How to Thrift the Juju Vera Look

Just because That Necklace is sold out, doesn't mean you can't find one like it

If you spend any amount of time perusing street style photos (or, frankly, any of the “fashion girl” Substacks), you have no doubt come across Juju Vera. The brand’s Petra Shell Pendant can almost be described as iconic at this point — it’s the perfect weight and length. It feels at once classic and also slightly bohemian, thanks to the metal tassels. The Athena collar — available in gold or silver, with a hit of turquoise that makes it feel like a family heirloom — is nearly as covetable and, like the other pieces, always sold out. The brand is also among the new crop of high-end designers making a big push to bring cigarette-smoking back (you have to admit that their metal ashtray and lighter cover are very chic).

Here’s the thing about Juju Vera: the first time I saw the shell pendant, I immediately clocked it as vintage-inspired. Metal shell-shapes were huge in the 1980s and ‘90s (particularly in Florida, where I’m from) and hard metal handbags, tassels, and clams just read estate sale to me (in the best way, to be clear).

vintage shell-encrusted purse necklace (under $40!) // metal clam shell purse

Because Juju Vera pieces are currently so hard to come by, and because I am fervently against supporting dupe culture, I rounded up some vintage pieces that strike the same balance between modernist and vintage, subversive and bohemian. (For my past issues in my Thrift the Look series, head right this way.)

long silver earrings // gold shell earrings // circle and triangle earrings ($15!) // vintage shell necklace (this is an old Revlon perfume bottle!!) // vintage Elsa Peretti for Halston perfume bottle necklace // modernist Mexican silver collar

Keep reading for more of the best, most Juju Vera-esque jewelry available online now, plus the keywords and brands I search to get the look.