Hooked on Necklace Storage

When I make outfits for clients, I spend a lot of time talking about that third piece — the jacket that spiffs up your dark jeans and printed blouse, the scarf that takes your LBD from frumpy to French-girl, Garance Doré chic. More often than not, that third piece ends up being a necklace, from a simple long pendant (bonus: It’ll lengthen your neckline.) to a statement-making collar.

But storing your chains and chokers can be an exercise in messy, tangled frustration. Put ’em in a drawer or jewelry box, and those pretties might knot together or, worse, you might never see them and forget to wear them. Keeping them in their original bags or pouches can also induce a bout of Accessories Amnesia.

That’s why I stash most of my necklaces on simple brass hooks (above) screwed into the back of my dressing-room door. They cost very little ($5 each), and they look like something that could’ve originated in my 1920s house. Since they have two prongs each, the hooks can hold multiple bijoux without coming across as sloppy. To keep the area looking orderly, I sort necklaces by color and type (something we do during our famous closet audits at DC Style Factory) . It’s almost like a little art installation, and proof that sometimes, the simplest, no-Container Store-required solutions are best.

Still, I don’t stash any super-delicate chains on them — they might break. But, smaller hooks, like the ones on these clever bars from etsy shop, Freshly Framed, could handle multiple thinner necklaces.

My cohort Rosana, DC Style Factory’s founder/chief stylist, uses whimsical ceramic animal-head hooks in her closet (for similar see these). Their chunky size means that several necklaces can be stashed on them.

And you can also DIY with a variety of materials — dresser knobs you order from Anthropologie and tack on the wall, shower curtain hooks-turned-necklace holders (when hung on a repurposed towel bar). And Pinterest is awash in rake heads-turned-jewelry racks; I’d just be wary you don’t find a garden tool so rusty or sharp that putting on your baubles gets dangerous or tetanus-inducing.

For more information on working with Jenn (and getting more of her organizing secrets), email her at [email protected].