our 22-inch Chased Stainless Steel Link Necklace over top of the turtleneck.
2. Crew Neck - Bib necklaces that are not too thick will fit perfectly along the curve of a crew neckline. Our Carnelian & Serpentine Beaded Gemstone Necklace is a great example, as it has a rounded shape, and its mix of pearls, serpentine, carnelian, amazonite and amber is colorful but not too wide.
3. Scoop Neck - With a scoop neck, choose a rounder necklace with plenty of volume. Our Blue Chalcedony White Coral Necklace is an excellent choice with its perfectly shaped mix of white stick coral, blue chalcedony, aqua Venetian glass beads, clear quartz and aqua freshwater pearls.
4. Strapless - To complement a strapless neckline, choose a tight fitting choker necklace. A necklace like our Orange Italian Mesh Metal Ribbon Necklace that you can adjust for length will help you to get the right fit without feeling uncomfortable. This particular piece expands from 16 to 20 inches and features orange Italian mesh metal ribbons and carnelian.
5. Square - With a square neckline, you want to echo the shape of the top with the shape of your necklace. This is best done with a square or angular pendant like our Green Emerald Cut Gold Quartz 14K Gold-filled Pendant. You can mix and match the necklace with any gold tone chain, so you can easily adjust it to the perfect length to suit your top.
6. Off the Shoulder - Complement the look of an asymmetrical off-the-shoulder top with a necklace that is also asymmetrical. Our Faceted Garnets and Citrine Flower Necklace is a great choice, as it features citrine briolette flowers on one side and simple garnet gemstones and 24-karat gold seed beads on the other.
7. Halter Neck - For a halter neckline, try a pendant necklace with an elongated shape and a narrow width. At 3-1/2 inches in length and 3/4 inches in width, our Lepidochrosite 14K Gold-filled Pendant is a lovely choice for any halter.
8. V-Neck - A wide necklace with a V-shape will flatter any V-neck top. Our Yellow Jade Chain Maille Necklace is perfectly sized and shaped and will also look pretty with a halter.
9. Collared Shirt - For a shirt with a traditional lapel collar, go for an understated pendant necklace and wear it underneath the fabric. Our Oval Green Gold Quartz 14K Gold-filled Pendant will look lovely under blouses and collared dresses of almost any color.
10. Sweetheart - A tear drop pendant will fit perfectly into the small scoop featured on a sweetheart bodice or top. Try our Smoky Quartz 14K Gold-filled Pendant for a stunning look with neutral, go-with-anything color.
We have many other necklaces in our collection that will coordinate with various necklines, so take some time to check out all of our pendant and necklace styles!
June 28, 2015
Building a beautiful jewelry collection is truly a lifelong endeavor, as most women gradually purchase pieces over the years to add more versatility to their accessories collection. If you're looking for something new and beautiful that you are sure to get years of wear from, it's a good idea to think about which essentials you're missing. We put together this list of the jewelry pieces that every woman should have on hand to mix and match with her ensembles.
August 25, 2014
View all of our bangles to find the right statement-making piece to add to your jewelry collection. Each bangle bracelet is handmade out of the finest of precious metals and presented in a gift box.
July 20, 2012
Opt for two colors. Many fashion experts recommend starting with two colors when using the color blocking trend. For those daring individuals, try two contrasting colors that will make your jewelry stand out. For a more subdued look, select colors that complement one another, such as a pink and red or a blue and purple combination. Try a variety of colors until you find combinations that flatter your skin tone.
October 08, 2009
Whether you care or not, you make an impression every time you bump into someone different or see an old acquaintance. Research shows that in the first 30 seconds, an attitude is formed based upon your appearance. Your jewelry and what it brings to light about your character is part of that consciousness. If you want to project a certain vision, either individually or professionally, using your jewelry is a very useful way to do it. Here are some helpful pointers to get you started:
Stand Out from the Crowd Treat yourself to a truely amazing one-of-a-kind piece of custom made jewelry. For instance, a custom piece of hand made jewelry designed by an artiste will really make you stand out. With a unique piece of art jewelry, you will be astonished at how often you get compliments and stand out from the rest of the crowd. Select the right design to reflect your personality. Different designs enhance certain personalities. Dazzlingly colored designs usually evoke a enjoyable, overenthusiastic, warm personality; Modern designed jewelry usually evokes an artsy personality; Ethnic jewelry usually evokes a bohemian or free spirit personality.
Pull Together Colors The easiest way to be sure to color synchronize your outfits is to buy matching jewelry sets whenever possible or financially feasible. This ensures you will always have something to match your outfit. A synchronized outfit communicates a well prepared, meticulous, and professional person with great taste and a flair for fashion. Having a blend of nicely harmonized colors does not mean that your jewelry has to be the same color as your outfit, but it does have to be part of a harmonized set of colors that blend nicely together.
Never thought jewelry was that essential? Statement jewelry is a part of you that guides your hidden style, your beliefs, actions, yearnings, place in life, line of work and status. It makes you feel good about yourself when you marvel at it in the mirror. Whenever you look at your one-of-a-kind jewelry, it gives you warmth inside when you recall where you acquired it or why you have it. Handcrafted designer jewelry makes a affirmative statement about you every time you wear it, and whenever you recieve or buy something new, it is a remembrance of that event in your life.