Necklace Length Guide: How To Choose The Best Style For You

Use this necklace length guide to make beaded necklaces that complement the neckline of any outfit and flatters your face, neck, body shape and height.

Do you have a necklace that, for some reason, you never wear?

Now, it could be that you grew tired of it or it’s not trendy anymore. But sometimes, it’s because that necklace just doesn’t look right on you.

Taking the time to bead stitch a necklace is no small undertaking. Depending on the bead-weaving technique you use and how complicated the design is, it can take several hours or even days.

After all of that, you definitely want to make sure that you’ll love the finished piece and will wear it every chance you can get. Am I right?

If you agree, you need to take into consideration the style of the necklace that you make and whether it’s flattering on you. That’s where this necklace length guide comes in. Before you select any new necklace patterns to work on, I’ll walk you through the standard necklace lengths and help you find the one that suits you best.

The Ultimate Necklace Length Guide

Necklace Length Chart for Women and Men

The first step is to learn the standard necklace lengths. These vary from women to men and once you know what they are, you can choose the length you want.

Below, you’ll find the average necklace lengths for a woman and where that necklace usually falls on the body:

And, here are the average necklace lengths for men:

You may also find this Necklace Length Diagram helpful.

Necklace Styles Guide

As you may have noticed in the chart above for the average women’s necklace length, the different lengths have official names. The necklace styles guide below is a visual representation of the lengths and their names:

Best Necklace Length for Your…

Closet

If you love to dress up, then you know that a statement necklace can jazz up your outfit. But, not every necklace style looks good with all types of fashion.

• The Collar (14 inch necklace length) works well with scoop necks, off-the-shoulder and boat neck tops.
• The Choker (16 inch necklace length) and the Princess (18 inch necklace length) works well with pretty much everything. If the Princess length necklace has a pendant that forms a V-shape, it will pair well with a V-neck or sweetheart neckline.
• The Matinee (18 inch necklace length) is great when you want to dress up a bit.
• The Opera (28-36 inches) suits tops with high necklines.
• Finally, Rope or Lariats (36-42 inches) are perfect for elegant outfits.

Body Shape and Height

Women with full busts should wear shorter necklaces because long necklace styles don’t hang nicely on them. Meanwhile, women with smaller busts look good in long necklace lengths.

The eye tends to stop where the necklace ends so if there’s any part of the body that you don’t want people staring at, avoid necklaces that will draw attention to that area.

Short women under 5’4″ look better in short necklaces. Long necklace lengths tend to overwhelm a small frame.

Women between 5’4″ through 5’7″ and above can wear any necklace style but women over 5’7″ look great in long necklace lengths as they flatter taller people.

Face

Necklaces help to frame your face so it follows that you should choose a style and length that accentuates your face shape.

Choker necklaces and other short necklace styles make a face look rounder. So, if your face is already round, you should avoid these styles.

If you have an oval face shape, you lucked out because you can wear just about any necklace length or style and look good.

Have a long face? Then, you’ll want to wear a choker necklace length or even a princess length necklace that will soften your face.

If you have a heart, diamond or triangle-shaped face, short necklace styles like chokers will help to balance out your narrow chin.

Neck

Short, wide necklaces e.g. chokers make short necks look shorter and wider than they are. So, if you have a short neck, wear longer necklace styles.

On the other hand, if you have a long thin neck, chokers will look great.

How to Measure Necklace Length

People come in all shapes and sizes. Even though there may be “normal” necklace lengths, it’s still best to measure your body or the person you’re making the necklace for.

To do this, wrap a soft measuring tape closely around your neck. This will give you the length you need for a collar necklace. Add two inches for a comfortable choker length.

Choosing the right necklace style is key before you go to the trouble of making a beaded necklace. Make sure to use the tips in this necklace length guide so you create the perfect necklace for yourself.

Ready to make the perfect beaded necklaces for yourself? Click here to check out these necklace patterns!