Wearing one chain is a great way to mix up an outfit and make yourself look a bit more presentable at a club or even a business meeting. But when you stack multiple chains on top of each other, this is how you start trends and turn heads.

With that said, you can’t just throw on any and every chain at your disposal. There’s an equation to chain stacking that must be followed in order to get the best results.

Here is everything you need to know:

What Is Chain Stacking?

Chain stacking is also known as chain layering, and it’s when you wear multiple chains at the same time on the same part of the body. You can stack chains around your neck or around your wrists.

It’s an excellent way to build out your own personal style and feel even more confident during your next night out, but there’s a delicate balance that needs to be followed, or this can start to look a little bit tackier than anything.

Tips for Chain Stacking

Rules are meant to be broken, and you can feel free to experiment with variations that divulge from these presets. However, if you’re starting out, you might want to play it safe.

Stagger Your Chain Length

One of the best ways to truly give your chains that “stacked” appearance is by making sure your chains are all different lengths. This ensures that every single one of those chains is visible, as they’ll all hang lower than the one above them.

If you wear multiple chains of the same length, they’ll just sit on top of one another, and you won’t actually be able to tell that you’re wearing multiple pieces. It will look more like you’re wearing one big bulky chain.

When you stagger the length, they each get their time to shine. The longest chain should fall to your middle chest, the medium chain should fall below your collarbone, and the shortest should be close to your neck (though we recommend avoiding restrictive chokers).

Match You Materials

When you choose multiple chains, it might be tempting to mix and match styles. However, this is one of those times when being uniform is a cleaner, more professional look. If you wear a yellow gold chain, you should make sure all of your other chains match that same gold variation.

Additionally, jewelry across your whole body should match, meaning that white gold bracelets should pair with white gold tennis chains. But it is the 21st century, and rules are meant to be broken. Your personal style might mean that no two hues match, and if that works for you, we won’t stop you.

Use Pendants as a Central Focus

Wearing two to three chains can amplify your look, but it can start to look a bit muddled over time. In other words, people probably won’t notice each chain on their own – they’ll sort of view these multiple chains as just one extravagant piece.

But you can catch their attention by using pendants to your advantage as the focal point. Pendants are usually a different color or style from your pieces, making them stand out as a conversation starter.

Pendants can hold a lot of personal, sentimental value – especially when you create one yourself. Wearing a custom pendant allows you to truly represent yourself with your clothing without ever needing to utter a word, and it lets you feel even more aligned with your style.

6 Ice gives you endless options when it comes to making custom word and picture pendants, and they’re easy to make. Take a look at our collection of custom pendants and start crafting your own.

Choose Different Chain Styles

The main reason you probably want to wear different chain styles is to show off your arsenal of pieces to begin with. So it’s always a good idea to choose multiple styles when you stack.

Not only does this give you a more unique appearance, but it also amplifies your interest and makes you look less “robotic,” in a sense. It even gives you a chance to show off some of your favorite pieces in one fell swoop.

Choose Slimmer Chains

There’s a time and a place for big, bulky chains — but it’s usually not when you’re deciding to stack them. If you want to wear multiple chains, we recommend that you go with slimmer chains under 5mm. If you decide on a bulky chain, only wear one that hangs down low to your neck, as a clunky choker can look more like a neck brace than a necklace.

How To Stack Bracelets

If you like stacking the chains around your neck, you’ll probably want to start stacking the chains around your wrists too. However, there are a few different guidelines to follow when it comes to stacking bracelets.

For one, you want to have a snug or bulky piece at the base of your wrist closest to your hand while keeping wider bracelets in place behind them. The main reason for this is that when you walk, it ensures that your pieces do not become too separated from one another, as your snug bracelet should theoretically catch onto your looser pieces.

We recommend putting an Iced Rocketeer Watch in 18k gold at the base of the wrist to give it a super pristine and polished look, but you can wear whatever you like with your bracelet stack.

While you might want to use this as an opportunity to load up your arms with every single bracelet you currently own, you do need to be careful about not going too overboard. A good rule of thumb is not to cover more than ⅓ of your forearm with bracelets.

As far as colors go, the same rules apply to your wrists as they do to chains around the neck. Try to make sure your colors match as much as possible, and be sure to experiment with different chain variations throughout your stack.

Finally, make use of charms and other colorful gemstones to act as a focal point for your style. If you wear a watch, that will already act as your focal point.

In Conclusion

Stacking, or layering, chains are a great way to give more depth to your appearance and experiment with a new sense of style. And while there are really no rules when it comes to wearing jewelry, it can always be helpful to follow a few important tips and tricks.

For one, stack your chains at different lengths so that each one gets to shine, and experiment with different chain styles throughout to give your outfit more thoughtfulness. You also want to use pendants as a focal point and choose slimmer chains as opposed to bulky ones.

Similar rules apply to bracelets, and if you choose to wear a bulky piece, you’ll want to supplement it with some smaller chains to help balance out your look.

Either way, you can become the best version of yourself with high-quality chains from 6 Ice, the finest purveyor of hip-hop jewelry. From bulky chains to slimmer options, we’ve got everything you need to make your next jewelry stack look its very best.

Sources:

Early History of Jewelry: Ancient Times to the 17th Century | International Gem Society

Other Forms of Gold | AMNH

What is white gold? | U.S. Geological Survey