Stacking, stacks or arm party are all things I’m likely to be calling the collection of items that ends up on my wrist. What is much less likely is my wrist being empty or only occupied by solely a watch when I leave the house in the morning. An obsession with costume jewelry is a polite way to put it but hey, everyone has their vices so what if this may be mine (or is it just one of mine, who’s really counting?).

I always start with the watch, be it gold, silver, black or rose, and then choose the rest of the stack from there. It’s fun to mix it up, wear new arrangements and make it interesting. Even in a simple t-shirt and jeans, a decorated wrist can turn the whole outfit around. When wearing a crowded stack I try and stick to simple jewelry elsewhere with studs and a thin chained necklace.

I’ve been trained not to play favorites, especially while teaching, but my gold Michael Kors watch would win, hands down. It’s my go-to that has been around for 5 years and for me to even like something for that long is an achievement. When buying costume jewelry, I rarely spend over $10/$20 on an item, mainly because they are from Forever 21 or deeply discounted at J.Crew and also because I will probably be over it in a season or two. But even when I’m over it, I still have a problem letting go. It’ll probably live in the jewelry closet for a while and maybe when one day I’ll get inspired to add it back into a new stack. Purging is not my strong suit and I have way too many things in my closet I haven’t worn because maybe…sometime…in the future, I’ll be mad I got rid of that gray knee length cotton dress that hugged me too tightly or maybe it will be in the same spot until we move out of this apartment? Anyways, if it’s here, it has a place and it’s organized, until I finally let go. But in the end it’s all about the party…on your arm.

Michael Kors Gold Watch / J.Crew Classic Pave Link Bracelet