Is it okay to wear a bag with gold hardware when you are wearing silver accessories?

Dear Kelly,
 
Is it okay to wear a bag with gold hardware when you are wearing silver accessories?
 
Sincerely,
 
Becky
San Francisco, CA
 
 
Dear Becky,
Generally speaking, no.  However, I firmly believe all rules are meant to be broken! There are many instances where one can mix and match silver, gold, copper, brass  or other metallic finishes.  This works especially well when the jewelry you are wearing already incorporates the different metals.  Or if you have a bag, like the Chloe medium-sized Paddington bag shown here.  The metallic goat leather is bronze, and the hardware is brass.  It looks great and lends itself well to mixing metals.
If you want to play it safe though, just keep it all one color.  Or if you are wearing lots of jewelry in one finish, choose a bag that either doesn’t have any hardware, or has only tiny amounts of another color.
Just remember, as long as you do it confidently, most people won’t question it!
Kelly