The Most Underrated Jewelry Trend to Add to Your Rotation ASAP

The 20 year trend cycle shows that this upcoming trend, which is equal parts nostalgic and stylish, is past-due. Bangles aka chunky bracelets have been on my radar for a while now. I first predicted the accessory would be relevant again back when damn near every major fashion house provided unsolicited commentary on rising inflation; plenty of garments and accessories suddenly appeared, well, inflated for better AND for worse.

The ‘Puff-ification’ of clothing was heavily discussed for months – even amongst the non-fashion girlies. In my mind, chunky accessories + fashion’s y2k fixation + summer = a bangles resurgence! And I was right. A few months later, the rise of the chunky bangle commenced during Spring/Summer Fashion Week and most didn’t notice.

I almost fell out seeing bangles featured in Saint Laurent’s SS24 Ready-to-Wear collection. It’s always so affirming when your trend predictions are proven right! Fast forward several seasons later (Couture and Spring/Summer) and the gworls are still including the accessory in their runway looks. Love that for us!

For this reason, I partially have trouble calling chunky bangles a “trend” per se. They were a closet staple in the early aughts and well into the 2010s. Being that we are transitioning toward the more realistic everyday y2k aesthetic (and away from the ultra glamorized celebrity version), I’m confident we will use bangles as a closet staple again.

Spring/Summer 2024 Fashion Week:

Another reason bangles will be more than just a micro trend is that the accessory has proven its lasting power. It wasn’t just relevant for Saint Laurent during SS24, other fashion houses highlighted the upcoming accessory all throughout the spring season.

Fall/Winter 2024 Fashion Week:

On top of that, the most recent shows for FW24 have been featuring bangles of all shapes and sizes. Saint Laurent’s lineup with basically every look including these chunky accessories was excellent.

Street style looks featuring bangles:

And of course, the fashion trendsetters were tapped in during both seasons finishing off their looks with bangles, cuffs, bracelets, and all of the above. Sometimes there is friction when taking things from the runway and applying it irl, but this jewelry staple is fortunately pretty easy to style and get creative with.