Home / Styling / How to layer necklaces
How to layer necklaces without them tangling.
The short answer: three chains, spaced at least 5cm apart in length, with clasps rotated to different positions on the back of the neck. That is the whole trick. Everything else is refinement.
The working method.
- Pick three chains. Ideally three different weights (a fine curb at 1mm, a paperclip at 2mm, a rope at 2.5mm). Same metal or two golds and one silver, never three metals mixed.
- Set the lengths at 40cm (choker), 45cm (mid), and 50cm (long). Below 40cm the chains sit above the collarbone and look busy; above 50cm the third layer drifts under clothing.
- Rotate the clasps. Clasp of the shortest chain sits at the back centre; the mid chain clasp sits at left-side seven; the longest chain clasp at right-side five. This stops the clasps from stacking on top of each other and dragging the layers into a knot.
- Wear the shortest chain outermost. Counterintuitive, but the choker acts as a spacer that keeps the other two from riding up when you tilt your head.
- If the layers still tangle, the culprit is almost always chain weight. Two very light chains attract; a heavier chain in the middle acts as an anchor.
Chain length by neckline.
- Crew neck: 40 / 45 / 50cm. Standard drape.
- V-neck: 42 / 50 / 55cm. The longest sits inside the V.
- Turtleneck: 45 / 55 / 60cm. Long chains only, layered on top of the knit.
- Open collar shirt: 40 / 45 / 52cm. Choker peeks above the collar; mid sits at the sternum.
The three-chain kit.
Start with a fine cable chain, a mid-weight paperclip, and a heavier rope. Go to the layered gold necklaces buyer guide for the ten we tested against the rubric.