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Do You Ever Not Wear Accessories Because They’re Annoying?

Do You Ever Not Wear Accessories Because They’re Annoying?
Carly Jacobs

As I get older I’m finding that I’m getting less and less tolerant of the jangle of my accessories. I nearly ripped my earlobe off the other day after my earring got caught on my scarf for 5th time in ten minutes. I love jewellery and I buy beautiful and timeless pieces but I’m definitely not a casual accessory wearer. I take off all my outfit extras the second I get home and dump them in various locations around my house. I can’t wear earrings and watch TV at the same time. They just aren’t compatible activities for me. 

This Neck Lushie from Brooklyn Commons is the freaking perfect accessory for me, especially for winter. It tucks beautifully under jackets and doesn’t crash down on my keyboard when I’m writing. It’s also really light so I don’t feel the need to rip it off the second I get home as I do with all of my other necklaces. The perfect outfit decoration for irritable gals like me. 

I was wondering though, how many of you are bothered by your accessories? There’s a girl at my gym who jogs (in a very serious way) wearing piles of jewellery just jangling around while she works out. Honestly, it drives me spare watching her giant beaded earrings bang awkwardly against her neck. I’m like ‘Can’t you FEEL THAT? IS IT NOT ANNOYING THE SHIT OUT OF YOU????? The Smaggle Sydney correspondent is exactly the same and has been known to hop into bed wearing a black tie event’s worth of jewels and not even realise it until the next morning. Bizarre.

How do you feel about accessories? Does your level of irritability factor in at all? Can you sleep wearing jewellery? Or exercise?

Disclaimer – Neck Lushie was provided by Brooklyn Commons for editorial consideration. 

43 Comments

  1. nova 12 years ago

    Yup, I have to wear disposable gloves and wash my hands a lot at my job and so I never ever wear bracelets or rings, it’s way too much work taking them off and putting them back on, keeping track of where I’m putting them, etc.

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       It really is all about the job isn’t it? Because it’s wear you spend most of your time it really dictates what you wear most of the time.

  2. Louise 12 years ago

    I can’t go the gym and wear jewelz! Rings get tight, necklaces bounce around while I’m on the treadmill, and bracelets are not fun either. I wear tiny little sleeper earrings that you can barely feel while in, but that’s it! I don’t know how people wear their accessories at the gym! I’ll pile on the bling for work or whatever I’m doing that doesn’t involve exercise, but I’m like you Smaggle… as soon as I’m home, it comes straight off and goes into my jewelz case. Scarves though can stay on all day long, especially in winter.

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Do you remember that runner Flo Jo something from the states that used to wear heaps of gold jewellery in the Olympics? Pretty fabulous but I could never do it.

  3. Charis 12 years ago

    Ha ha, I can totally relate! I’ve actually only just really started wearing jewellery again because it’s been totally impractical for work and it seemed daft putting it on when I’m off… and I love the look of wrists piled high with bangles but the jangling drives me crazy 😉

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       I find the jangling fine if I’m out to dinner or even shopping but it’s sitting and relaxing while wearing jewellery that annoys the bejesus out of me.

  4. Nicole 12 years ago

    I have a choker that has an oval pendant on it, that, when worn, sits right above the dip in my clavicle. It’s a decently sized pendant, and when I walk,
    the hitting sensation that occurs makes me nautious. Suffice to say, I’ve only worn it the once.

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Urgh! Can’t do chokers or even short necklaces. They strangle me

  5. Nadine Armiger 12 years ago

    Jewellery drives me bananas. I can’t do fun stuff if I’m getting smacked in the face by necklaces and earrings. I always wear my watch, wedding rings and crystal studs. If I’m doing civilised non-jumping-around activities like the grocery shop I’ll wear extra (bracelets etc) but most of the time I don’t.

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Me too! I have so much stuff but I usually just wear hoops during the week and when I’m writing.

  6. Valentina Borbone 12 years ago

    I have bucket loads of jewellery and 26 ear piercings, but the moment I walk in the door it all comes off – as you said, earrings get stuck on the gorgeous scarves and fine materials & fabrics, and I’m sick of ruining my clothes. I can’t wear chunky bracelets on my right hand because they interfere with my mouse pad and keyboard and smashing on the desk annoying everyone else. Then there are kids – my little 1 year old pulls on my earrings the moment he sees them.

    When I take them off in various places around the house though, I put them into little antique tea cups – there’s one in most areas and they look gorgeous with all the sparkles 🙂

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       26 ear piercings??? Rad!

      I HATE jewellery ruining clothes. I have a gorgeous charm bracelet that I adore but it just gets caught on everything and rips it.

  7. Eyeliah 12 years ago

    this is why I no longer wear them, they all bug me!

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       I still do but only in public. Although I admit I’m writing this in a cafe with a little pile of dumped jewellery next to my laptop!

  8. Mrs Woog 12 years ago

    I have little piles of them all over the house. I rip it all off as soon as I get home. x

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       I have little piles all over my friends houses too!

  9. Alex 12 years ago

    Yep, I too am with assorted jewellery around my apartment and definitely NO JEWELLERY at the gym. I love that Neck Lushie though. It looks gorgeous and comfortable.

  10. Ramones Tattoo 12 years ago

    I used to LOVE wearing jewellery, but it would drive me batty when people called me on the phone when I was wearing earrings. Annoying pain! Also, heavy earrings and moshpits DO NOT mix. Neither does necklaces and working in early childhood education.
    Now I am a Mama and I hardly ever wear jewellery  – not because I don’t like getting dressed up anymore, or because I’m daggy – but simply cos necklaces get pulled (I have had 3 broken so far) earrings are dangerous and rings dig into chubby little faces, poor dear. 
    The one piece of ‘jewellery’ I wear I constantly have to watch my bub doesn’t pull (my nosering) out of my face!
    I have considered various bangles, but I’ve never been much of a bangle-lady and I only like the chunky wooden variety – would love to get some affordable, less-chunky wooden varieties that are SAFE for little people to chew on! Suggestions?

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       I’m resin gal myself and they’re pretty indestructible unless you drop them on the floor and they can smash.

  11. Katherine 12 years ago

    I completely agree with you! I take all my accessories off the second I walk in the door and, as well as the exercising jewel wearers, I also find it impossible to understand people who wear jewellery to bed or in the shower. I do not get it at all (I do love accessories though, I just consider them outside adornments and not meant to be in my comfy space).

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Or swimming! Jewellery wearing swimmers are the WORST!

  12. Sarah Rooftops 12 years ago

    Agreed. I hate having necklaces bouncing around in front of me when I’m walking; I don’t find it comfortable to type with rings on; bracelets just get caught on sleeves. I hardly ever wear jewellery these days because it’s just too annoying.

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       I also find in winter they are such a pain with gloves etc.

  13. Hannah 12 years ago

    I love wearing accessories because they look gorgeous – but I find them so uncomfortable and tear them off the second I walk in the door. Earrings are a particular annoyance for me because everything irritates my ears except for white gold or platinum. 

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Me too! I have TERRIBLE ears that just get eaten by anything not precious.

  14. JessB 12 years ago

    Oh no, I love wearing accessories. In fact, I recently realised that I don’t feel completely dressed without earrings on, and there was a time that I would have to wear a necklace and possible a ring or bracelet too.

    After a period of having to race out the door without a chance to add anything to the outfit I was wearing, I have recently started making time again to look through my accessories and choose one or two to wear.

    Also, I can identify with waking up and realising that you went to bed with everything on!

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Whoa! I’d love to be like that.

  15. maddi 12 years ago

    im with you. accessories and uncomfortable clothing are off as soon as the door is open. 

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       I even do it at my friend’s houses!

  16. MRose 12 years ago

    God yes. I’m only 22 but they’re always driven me crazy. I pretty much never wear bracelets or rings (They get in the way when I type on my laptop! The other I’m just so unused to wearing I’ll end up taking it off and loosing it.) Not so adverse to earings though, and wear necklaces as long as they’re light weight. But I agree on the scarf/necklace. Saw another great tutorial by a blogger to turn a printed scarf into a necklace with some knotting involved.

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Feel free to link to it!

  17. Tara 12 years ago

    Totally agree.  The only accessory I can manage is my wedding ring – I haven’t worn my engagement ring for about eight of the ten years i’ve been married because it’s just so annoying!  I love chunky necklaces but they come off the second I walk in the door.  And I only wear scarves for warmth and to avoid the itchy neck from coats – they drive me nuts otherwise!

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Mr Smaggle bought me a beautiful ring a few years ago but it’s so impractical that I can’t really ever wear it!

  18. Kitty 12 years ago

    I barely wear necklaces at all at the moment – I have an 8 month old daughter who loves eating anything dangly around my neck. Or just yanking on it. Occasionally breaking it, but more often giving me a chinese burn or whiplash…

    Oh, the joys of motherhood 🙂

    K xx

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       I have to think about that around my niece too. 🙂

  19. Anonymous 12 years ago

    I wear such minimal jewellery for that reason alone. Especially in the summer months, it just feels like added weight/heat. I’ve been looking for ways to accessorize and keep it comfortable – the idea of that necklace is wonderful!

    • Author
      Smaggle 12 years ago

       Summer KILLS me! That’s why I had to stop wearing costume jewellery. So itchy and sweaty.

  20. Dame Rachel Scott 12 years ago

    When I was a teenager I wore chokers, dog collars, rings, dangley earrings, spiked bracelets and raver jeans to bed all the time. When I started sleeping with other people they complained about my jewels and spines digging into their skin so I started dis-arming before bed. Now I work a couple of days a week in a boutique lingerie store and snagging the lace on $80 bras is Not okay, so I keep the swag to necklaces, earrings (only 6) and hair ornaments.

      My couch is tufted, so at the end of the day my bobby pins and finery all end up nuzzled into the dimples on the arms.

  21. kt 11 years ago

    For me, the days of impressing strangers are over- so it’s all about comfort and wearing flattering styles (not wearing something because it’s trendy). Accessories never make me comfortable so I stopped wearing them a long time ago- I can’t be happier!!

  22. Jessica 5 years ago

    I completely understand you. For me it’s not just earrings, necklaces or bracelets. I tried earrings, but without piercing, and I found the clip really painful. I have a few necklaces, but I never wear them, they just stay in a box. I gave away the majority, and also bracelets. Most of them were gifts, but I did have a time in my life where I bought a few, to make more stylish outfits.

    There are many other things, considered accessories, that I go without. Before the era of mobile phones, I can’t tell you how many watches I’ve broken and lost, so the only one I own, is well kept in a box… Well, I also lost a cell phone once, but this one I really can’t go without.

    I don’t use umbrellas anymore, only rain coats, as where I live they just get blown onto and break. And with light rain and for short walks, I often don’t even bother with a rain coat.

    I had two rings symbolizing my marriage. I lost one and put the other one now in a jewellery box. I recently had very fluctuating weight: One time, my finger got so big, I had to have a jeweller cut the ring off, then increase the size. Now I lost weight again, and it keeps on slipping off…

    Belts: I gave away my last, might regret it, but I either wear elasticated skirts and trousers, or make sure they fit me without a belt.

    Handbags: I gave away all but one, which I don’t even use. I prefer backpacks, as this way my hands stay free.

    I also had lots of hair accessories, but then I decided to just cut my hair and got rid of it all. Now I let it grow again, but I either keep it open, or occasionnally put in a simple black elastic. I realised that for my hair to look good, the most important thing is to keep it clean, not necessarily to tie it up.

    I also tried make up for a few years, but my skin can’t take it.

    I like looking good, but in particular ever since I’m a mother, just choosing an outfit in the morning can be too much work already…I do try to buy elegant clothes, that make looking good easy, but again, comfort almost always primes over style. If it’s not comfortable, I don’t wear it. It’s the same for shoes. I only bought one pair of high heels for my wedding. Took them off as soon as I could.

    I’m pretty sure, I could look more stylish with scarves. Plus, amongst all types of accessories, this is most likely the most comfortable and sometimes useful one. I had a ton of them, but as they were gifts, the colours didn’t got with my clothes. I only have one right now, white, goes with everything, but even this one I barely feel the need to wear, whether it’s for keeping me warm or for style.

    I even rarely wear gloves, hats and winter scarves. Probably because where I live now, the climate is quite mild (rarely below 0 degrees celsius), but also, because after I had forgotten a few times to take them with me, I realised that I rarely need them. If I get too cold, after a while, my body starts to warm itself up on it’s own. I also do cold training now, so this certainly helps.

    Oh, and I have prescription glasses, but only wear them in the car for driving (not too bad eyesight). same goes for sun glasses.

    The main accessory I find useful are sun hats, but again, only on very sunny days (not that frequent here either).

    And if could just wear T-shirts, shorts, underwear and socks all day long, I certainly would. I sometimes wish I was a boy, just because I hate bras. I tried going without them for a while, but it just looks too indecent.

    Maybe I went a little off topic, and I realize how extreme I must look compared to others. I guess, I like to dress like when I was a five year old girl… I’ve wondered sometimes if I’m autistic. I’ve heard that they have a lot of trouble tolerating uncomfortable clothes.

    I’m probably also impacted by my work environment, research, very masculine, no one really cares about style, and sometimes lab work, so it’s definitely not a place for dressing up.

  23. Roxanne E 2 years ago

    Hello, I have always found that I struggle with gloves, earrings, bracelets, hats and sunglasses. My hands get so claustrophobic in gloves, I think I can feel my pours not being able to breath perhaps. I would love to enjoy wearing all of these things but it doesn’t seem possible.

    I think it’s instinctual as they generally prohibit our movement and with noisy pieces make us easy to locate when you think of it in terms of survival.

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