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Which Accessories Are Worth Splurging On and Which Ones Aren't Here's the honest breakdown on where to spend a little more and where to keep it cheap an...
Here's the honest breakdown on where to spend a little more and where to keep it cheap and cheerful. If you love color and fun but don't want your whole paycheck living in your jewelry box, this one's for you, sis.
The short version: splurge on the things that touch your skin all day, get worn constantly, or need to survive Louisiana humidity. Save on the trend pieces, the statement colors, and anything you'll only reach for a handful of times.
If you wear the same little studs or hoops five days a week, that's the pair worth spending on. Cheap earrings that turn your earlobes green by lunch aren't a bargain, they're a rash. A good pair of solid gold or genuine sterling hoops will hold up through sweat, sunscreen, and the drive-thru daiquiri stop on the way to the crawfish boil without discoloring.
The reason is simple. Nickel is the most common cause of skin reactions to jewelry, and the cheaper the metal blend, the more likely it's hiding in there. If your ears ever feel itchy or sore after a long day, that's worth paying attention to. The Mayo Clinic explains how nickel allergy shows up and why it's so common in inexpensive jewelry. For the earrings you basically live in, spend the money once and be done with it.
Now flip that. The big beaded tassels for Festival International, the purple and gold chandeliers for the Mardi Gras ball, the neon acrylics you're wearing to exactly one pool party? Those should be cheap and fabulous.
You're not putting these on every day, so longevity isn't the point. Fun is the point. A ten dollar pair of oversized florals that photograph like a dream is a better buy than a hundred dollar version you'll baby all night. Buy the trend, wear it loud, and don't feel one bit guilty when next summer's colors roll in and you're ready to move on.
Your everyday bag takes a beating. It rides shotgun, gets tossed on the floorboard, hauls your water bottle and your kid's snacks and half a Target run. That's the one where quality earns its keep. A well made crossbody or tote with real hardware and stitching that doesn't fray will still look good a year from now, and cost per use, it's basically free.
Leather holds up better than cheap coated fabric in our humidity too. The stuff that peels and cracks tends to go fast when it lives in a hot car all summer, and around here your car is an oven from about May through September. Spend on the workhorse bag. It's the accessory you touch the most.
The little clutch you carry to a wedding at a plantation venue or a date night on Jefferson Street? Keep it inexpensive. You're holding it, not stuffing it, so it doesn't need to survive daily abuse. It needs to be cute, match your dress, and hold your phone and lipstick.
A fun sequined or beaded clutch in a bold color is the definition of a save. Buy a couple in different shades for the price of one designer bag and you'll always have one that works with whatever you're wearing. Nobody at the reception is checking the label on your clutch. They're looking at how put together the whole thing feels.
Every closet deserves one necklace that quietly does the heavy lifting. A simple gold chain, a delicate layered set, a pendant you never take off. This is the piece that finishes a plain tee for school pickup and dresses up a sundress for Sunday brunch, all without a second thought.
Because it works with almost everything, it earns real wear, which is exactly what makes a splurge smart. Spend on something classic in a metal that won't tarnish, and it becomes the thing you reach for on the mornings you don't have brainpower for decisions. That's most mornings, honestly.
This is the fun stuff, and it's where cheap is a feature, not a bug. The turquoise statement necklace, the coral drop earrings, the bright bangle stack you pile on for game day. Color trends move, your mood changes, and half the joy of a boutique like ours is grabbing something bold on a whim without overthinking it.
You want to be able to say yes to the hot pink beads for the outdoor summer wedding and the LSU purple stack for football season without it being a whole financial decision. Buy the color, wear it happy, and rotate freely. Bold accessories are meant to be played with, not protected.
Belts and hats. Folks tend to save on belts and splurge on hats, when it should usually be the other way around.
A good belt cinches a sundress, holds its shape, and doesn't crack at the buckle after a few wears, so a mid range one is worth it. Hats, though? A cute straw sun hat for the beach or a festival trucker is a low stakes buy, and honestly the inexpensive ones look just as good in photos. Keep your hats fun and cheap, and put that belt money to work.
If you're ever standing in front of your closet unsure where a piece falls, come see us. Half of styling is just having a girlfriend tell you "spend here, save there" so you can stop second guessing and get on with your day.