In the past few articles, I’ve tried to focus more on strict and staid work looks – ie, black and gray dresses.  But now that I work in the public sector, my work look has evolved.  Black and gray still participate in my work week, but I’ve incorporated a lot more color into my everyday appearance.

Fortunately, Indian jewelry works perfectly with strong, bold colors.  Check out some of the summer looks below:

Purple Dress and Indian Gold Necklace

I have to be honest here – I love this look!  Royal purple and solid gold . . . it works for me, every time.  This is actually a typical combination for a lot of Indian sarees – deep purple silk saris with embroidered gold borders are pretty common.  Note that this dress is relatively thin, but because the color is so robust, it can carry a thick gold necklace well.  Now let’s take a look at another option:

Fuchsia Dress and an Indian Pendant

With this look, you can’t tell that it has an Indian touch.  I personally like seeing a more ethnic note, but either way, this pendant is absolutely stunning.  I think this look works well if you have a casual meeting with conservative, older co-workers.  If it’s a hot day outside, wear this dress in to work, but pull on a white blazer before your meeting.  This pendant adds a lovely, classy touch to a slightly casual summer dress.  I think it (and a white blazer) will take it into the land of office-appropriate summer wear.

And, when it’s time to head over to happy hour, this pendant will still work wonderfully with this dress.  It goes from business casual to happy hour elegance without any hitch.

Let’s look at a more formal summer look:

Red Office Dress and Indian Pearls

This is one of my favorite looks.  I love the bright, red color of this dress, and I also like the fabric.  It’s a heavy cotton, and it works perfectly for boardroom meetings.  I admit that I don’t like the little zippers on top, but they actually help me squeeze into the dress.  And, no one sees the little zippers, because I cover them with a black cardigan or blazer at work.

And now, let’s examine this pearl necklace.  I LOVE this necklace, for oh so many reasons.  To begin with, this necklace is actually inexpensive, mostly because it’s not solid gold.  It’s got a silver base, and the chain was dipped in gold.  This sounds like a minor difference, but it’s not.  The use of silver totally drops the price of this necklace, and many others like it.  Interestingly, the pearl beads are actually real (as far as I know).

The cost of Indian jewelry usually revolves around the amount of gold used in it.  The authenticity of the gemstones is important also, but mostly, the quality of gold determines the price.  Over the past few years, more and more jewelers are cranking out relatively inexpensive pieces that feature only gold-dipped necklaces, not full 22 karat gold chains.

Either way, the necklace looks classic, elegant, and perfect for work.  I’ve actually worn it with any number of dresses and shirts, and this necklace always makes my look appear just right.

Now let’s take a look at another red dress look:

Summer Red Dress With An Indian Gold Necklace

Here’s another Red Dress + Indian Jewelry look.  The difference here is that the dress is definitely a more casual summer dress, and the Indian necklace is short and gold.  Some may argue that the intricate embroidery at the top of the dress is too much when compared with the gold pendant, but I disagree.  I think the pendant and dress complement each other.  I think the key is to note that this is a relatively small pendant, which is the right way to go when you have a think summer dress.  Anything heavier would over power the dress and make you look . . . uncoordinated.

I’ll stop here with the summer looks.  I hope this helps with any inspiration needed for your summer looks too!