Where do you find bold cheap jewelry?

April 26, 2021 9:21 AM

The trend for most retail costume jewelry seems to be delicate stuff - I prefer large chains and pendants, big earrings, silver or gold or funky colors. What specific sites or artists (etsy comes to mind) feature this type of jewelry...for prices under $30 per piece?
posted by tiny frying pan to Shopping (10 answers total)

Forever 21 has lots of bold stuff (but you really need to dig through their jewelry section, they have SO MUCH stuff).

J.Crew Factory is way better quality and nicer but is just out of budget, though regularly on really good sale (I wouldn't buy anything from there that wasn't at least 40% off).
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 9:31 AM on April 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

One somewhat non-specific suggestion is to try plus-size stores. Plus-size women are presumed to want big jewelry, in addition to big clothes. Some examples: Torrid Betsey Johnson necklace Pennington's Wood Bead Statement Necklace Blue Sky Spiral Rose Catherine's Tassel Pendant Roaman's Shell Medallion
posted by jacquilynne at 9:41 AM on April 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Charming Charlie has a lot of this, Nordstrom Rack has some, and Kendra Scott has some, too.
posted by stellaluna at 9:44 AM on April 26, 2021

If you live somewhere with a Burlington Coat Factory, they tend to have a nice selection of fun, bold jewelry in your price range.
posted by corey flood at 10:05 AM on April 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Aliexpress has a lot of shops that do bold jewelry for prices often under $5 a piece, directly from small Chinese factories. I've bought surprisingly good quality cheap stuff from the following:

Cindy Xiang
KVMEXO
Muylinda
Joolim
Dream Carnival
Luoteemi
posted by I claim sanctuary at 10:15 AM on April 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

This is my aesthetic in jewelry as well. I tend to have luck at little indie "gift shops" in small towns, or on ebay. It's not as immediate gratification, is the tradeoff.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:32 AM on April 26, 2021

Best answer: I love loud jewelry! Earrings particularly. (I use the search terms "statement jewelry" or "oversized jewelry" or when I really want to see some extra creative things "festival jewelry")

Etsy is the way to go, here are some fun earrings, all under $30:
beaded crawfish
orange slices
extra oversized flourescent swirl button studs
green glitter cicadas
beaded toucans with feather tails
statement earrings made out of repurposed painting
earrings you can paint with
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 10:55 AM on April 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

If you don't mind sometimes getting stuck with something you don't love but can't return, Ebay has tons of amazing finds - especially but not only vintage. I agree with RobinofFrocksley, the search terms you want are "Statement" and "Festival" followed by (necklace / earrings / ring ... whatever specific piece you have in mind) - "Jewelry" will work too, but you'll get better results if you cast a more specific net.
posted by Mchelly at 12:47 PM on April 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

A surprising place to find interesting and cheap jewelry is small auction houses. You would be amazed at what you can find in the budget range you listed, including semi-precious stones, silver, and gold of various carat weights. Since COVID makes the usual garage sales, thrifting, and estate sales browsing somewhat inconvenient small auctions with online bidding are the way to go. I always say, go to the auctions that antique dealers go to for their stock if you were in Sydney, for example, Raffan and Kelleher.
posted by jadepearl at 2:58 PM on April 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I love the suggestions so far, thank you! Specific places like certain etsy artists are amazing...I can search etsy of course but it's hard to pin down *what* I am looking for. I don't really want any gemstones or precious metals...much more on clunky, rock n roll, pop art, or unusual weird stuff, as long as it's bold.
posted by tiny frying pan at 4:43 PM on April 26, 2021