With Coachella weekend 1 in the rear view and an exciting festival season on the horizon, everyone is talking about festival outfit trends and what celebrities wear on stage and in the crowd. But as North West knows, the key to a memorable festival look goes beyond the clothing, it’s all in how you accessorize — festival jewelry, then, is a key part of creating a vibe that feels fun, dynamic, and fully your own.
Tyla, who performed at Coachella and is Pandora’s newest brand ambassador, is a master of creating that kind of vibe both in her music (new album coming soon!) and personal aesthetic. Chatting with Tyla at Pandora’s Charm House pool party, held over Coachella weekend, it was clear how much jewelry can make an outfit. On stage, she wore ripped fishnets, a tiny D&G belt skirt, and a tie-front crop top. But glinting in the setting sun were Tyla’s gold Pandora hoops, each looped with tiny shark tooth charms that make her think of tiger fangs, and the stack of matching gold bangles sliding down her wrists as she performed.
Tyla has a deep history with jewelry; growing up in South Africa, the 23-year-old Afrobeats singer watched her mom make jewelry. “Everything my mom makes is literally Tyla-coded,” she tells Teen Vogue. “She just knows exactly what I like.”
Looking for festival jewelry inspiration, and how to style the jewelry already in your collection? Below, Tyla and other influencers who attended Pandora’s Charm House pool party tell you everything you need to know.
Embrace doing the most
“I like things that shine. I like a lot of rings and anklets and bracelets, necklaces, earrings. Whenever I can put a piece of jewelry on, it’s things that shine,” Tyla says. “Every day [though] I like probably less, definitely less.”
Coachella is a chance to show out, to be someone flashier or more experimental than perhaps you are at home. Take it, because Coachella is a lot like New York City — there’s always someone dressed more weird or ostentatious than you.
“I feel like festival fashion is about maximizing everything. You got to amp it up, experiment, try new things,” says Los Angeles influencer Kristine Thompson, who styles plus size fashion as @MsKristine. She shakes the gold charm bracelet that she made at Pandora’s jewelry station, which matches the accents in her hair and other jewelry. “So while I wouldn't have 15 charms on one bracelet normally, for Coachella it’s totally appropriate.” Her day 2 festival look pulled together a silver motif that matched the accessories on her cowgirl hat and colors of her dress.
Look to your favorite festival performers as inspiration
Brooklyn influencer Miranda Sanchez, known for creatively edited TikTok outfit videos, modeled her first Coachella look on Friday night’s headliner, Lady Gaga. Mother Monster is known for how she incorporates religious iconography into her music and visuals, so Sanchez went for an elaborate gothic bride look, with a black and gold corseted dress, black veil (which she thrifted), and an elaborate necklace of crosses.
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“I like to take on that essence without it feeling costumey,” Sanchez says. It all started with the veil, which she thrifted. “I was like, ‘This would eat for Gaga.’ And I was like, ‘I want to think of Judas-esque’ [fashion and accessories].” She then collaborated with an upcycle designer Lucciare Designs, who created the necklaces, earrings, and corset.
Fittingly, Gaga performed “Judas” for the first time in years that Friday night at Coachella.
Get creative with your jewelry placement
Free yourself from the bracelet-ring-necklace-anklet paradigm — jewelry is for everywhere. For Coachella, GQ fashion editor Haley Gilbreath draped her Pandora charm necklace around the ankle of her cowboy boots. Meanwhile, Glamour style shopping editor Jake Henry Smith tucked a necklace under his lightweight button-down shirt collar as a way of infusing his everyday personal style into a festival look.
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“I brought ties because ties are a big thing for me. That's my big accessory,” says Smith. “I was trying to slip it over so it would be out on the outside of my shirt, and I realized it was doing the same function as a tie, which I thought was so fun. It's like a dialed up version of who I am.”
Montreal and New York City influencer Izzi Allain (better known as @izzipoopi on TikTok and IG) used a Pandora necklace and stacks of black, white, and silver charms as the fastener neckline for a matching handkerchief top. “I think jewelry is fun in unexpected ways, and I find it really adds to an outfit,” she says.
Don’t forget your wristband is an accessory, too
Festival wristbands are a fun sort of decoration in themselves, and they tend to stack up over the few days of a festival like Coachella, where you might be checking out special activations and getting paper or cloth bands throughout the weekend. Just a little bit of forethought can make it stand out even more.
“Do some research, figure out what the wristband looks like, and then pick something with colors that'll go with it,” Smith advises, flashing his silver bracelet and greenish Coachella band (which he also threaded together to make the wristband easier to scan at the gates). “But whatever your wristband is doing, it'll look good.”
But don’t stress too much about making everything matchy-matchy. Lean into the crowded wrist — it’ll make for a memorable photo.
“I don't feel like you should try to make anything cohesive, because this whole weekend is just about maximizing your style,” says Thompson. “So have all the wristbands, have all the jewelry, have all the charms, just do it up because when else are you going to be able to do all that?
Think of jewelry as a collection, not a single-use fast fashion item
A major plus to pairing interesting jewels with clothes you already have? Quality pieces can be reworn and incorporated into your everyday wardrobe, so you’re contributing less to single-use event fashion waste.
“I love vintage jewelry. I love collecting statement pieces, because an outfit doesn't necessarily have to come from the clothes.” Sanchez says. “When people rely on outfits coming from clothes, they feel like they have to buy more and more and more. But if you're able to mix and match pieces that you already have with statement jewelry that you already have, it's still going to look amazing. It's a fun way to restyle your stuff.”
And having quality jewelry doesn’t have to come at a heartbreaking price. Smith notes that even small upgrades in price point (compared to ultra-cheap fast fashion stuff that breaks immediately) are useful when it comes to building a collection of pieces that last. You don’t want your wrists and fingers turning green as you sweat it out to Charli XCX. He notes that you can always shop vintage or previously-owned in thrift stores or sites like Depop and eBay. (Get a ring sizer!) “If you know your sizes, you're unstoppable.”
It’s all part of creating something that’s beautiful and meaningful and long-lasting, using jewelry as statement items and weaving them into your personality and memories of a weekend in the desert, for example.
Tyla thinks about the jewelry her mom has made for her and her sisters over the years, how it has a forever home in her accessory collection that will always remind her of the people she loves. “I share jewelry with my sisters and my friends, so I do feel that way, [that quality pieces can be passed down and help with overconsumption],” Tyla says. “Jewelry is everlasting.”
That said, don’t wear your most sentimental piece of jewelry
Smith has one final piece of advice for festival-goers looking to zhuzh up their jewelry game: “Don't wear your grandma's ring or something like that,” he says, “because it'll be taken by the desert."
