Things You'll Need:
- Dzi bead jewelry: necklaces, bracelets, single stone slider necklace, earrings, knotted belts. Dzi stones can be purchased unstrung for home beading projects, along with twine and findings.
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Step 1
A collection shows the soft color and strong patterns of dzi beads.Dzi beads (pronounced "Zee"), a traditional patterned bead from Tibet, can be worn IN all sorts of ways with great impact. There are traditional ways associated with spiritual practices, and ways that are just pure, beautiful fashion.
If you want to use the traditional spiritual methods of wearing the beads, you should consider whether you want to use authentic--and very expensive--antique beads, or if you are comfortable wearing reproductions. For some the choice will be very important, for others less so.
The traditional ways of wearing the beads, as necklaces and bracelets, and placed in strategic areas around work or the home, involve the choice of specific bead patterns and placement. Non-traditional use is entirely a matter of taste and flair, and suggestions will follow. -
Step 2
Here are ten ways to wear dzi beads this summer:
1. A single bead on a slider necklace! Perfect as beachwear and light office wear.
2. A double strand necklace on a solid jersey top. Go for strong contrast: light colors which will allow the rich browns of the stones to show up. Perfect for linen tanks.
3. A double strand choker necklace, worn high, with a spaghetti strap tank: elegance with a slightly tribal feel. Easily made if you enjoy beading: think of fine leather cord and knotting, with matching dangle earrings.
4. A corded belt of dzi beads, knotted casually at the waist of a long sleeveless tee-shirt dress or light shirt dress.
5. Stacked bracelets, inches deep!
6. If you have hair long enough for a twisted up-do, twist a strand of dzi into the flip before pinning your hair. Allow long ends to trail down your back and swing gently against the nape of your neck, inviting kisses.
7. If you have shorter hair you can consider stringing three or four beads on colored twine and fastening the resulting tassel to a small hair clip. You can then clip the resulting hair jewelry so that the beads flirt around your ear, or just at your jawline, a lovely accent piece.
8. Loop a short strand of dzi beads through the handle of your purse, to swing free as you rush through the day. Dzi look particularly fine against dark leather or light bright canvas in summer whites and creams.
9. Use as tie-end on cords to deck your favorite straw hat! Don't leave the ties too long, though: the beads are heavy and can hit your face if swinging free.
10. Asymmetric looks rule! If you love the look of an asymmetric hair cut, or a hair part that weights one side of your head over the other, you may like the idea of wearing a single striking dzi bead as an earring in one ear, with small, low-key earrings in all other piercings. The single swinging earring bead can catch the eye and play off of other asymmetric elements of your look. -
Step 3
Spiritual use.
The dzi bead, like Native America turquoise jewelry, is strongly associated with an indigenous culture and with the beliefs and traditions of the Tibetan people. Real dzi stones are ancient and quite mysterious, their origins and manufacture unclear. They can also be very expensive. If you want to enjoy the beads for the pure pleasure of the design and style, give serious consideration to purchasing the many affordable reproduction beads available. They are as beautiful, can still be used in spiritual rituals just as many modern Tibetans do, and don't place an ancient piece of historical art at risk in any way.
