When it comes to buying and investing in jewelry. I have the white shirt rule.

What's the white shirt rule, you ask? It's simple. When I'm considering a new piece, be it earrings, a necklace, or a ring, I try to imagine how that item would make me feel if I were only wearing a simple, white button down shirt and casual, Saturday jeans. Nothing fussy or overdone about the outfit. Just me in my most bare and comfortable element.

If the answer is: it feels natural and easy, like a second skin. Then I'm all over it. If the answer is: it feels too overdone or distracting, I pass.

Over the years, I like to think the above "bar test" has helped streamline my jewelry cases. Of course, I've splurged on the occasional statement or trend necklace and collected more than my fair share of the "arm party" pieces, but over time, I've really come to edit my go-tos. My daily arsenal of dainty, gold jewelry that pairs just as easily with a little black dress for evening as it does for Sunday morning coffee when I'm running outside without makeup. If your jewelry box is void of gold pieces, maybe you should consider making an investment in some - you will find some helpful information at adinasjewels.com on some delightful jewelry to start you off.

As you can imagine, this means I keep the lineup tight knit, making sure each piece works (and plays!) nicely with the others. So when I recently discovered Monica Vinader after a girlfriend introduced me to the brand, I knew I had found my latest must-have addition to the rotation. The aesthetic is clean, simple and elegant. Just the right amount of dainty and personal. And her iconic Baja bracelets are easy to wear alone or stack for a higher impact look. To round it out, all the stones are ethically sourced and hand cut in India, with the diamonds in particular following the Kimberly Process, which prevents the distribution of conflict diamonds. A designer after my own heart.

When she asked me to style a few of her pieces, I (shamelessly) requested a little bit of everything to borrow and haven't really taken them off since (you've probably spotted them in previous outfit posts actually). And granted, while I'm wearing a white dress here, I like to think each item really stands the white shirt rule -- meaning I should probably expand my definition to include white dresses as well. 😉

OUTFIT DETAILS: Reformation dress (from last year, but this dress is IDENTICAL!) // Janessa Leone hat // Ray-Ban sunglasses // Monica Vinader neckace, rings and bracelets

Photos by Alisha Siegel

This post was in collaboration with Monica Vinader. As always, all opinions and styling are my own. Thank you for supporting all This Time Tomorrow collaborations!