sallyinstpaul
- Jun 11, 2021
- 4 min read

OOTD: Rabbits With Neck Mess

Today brings together two of my favorite things this summer: rabbits and layered necklaces.

I know that layered necklaces have been a thing for quite some time now, but the look didn't resonate with me because for years I always saw examples like "skinny, tan, young woman wearing a thin white t-shirt with a deep V neck and 2-5 extremely delicate chain necklaces, one of which draws the eye down to her cleavage (thirst trap)." There was nothing about that look that would translate for me.

But lately I've been seeing layered necklaces (aka #neckmess) everywhere, in so many different variations, on all kinds of people with all kinds of outfits. And I like it because it's interesting looking, personalized, and allows me to wear a bunch of necklaces at once (thus getting greater use out of my necklaces!). When I started making simple seed bead strands, I knew that the #neckmess would be a good way to start wearing them.

Here is one of my recent efforts, incorporating 3 necklace types and about 11 total strands. I started with 5 seed bead strands (2 dark blue, 1 pearly dark blue, 2 pearly periwinkle blue) that I made. (I call them "seed bead strands" because they are seed beads strung on FireLine with jump rings on both ends, not finished necklaces with clasps. I add a basic chain necklace extender of the desired length to the strands to wear them.) These seed bead strands are a lot like the Twist A Beads of the 1980's but are not worn neatly twisted up; instead they are left as separate strands to create a more casual, messy, rough-around-the-edges, "effortless" boho vibe that I like (and feels less like I'm living in a time warp). Next I added a mixed-metal multi-strand paperclip chain necklace from Loft Outlet (which is nice because it gives you a bit of variety of chains but only has one clasp to deal with). Last I added this short silver pendant that I purchased years ago from Goodwill. As I experiment with different #neckmess collections, I do like the look of one piece being a pendant of some kind. I was pretty satisfied with how this one turned out.

To keep the layering theme going, I also wore 2 bead-and-metallic stretch bracelets from a 4 bracelet set I bought at Christopher & Banks plus 1 from a set of metallic ones from Amazon. Very simple and low-key, though looking at it now, I would like to try adding a white pearl bracelet to that stack...and I even own one with a few sparkly beads interspersed with the pearls that would be a good candidate for it. Because that one is real pearls, I keep it in a slightly different spot from where the costume bead bracelets are kept all together; I need to remember that the pearl one exists!

And here's the whole outfit, once again featuring this sadly-shrunken rabbit tunic worn as a top layer. I tried the "soak in hair conditioner and water mixture, then stretch out gently and allow to air dry" method and got just a little extra length in the arms from it, but no length in the body where it's so needed. When worn over a black column, the shortness is less noticeable, but against this white tank top and black capri pants...man, that tunic is short. Next I will try the "steam the shirt with an iron and then stretch it" approach and see if I can get some more of that length back. UGH! I'm also not sold on how much of the white tank is showing beneath the shirt; unfortunately the shrinkage made the shirt smaller around as well as shorter (though fortunately I can still button it OK). Now I wonder whether it would have looked better with some longer necklaces...or a scarf...filling in that space. Thoughts for next time.