Style Strategy 014: how the Olsens wear jewellery
Lessons in wearing jewellery with personality courtesy of Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen.
At a fleeting glance, the casual style observer or self-appointed fashion critic might call Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen minimalists. As creative directors of The Row, which has come to be used as an adjective to ‘quiet luxury’ (yes, eye roll), they appear to fit the bill with monochrome colour palette.
But, but, but, look again! As any Olsen style fan (or, millennial) who has tracked them from their embellished minidress era, to the leather leggings and two-tone Chanel sunglasses, they are far from minimalist.
They have a real jewellery eye, displaying in how they select pieces, and how they wear it. As Ashley Olsen says in a rare interview with W magazine: “Jewelry is one of the most personal items you can buy for yourself or for others.”
In their book Influence, they interview the jewellery designer Robert Lee Morris about his creative process. This line from Ashley Olsen is revealing in how shes approaching The Row: “I’m discovering that, in terms of creativity, it always comes back to these two ideas… there’s this really natural sensation that doesn’t require you to look to other sources for influences, it’s more from your own creative process… and then there’s this complete other group of people who are constantly looking for inspiration and flash. They read magazines and know what’s happening in all parts of the world. Karl Lagerfeld did an anklet based on all the alcohol-monitoring bracelets that young actresses were ordered to wear by the police.” In the interview, Ashley is almost grappling with what kind of creative she is. Perhaps they are a bit of both.
For this guide, I’ve tapped Emrys Cousins to tell us more about their jewellery and how they’re wearing it. Previously working in fashion in wholesale and brand management, Emrys turned her jewellery obsession into a business with Love Well, sourcing vintage fine jewellery. Visit the Love Well website here, and its Instagram here.
“They wear their jewellery generously, which is what gives personality and makes it feel cool,” explains Emrys. “They also re-wear the same pieces over and over again, even and including to events where they know they will be photographed which makes these pieces feel like extensions of who they are.”
Here’s her primer on various jewellery eras:
Georgian: “This is 1700s-mid 1800s and hallmarks were not common. Techniques were primitive and pieces often a little more Gothic feeling. These pieces are quite rare.”
Victorian: “Mid 1800s to 1901, they’re romantic and polished during the reign of Queen Victoria. Lockets became popular as well as animal and floral motifs.” Jewellery takes on a more sentimental quality, and with more exploration of the world, exotic imagery like snakes also became more popular.
Edwardian: “This is brief, c. 1900, and it’s a little bridge between Victorian and Art Deco, It’s more refined, and it introduces bow motifs and is a bit more romantic. Platinum became popular as it allowed jewellers to create very intricate designs due to its malleability and strength.”
Art Nouveau: “Simultaneous to the Edwardian era, we had the Art Nouveau which is very flora and fauna, natural world inspired.”
Art Deco: “Jewellery became a little more architectural and angular in the 1920s to the 1930s, but feminine and romantic elements like bows and flowers are still present. Lots of platinum was used to create these very detailed masterpieces.”
Retro: “The 1940s and 1950s saw the rise of bold designs and lots of yellow gold. The stones are oversized and colourful, the overall post-war mood is one of joy and opulence!”
And, credit to
who suggested that I write about this. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. She’s covered their beauty on her Substack — like about their hair and their skin & makeup.Tassel jewellery
Sidney Garber confirmed that Ashley Olsen is wearing her designs here for both the earrings the necklace. The necklace is the Diamond Rope Necklace — there is an 18 inch one available online which has 33 carats. The earrings are vintage that has been updated by Sidney Garber; they are the brand’s Petite Pave Hoops with seed pearl and jade tassels which she found in Hong Kong. Keep an eye out for these, because MKA has worn them, too.
I can’t find any details about Mary-Kate tassel earrings but they look to be made of emerald and diamonds, and she wears them a LOT. “I think these are by Cartier,” says Emrys, who has seen a similar vintage design by Cartier in sapphire. “Whilst similar have been made by various jewellers, we know the girls have a strong affinity for Cartier.”
In both these instances you can see that the sisters have a very more-is-more approach, wearing statement earrings with necklaces.
This is a much older image of Mary-Kate Olsen in her more bohemian era — but you can see that she has always been drawn to tassel shapes and even serpentine motifs.
Big rings
This particular green ring is a firm favourite — the sisters have both been photographed wearing it, but mostly it’s been seen on Mary-Kate. She found it in a vintage store Rue Saint Honore in Paris and was photographed wearing it as early as 2008.
Although Mary Kate Olsen has since divorced Sarkozy, the ring that he proposed to her with is one worth talking about. It’s an original 1953 Cartier ring that was previously owned by a Tennessee collector, selling at a Sotheby’s auction for US$81,250. It is an old European-cut diamond weighing around 4 carats, bordered with 16 sapphires that weigh a total of 1 carat and petals set with 1.5 carats of single cut diamonds. It’s a style that looks very modern but embodies the 1950s with its natural motif of the leaves, and oversized cocktail rings peaked in popularity during this time.
The rest will be paywalled — here’s a preview of what’s behind it:
Deep-dive into their earring collection and the atypical way of doing double earrings. Honestly, the earring section IS THE BEST.
Their go-to bracelets
More on necklaces
Some amazing identifying of their fine jewellery that I’ve never seen anywhere else — thank you Emrys!