Sizing

Necklace Sizes

Common lengths for men and women, and how to pick one

Necklace length is measured end to end around the whole chain, not just how far it drops below your collar. The right length depends on your neck size, how you want the piece to sit, and what you're wearing it with.

How to measure

Start with your neck's base circumference. Wrap a soft tape or a piece of string around the base of your neck, where a collar would sit, and note that number. Then decide how far below that you want the necklace to fall (its "drop"). Add the two together and that's the total length you're looking for. A choker has almost no drop, while a statement piece might drop 6 inches or more.

Women's lengths

These are the common industry length names and roughly where each one falls. Exact inches vary a bit by brand, so treat this as a general guide rather than a fixed standard.

Diagram of a shoulder and neckline showing six necklace lengths draping to increasing depths: Collar sits at the neck, Choker at the base of the neck, Princess at the collarbone, Matinee above the bust, Opera at the breastbone, and Rope well below that.

Style	Length	Falls at
Collar	12 to 13 in	Sits right at the neck
Choker	14 to 16 in	Base of the neck
Princess	17 to 19 in	Collarbone
Matinee	20 to 24 in	Above the bust
Opera	28 to 36 in	Breastbone or lower
Rope	36 in and up	Long enough to double or knot

Princess length is the most versatile, and the one I'd suggest if you're only picking one.

Men's lengths

Men's necklaces are usually sized in a narrower range, and tend to run a couple inches longer than a woman's necklace with a similar look, since they're sitting on a larger neck and chest.

Length	Falls at
18 to 20 in	Close to the collarbone, a shorter fit
22 in	Just below the collarbone. The most common default
24 in	Mid chest, works well layered under a shirt
26 to 28 in	Lower on the chest, a bolder statement

Layering

If you're wearing more than one necklace at once, space the lengths out so the chains don't tangle or sit on top of each other. A gap of about 2 inches between each length usually works, so a choker, a princess, and a matinee length layer cleanly without any planning beyond picking those three sizes.