Alex and Ani Bangles: How To Style Them

I’m obsessed. In love. There’s no point in denying that the soft jingle and the shimmery beaded beauties have me in a trance. There’s something super cool and stylish about stacking them up halfway up your arm, about seeing them glimmer while you type on your computer, while you talk, while you drive. Add to that special meanings, positive energy and new designs popping up often, and I just can’t help but buy just one more Alex and Ani bangle. I’ve been collecting them for some months now and I have more than I care to admit. But when I recently visited the Alex and Ani (Ani is pronounced with a short ă sound) while in New York, I learned a thing or two about how to build your own collection and how best to style them.

Building Your Collection

When starting out, my recommendation is to buy more than charmed bangles. Throw in a couple of beaded bangles, maybe a wrap or two, and a good basic all around. It’s about mixing up textures, widths and sizes. You can start with a favorite color scheme or you can mix metals, but think of what you will wear the most when your collection.

This are a couple examples of good beginner bundles.

In the above picture, I’ve got two charmed bangles (Best Friend + Skeleton Key), two beaded (Blush Mirage + Bohemian Pink), one fanciful wrap (Flame Rock and Raw) and a much-used every day basic (Euphrates in yellow gold). I also wear a lot of pink, so for me, this would have worked as a great starter set.

Here I have the Hearts Beat wrap in silver, two Swarovski bangles, the shiny silver Euphrates, the Love wrap and the Purple Mountains in silver.

Here are more inspiring bundles from Alex and Ani’s instagram and my phone 🙂

6 Fab Styling Tips

1 – Add Some Shimmer

My favorite bangles to wear are definitely the beaded. Often times, I wear all beaded bangles in various widths and sizes in a single color scheme–all blushes, ombre pinks (dark to light variations), or multiple colors to bring out hues in the clothes I’m wearing. Of special note are the Swarovski crystal bracelets you can only find at the stores. They add a one-of-a-kind glamour to your charmed arms and you’ll quickly want the attractive shimmer in every color.

Some of my favorite glittering pieces are the Starry-Eyed, Luxe and Rock Candy bangles.

2 – Vary The Sheens

Mix in some Rafaelean silver with shiny silver bangles. Add some Rose Gold in with your traditional gold pieces. Blend muted beaded wraps with shimmery wraps. It’s all about the eclectic effect and it’s a much more interesting set when you play with light and sheens. Some of my favorites to mix in are the Euphrates and the Nile bangles in shiny silver or gold (also favorite basics). The metallic leather braided wraps are awesome too. I just got myself the metallic copper and metallic silver ones pictured below and I couldn’t love them more!

3 – Bring In Textures

One of the reasons I love wraps is because they tend to bring in texture to your charmed arms. I love that some of the wraps make your set look chunkier, edgier. My favorite of the moment is the Wisdom Wrap in silver, gold or rose gold. Another great wrap that comes in a multitude of wearable colors is the Gypsy 66 Wrap. In fact, Alex and Ani’s newest collection, The Road to Romance, features some great new softer colors and some wonderful braided leather wraps that are super fun to add into the mix.

4 – Throw In Some Whimsy

This season we’ll be seeing lots of floral-inspired items. Flower power is in and that includes what jingles on your arms. Some of the new Road to Romance pieces are perfect for floral fair and my faves are these two romance wraps paired with either the vintage treasure bangle (gold/white) or with the periwinkle wrap (silver), or even the powder braided wrap adds great texture and pop.

5 – Don’t Be Afraid To Stack

I love the stacked look. I love getting creative on how I create the stack. I can tell you that in a way, the more you stack, the less weird it feels because it seems like one giant cuff. Have fun with it!

6 – Color, Color, Color

Start adding color early to your bundled picks. It adds vibrancy. It’s fun.  It stands out. I personally love jewel tones and am starting to collect a few pastel toned bangles for spring.

Call The Stores

A little known secret is that the stores are amazing… they can totally hook you up! For example, I’ve called stores before to inquire about the Swarovski bangles (only available in stores) and they’ve taken pictures for me and then emailed me and texted me what they have. You can then place an order over the phone and they will ship them to your home. In fact, with my orders I’ve received personalized cards, scented boxes and more. Their customer service is beyond compare. Check locations here.

Finish Off With A Wrap

Many of you have mentioned concerns that the bangles are too big. One way to may your stack feel tighter on your arm is to end your stack with a wrap (closest to your hand). Wraps tend to be tighter around the wrist and hold it all together. I have three favorite stack-ending wraps: the Vintage Starry Eyed & Raw Studstruck, the Love expandable bracelet and the Kingston wrap.

Don’t Listen

And finally, forget everything I’ve suggested above and do your own thing. There is no right way to style these and you got to be YOU. It’s fun changing things up and the above are just my own recommendations on how best to style your charmed arms.

Keep Them Organized

So here’s my growing collection (not all Alex and Ani). If you follow me on Instagram, I often post what bangles I’m wearing to give you ideas on how best to style. I also think it’s super helpful to have a bracelet T-bar to keep your collection organized. Here is the single bar, two-tier bar and three-tier bar.

The last thing I’ll say is that I find it so fun to gift these to others. There’s something special about giving something meaningful to a friend and this has become my favorite little something to give!

♥ Keep it stylin’ and happy shopping!