How to Look Put Together: Put a Piece of Jewelry On, Not Off | Heidi Daus

Heidi Daus has been designing jewelry for more than 40 years and was on HSN for many years. I've known her for over 25 years, and we've done a lot together on air.

Why the take-one-piece-off rule doesn't serve you

You probably know the rule. It's the preppy, conservative one: get dressed, look in the mirror, take one piece of jewelry off. Heidi and I are here to say the opposite. When you get dressed, put a piece of jewelry on.

Because life is short, so wear your jewelry. It's the saying we keep coming back to, and it sums up how we both see this.

How to look put together in leggings and athleisure

Things have gotten way more relaxed. People wear athletic clothing seven days a week. Commentators on the NFL wear sneakers with their suits. You don't have to fight that.

Heidi's own version is athletic wear, a little boot, a great jacket and a big fat piece of jewelry. Mine is leggings, a cute shoe or a little boot, a poncho or a ruana wrap or a blazer over a black tank. The jewelry is what's doing the talking.

And the women who collect her pieces aren't waiting for a dressy occasion. As Heidi puts it, they're wearing the biggest and the baddest and the most beautiful with their comfortable shoes and their slouchy sweater. Comfortable and fabulous at the same time.

What are you saving it for?

Heidi's mother was a navy blue jacket, white shirt, khaki pants kind of woman. Heidi once found a beautiful chiffon nightgown tucked away in her cupboard and asked what it was for. Her mother said, I'm saving it for a fire.

My own mother was a glamorous woman. When she passed, she had a white ultra suede suit with the tags still on it. She hadn't worn it once, and it broke my heart.

So eat off the good china. Get that suit out. Cut the tags off. I say this as someone who started her business and stayed in her robe eight out of ten days. Then Heidi was coming, so I did my hair, did my makeup and got to wear the necklace, and the whole vibe changed.

Why heirloom jewelry belongs on you

My mother loved jewelry, and I have one of her bangles. I put it on the other day for the first time in ages and I got goosebumps. It was like she was standing within me, around me. Whoa, hey Mom, how you doing?

Maybe you have a piece that was handed down from your grandmother. Wear it. Put it on your jean jacket. Let someone comment on it, and then you get to speak her name. Personalize these pieces and make them your story.

A statement piece is a way to connect

A piece of jewelry is a cue from your inside to the outside world. It says you love beauty and you've got something going on. As the Gottmans would say about marriage, it's a bid. If someone appreciates it, you may have a new friend.

Heidi has a trunk she calls her love letter trunk, full of notes from women who watched her for years and thought, it's pretty, but I could never pull that off. Then they bought themselves their first piece, and that was it. Now they get it.

There's so much connection missing right now. On the train, the plane, in the Uber, walls are up. A pin on a lapel can be the wink and the nod that opens a conversation.

How dressing up changes how you're treated

A friend of mine was about to give a talk and planned to go casual. I told her no. Your audience made the effort to show up and hear you, so acknowledge it and really bring it. It's okay to be overdressed on those occasions.

Getting dressed up also teaches people how to treat you. I've seen men online who say that when they dress up to travel, they're treated with more respect.

It doesn't have to be expensive. A few key pieces can do it, and a good thrift shop can turn up great finds.

So here's where I'd start. Go to the drawer, find the piece you've been saving, and wear it tomorrow with whatever you're already wearing. You don't need a reason or an occasion. Life is short, so wear your jewelry.