Sometimes before bed, I like to spend a minute (or an hour) flipping through the pages of the Anthropologie website, deciding which items I should stalk until they go on sale. Normally I fall for clothing; my Anthro checked peplum blouse is one of my all-time favorites, and my recent velvet dress is going to be perfect as soon as it gets cold again. But the other day I ended up on the jewelry page, and I’ll be honest: it was downright insane.

We all agree, I’m sure, that Anthropologie’s prices can be… uh… I’ll be nice and say bananas. Hell, there used to be an entire blog about it. (RIP, Anthroparodie.) I love plenty of items at this store, but there’s a reason my bestie and my favorite shopping game is Guess the Price at Anthro. If you’re dropping a car payment for a “Magnifying Decorative Object,” you have made a wrong turn somewhere in your life.

Because of this, I wasn’t super surprised to see an embellished velvet choker necklace listed for $328 on the Anthro website – but I was confused when I realized it was covered in childhood plastic letter beads.

This choker is described by Anthropologie as, “…Designed in their New York City studio, each limited-edition collection is a statement of timeless elegance. Brass-plated silver, Swarovski crystal, velvet ribbon.”

I don’t see “plastic letter beads” in the bio, but damn it, I know what I see. And it is not worth $300+ no matter how many crystals you put on it. Sorry ’bout ya, Anthro + necklace designers. That price is hilariously crazy.

Now I don’t have any crystals just chilling in my house waiting to be stitched onto a necklace, but I have plastic letter beads and some other childhood gems from broken jewelry floating around. Doesn’t this necklace give you that vibe, anyway? It’s all the fun of your childhood, but for the price of ~290 gallons of 1990s gasoline. Yes, I did the math, and yes, that is insane.

With that, I bring you today’s DIY.

Anthropologie Knock-Off Necklace

90’s Inspired Velvet Bead Choker Necklace

Supplies

• Velvet ribbon
  • Save money and buy it from the by-the-yard area at the fabric store with a coupon, as you don’t need much
• Mismatched plastic beads
  • Bonus points if you just use old, broken jewelry
• Needle and thread
• Jump rings
• Clasp
• Chain
• Jewelry pliers
• Scissors

Directions

• Cut the velvet to a little smaller than the size of your neck. Fold it in half to find the middle, then start sewing your beads into place from that point. You’ll see I spread my beads out more than the Anthro necklace. It is pretty heavy the way it is, so I think the real necklace and anything else with more beads stitched into one place would hang funny and potentially flip around. Food for thought.
• Once your beads have been sewed into place, hem the ends of your ribbon and stitch on the clasp or chain. Remember to leave a little extra chain so you have enough to hold on to while you put the necklace on.
• Use your remaining hundred of dollars on literally anything else.

All in all, this project cost about $5 (although I already owned most of the supplies) and took 30 minutes. I just don’t think I miss the crystals for an extra $323. Do you?

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Need more crafts? Learn how to make an embellished sequin patch brooch!