Wearing Jewelry to the Beach
Most of us already know about getting our jewelry to match our outfits, but do we really need to worry about wearing the right jewelry for the occasion? I must confess - I normally wear what I like without worrying about where I'm going to be. I'm not a stickler for fashion "rules", to the lament of many of my fashionista friends. Allergies aside, I'm not a firm believer that ALL jewelry must be 24K gold or sterling silver, or even that diamonds should only be worn during a fancy night out. If you want to wear your diamonds or other precious stones while shopping for tonight's dinner at your local grocery store, then go for it! If the diamonds happen to be in a tiara, you may get some funny looks, but hey, you may make a few people smile.
I personally use a lot of stainless steel in the jewelry I make. I live in Florida, where the saltwater and humidity seem to take great pleasure in attacking most metals. I'm pretty sure that if Florida had a state metal, it would be rust. That's not to say you can't have beautiful sterling silver jewelry in Florida - you just have to take good care of it and like to polish silver. A lot.
The other material I use in a lot of my jewlery is nylon cord. Partly because of the color options, but also because I can wear it anywhere. Especially to the beach. A cute little stone sea turtle on a nylon cord anklet looks perfect at the beach or poolside. I treat my nylon cords with UV and water protection, to try to extend the life of the material. And some of the benefits? It can get wet and I don't have to worry about corrosion. And, here's a biggy that you may not appreciate unless you spend time on the beach, or in a sauna - it doesn't get HOT! Seriously. Wear anything metal for an extended period of time in the sun and you may notice that it gets a tad toasty. In fact, it may get hot enough to cause a burn, which is definitely not a good thing, and not something anyone expects from their jewelry. So, while I'm certainly not going to tell you what you should or should not wear, you may want to keep the elements in mind when choosing which jewelry to wear to the beach. Whatever you decide to wear, rock your look and say hello to the beach for me :-)