How to Style Your Custom Name Necklace

 

If you want your style to stand out, few things make for a flashier statement piece than a custom name necklace. Since you’re literally wearing your name wherever you go, people are bound to notice your sense of fashion and remember you. So it makes total sense why personalized name necklaces are so prominent in NYC street style.

 

Since custom name necklaces are one of the biggest necklace trends right now, knowing how to style a custom name necklace in unique and interesting ways can get tricky. After all, you don’t want to lose that custom touch that makes it special.

 

Even the most subtle choice of clothing or other jewelry can take your outfit to the next level. We've put together a custom name necklace style guide with helpful tips on how to style a personalized necklace with your name (or whatever word you pick).

 

Custom Name Necklace Style Through History

 

Before we get into the different ways to wear name necklaces, let’s get into the history of custom name necklace style and its evolution.

 

The history of the custom name necklaces dates back to 1980s streetwear trends. Jewelry trends in the 80s revolved around big, attention-grabbing jewelry, like the tennis bracelet. Custom name necklaces in the 80s were most popular among young people as a status symbol and an expression of their identity.

 

As the years passed, luxury custom name necklaces became popular with celebrities who personalized their name necklaces in highly unique ways. Celebrities who wear custom name necklaces include Kanye West, Lil Baby, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian.

 

In the 2010s, mainstream fashion adopted silver and gold-plated name necklaces as a popular jewelry trend. The most trendy name necklace styles were dainty custom nameplate necklaces for women. This trend was more about simplicity and minimalism rather than boldly expressing personal style.

 

Now, the current custom name necklace styles are all about personality again. Even though name necklaces are technically a trend, they’re also an anti-trend because custom name necklace style has shifted to self-expression and personal meaning.

 

Different Ways to Style Custom Name Necklaces

 

Now that you know about the history and meaning of name necklaces let’s get into some different ways to style personalized name necklaces.

 

Keep in mind that there are many different types of custom name necklaces with unique elements that can affect the vibe of your look. Different name pendant fonts, necklace chain lengths and widths, metal types, chain link styles, and gemstones can all influence how you style your name necklace.

1. Layer Chain Necklaces

You might be thinking, really? Layered necklaces? That’s not me.However, you might be thinking of the boring layered necklace trends from the 2010s, which featured thin layered necklaces all similar in width, color, and overall style.

 

The new way to style multiple necklaces is more interesting. The idea is to layer about 2–5 chain necklaces in varying lengths, textures, and styles. Here are some tips for layering necklace chains with a custom name necklace:

 

1. Mix different chain link styles (such as Miami Cuban Link chains, Figaro chains, curb chains, rope chains, wheat chains, etc) for different textures.

 

1. Pick different necklace lengths (such as a 14” length choker or 27” long pendant necklace) to accentuate your custom name necklace.

 

1. Match metals by color, or change things up with a mixed-metal look.

 

1. Pair plain gold chains with gemstone pendants or necklaces.

 

1. Add more personalized necklaces such as custom dog tag necklaces, engraved bar necklaces, engraved medallion or disk pendants, or other unique pendants.

 

You can look at how celebrities style their custom necklaces for inspiration or come up with your own. You can create any kind of vibe you want by making subtle adjustments, be it edgy hip-hop and punk style, washed-up rockstar style, or elegant Italian style.

 

2. Pair with Other Jewelry

If you don’t want to wear other necklaces with your custom name necklace, you can make your look unique by selecting other jewelry to express your personal vibe.

 

If you’re going for a streetwear look, here are some ideas for urban style jewelry you can wear with a personalized name necklace:

 

1. Bracelets:Gold chain link bracelets, tennis bracelets, iced-out watches

 

1. Earrings:Diamond stud earrings, gold hoop earrings, plug earrings, drop earrings

 

1. Rings:Pinky rings, signet rings, diamond rings, chunky rings, index finger rings

 

If you’re going for a more low-key look, you may wish to wear simple gold and silver rings (maybe only 1-3 on each hand), layered bracelets, small huggie hoop earrings, and whatever else you see fit.

 

A great way to truly own your style to stand out is to play around with different gemstones. Cubic zirconia and diamonds provide a lot of sparkle, while black onyx rings can add an air of intrigue. You can add meaning to your look by getting birthstone jewelry.

3. Focus On Clothing

If you want your name to be the only jewelry you wear, you can still make quite the statement by knowing what to wear with your custom name necklace. Here are some tips for finding what to wear with a name necklace:

 

1. Match your clothing colors to your custom necklace: gold name necklaces really pop with blacks and darker colors, white gold and silver name necklaces look good with muted colors.

 

1. Consider your shirt neckline: Long necklaces go well with high-necked shirts. Choker-length name necklaces look great with medium necklines. Mid-length necklaces go well with V-neck or U-neck shirts.

 

1. Keep your outfit balanced:If you want your custom name necklace to stand out, don’t wear it with a shirt that has a large graphic or busy print. Think of your outfit as a composition; what spaces do you want to leave blank, and where do you draw attention?

 

For more tips on pairing custom necklaces with outfits, check out our custom name necklace outfit style guide.

 

Experiment and Keep It Fresh

Custom name necklaces never go out of style if you know how to keep them relevant. As your mood or lifestyle changes, you can reflect your state of mind in your fashion choices. If you’re going to a party and feel like standing out, wear as many rings on one hand as you like, or wear a watch and a bracelet. If you want your name to speak for itself, you can always pair it with a black t-shirt, a jacket, a hat, and jeans.

 

Wherever you go, your name necklace shares part of your story, so keep it fresh—but more importantly—keep it 100% you.