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You may have heard of Boho jewelry or Boho style recently, a trend that’s been growing in popularity as of late. Or, maybe you’ve noticed that more and more people are starting to wear jewelry with natural and earthly themes, as well as clothing and accessories that have neutral shades and peaceful pops of color.
An increasing number of people are turning towards Boho jewelry, and the overall Boho style, as a trend towards a simpler, more natural outlook on fashion.
Let’s take a look at the Boho style and jewelry and whether it’s right for you.
What Is The Boho Style?
Some of you have likely guessed already that “Boho” is short for “Bohemian”. This unique style comes from over two centuries ago when Bohemian jewelry, clothing, and overall art style rose to popularity in Europe. It is most commonly associated with artists, intellectuals, writers, and people who prefer to live on the road in an almost nomadic-like manner.
The key visual characteristics of Boho fashion are that it’s made to feel open, free, and natural. The Boho style doesn’t work well with constraints of any kind and it’s meant to express your inner uniqueness and individuality.
With that being said, it’s hard to describe anything too specific about Boho jewelry or Boho fashion as norm-breaking freedom of choice is a key tenet of the Boho style. Still, there are plenty of common themes you may notice when looking at Bohemian jewelry or fashion:
- Boho is characterized by combinations of various bright colors you’ll rarely see together in other fashion styles.
- Oversized, loose, and freeing clothing is also typical for Boho fashion – no skinny jeans and no tight jackets.
- Scarfs. Lots of them. Sure, not every Boho-inspired outfit will include a scarf, but this item of clothing is definitely an emblem of the Boho style. Tied around your hat, wrapped around the handle of your bag, wrapped on your arm like a large bracelet, there’s no limit to what you can do with a scarf in Boho fashion.
- Uniquely designed, large, and colorful jewelry. Huge and colorful earrings, artisan bracelets, and earthy-colored rings on almost every finger – those are the kinds of jewelry you can see in the Boho style.
- Large accessories such as oversized handbags or giant boots. Just like Boho clothing isn’t meant to be form-fitting, Boho accessories are also anything but discreet.
- Lots of straps. Hair straps, strap bands instead of bracelets, strappy “gladiator” sandals – the Bohemian style loves this unique design choice.
- Most importantly, the Boho style is unified in that it gives you the freedom to fully express your desires and preferences. If you only want to wear a Boho-style necklace and a thin scarf – no one can tell you that’s not a valid Boho fashion choice. If you want to go all out and fully transform yourself into a true on-the-road Bohemian – that’s certainly part of the style as well.
History of Boho Fashion and Jewelry
The Bohemian style has been one of the most striking and famous “alternative” fashion choices for the past 200 years. The start of the Bohemian counterculture can be traced back to France in the years after the French Revolution.
After that cornerstone of French and European history, the former system of artistic patronage had fallen almost completely, and a lot of artists found themselves falling into poverty. A lot of them took a nomadic lifestyle, started living more inexpensively, and looked for alternative ways to express their individuality.
This led to a new cult of personality emerging from European artists – one, where all bounds and constraints of art were stripped, and artists felt free to create, invent, and even wear anything they wanted. People quickly started comparing these wandering artists to Gypsies because of their similar lifestyles and fashion choices. And since a lot of people used to think that Gypsies came from Bohemia in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the Bohemian fashion style was born.
As a “counterculture” fashion style, Boho has had its ups and downs over the years but it’s always remained a part of the scene. As of late, with the rise of the millennial generation, the Boho style is certainly making quite a comeback.
How To Dress Bohemian?
There are no strict guidelines to how you should dress in a Boho style – that’s kind of the main point. The main points to remember are that the Boho style loves loose and freeing clothing, usually in light but multilayered fabrics.
In terms of colors, earthy green, brown and yellow colors are typical for the Boho style but pretty much any other color or combination of colors is also permitted – as long as it allows you to express yourself, it will certainly count as Boho style clothing.
Boho Jewelry
As with Boho clothing and other accessories, the key point about Boho jewelry is that there are very few constraints to what you can actually do with it. For one, Boho jewelry can come in all types of jewelry pieces. Here are some examples:
- Boho style rings. Boho rings rarely include expensive precious stones but instead typically use accessible semi-precious gemstones. Raw gemstones are also a popular material in Boho jewelry, featuring gemstones that aren’t polished or cut into specific shapes but kept in their natural shape.
- Boho-style bracelets. There really is no limit when it comes to Boho bracelets – whether you want to stack a layer of small bracelets or pick out a large, statement bracelet. Friendship bracelets, which typically feature handwoven patterns out of fabric, are also a popular type of Boho bracelet.
- Boho style necklaces and pendants. Similar to bracelets, Boho necklaces offer limitless possibilities. Natural materials like leather, semi-precious gemstones, beads, and string are common.
- Boho style earrings are also quite rich and colorful, and typically oversized. For example, take a look at these ethnic Tribal gold earrings which feature a beautiful texture and stunning color combinations.
Boho jewelry also includes headpieces such as halos, tiaras, or head jewelry chains. They rarely include expensive precious stones but instead, tend to focus on flowery and earthy themes made with various materials.
Characteristics Of Boho Jewelry
The most common types of Boho jewelry will include inexpensive semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, labradorite, amethyst, and quartz and more accessible, natural materials, such as leather, shell, string, base metals, and cord. Boho jewelry is rarely expensive, as is typical for most counterculture fashion styles.
In terms of color, Boho jewelry tends to gravitate toward green, brown, orange, and yellow colors that feel more natural. Still, other color schemes are also possible with bright red or blue colors, and various shades of purple and pink. This is also why gemstones are popular as they bring color to the piece.
Designs typically feature geometric shapes, natural motifs like the sun, stars, animals, and flowers, as well as spiritual motifs such as mandalas.
Is Boho Jewelry Suitable For Me?
Boho jewelry suits everyone. At least we think so. While it might not be the best choice for the red carpet, it’s perfect for a casual, relaxed, free-spirit look.
Choose pieces that you’re comfortable wearing and that suit you in terms of color and size. Just because something looks great on someone else doesn’t mean that it’ll necessarily look great on you. Always pick pieces that you feel suit you.
If you’re someone who likes minimalist, understated jewelry, there are gorgeous Boho pieces that suit.
Where to Buy Boho Jewelry?
There are specialist shops that focus on Boho jewelry but if you want to get a general feel for it, we recommend starting your search on Amazon and Etsy for a wide range of Boho jewelry and accessories.
