Southern gothic jewellery is jewellery that looks inherited rather than bought: a cross worn out of habit, black lace at the throat, a picture kept under glass, pearls in faded mauve and metal left to darken. It borrows its motifs from Victorian mourning jewellery and its mood from the decaying, religion-soaked South of Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.
Search for it and you get mood boards and marketplace listings, but no reason why a cross, a cameo and dusty pearls belong in one jewellery box. This guide gives the reason, then 14 pieces from our range that fit it.
Key Takeaways
- Southern gothic jewellery should look kept. In Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily", a silver set lies "so tarnished that the monogram was obscured": aim for that antiqued, bronze-toned or black finish.
- The cross is its central symbol. O'Connor called the South "Christ-haunted", and crosses were common in mourning jewellery.
- Mourning pieces do the rest: black lace collars, a cameo-style choker, a coffin that opens and a churchyard under glass.
- The colour comes from half-mourning: mauve, lilac and pale pearl.
- Our 14 pieces cost $19.99 to $42.89. All are costume jewellery; none claims sterling silver, solid gold, jet or natural stone.
What is southern gothic jewellery?
Southern gothic jewellery is the accessory side of Southern Gothic, which Wikipedia describes as a Gothic-influenced genre set in the American South. Decay and the region's deep religious roots are among its themes, and the jewellery carries both.
The Lace Ledger's Southern Gothic style guide sums up the jewellery box in one line, "Pearl earrings share space with rosaries and crosses", and the rule in four words: "Every accessory, an artifact."
It is not gothic western jewellery, which belongs to the frontier; our gothic western style guide covers that look and where the two meet.
Why does southern gothic jewellery look inherited?
Because in one of the genre's best-known stories, it is. William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" (1930) is built from objects that outlive their owners. When the town's officials call on Miss Emily, she appears "with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt", and they hear "the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain", a watch nobody sees.
The silver tells the rest. Emily "ordered a man's toilet set in silver, with the letters H. B. on each piece", and when her house is finally opened, the man's toilet things lie "backed with tarnished silver, silver so tarnished that the monogram was obscured" (full text; the set is also recorded by the University of Virginia's Digital Yoknapatawpha Project).
That is the brief for every piece below: antiqued silver tones, bronze-toned filigree and black. Wear one chain long, so it vanishes under a collar the way Emily's chain vanishes into her belt. Our pieces are new, so the finish does the ageing that time did for hers.
The cross in a Christ-haunted South
The cross is the one symbol southern gothic jewellery cannot do without. In her 1960 essay "Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction", Flannery O'Connor wrote that "while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted" (quoted by The Marginalian). Mourning jewellery leaned the same way: Wikipedia's entry on mourning jewellery notes that "crosses, Bibles, angels or anchors" were common. Wear yours like that: small, worn every day, a little tired.
Cross necklaces and chokers
The Stone Cross Necklace comes nearest to a rosary drop. A filigree heart holding a tiny cross hangs above a round black stone, and below that a slim silver-tone cross, all on a fine link chain. It is zinc alloy and $19.99.
The Cross Coven Necklace hangs filigree crosses, small and large, from a black choker chain with an extension. At $29.99 it is the most devotional piece here.
The Rose Cross Necklace comes in three versions, listed only by code, and only one has the cross. Choose DD-18 ($30.78): a black ribbon band with a black fabric rose in a bronze-toned filigree frame, two swags of fine chain and a filigree cross hanging at the centre. DD-07 ($19.99) is a red rose on the band, and DD-38 ($30.78) a red rose with a black drop. The listing names ribbon and zinc alloy.
For lace with your cross, the Ruffled Cross Choker puts a glossy black cross below two tiers of black lace ruffles on an adjustable chain, $27.99. It is the softest piece here.
Crosses for the ears and hands
The Sacred Cross Earrings are antiqued silver-tone huggie hoops, each holding a fleur-de-lis cross with a small set crystal at its centre, $19.99. The Onyx Cross Ring sets a black cross on a textured, molten-looking silver-tone band that opens to adjust, $24.99. Despite its name, the listing gives the cross as black enamel, not onyx.
Mourning pieces: black lace, a cameo-style choker, a coffin and a churchyard
Southern gothic takes the rest of its jewellery from mourning. In Wikipedia's account, memento mori pieces used skulls, skeletons and coffins, and a locket with a photograph was a personal mourning piece. Black lace and pictures under glass do the same job here.
The Queen of Thorns Necklace is a full collar of black beaded lace, with chains looping below it and black teardrops on the lowest row, $42.24. The listing calls the chains "jet-black", a colour; it does not say jet. It sits in our Whispers of the Ruin world.
The Raven's Omen Choker is smaller and closer to the throat: black guipure lace fanning out from an oval black centrepiece in a bronze filigree setting, with one black teardrop below, $29.99. Its listing names Victorian mourning as its style.
The Grave Portrait Necklace is our answer to the cameo. A black velvet band carries an oval in a silver-toned filigree frame, and inside it a white skeletal woman in profile on black, with a small black drop beneath, $42.89. It is a portrait cameo with the face already gone to bone.
The Gothic Coffin Pendant Necklace opens on a magnetic catch, so it can hold something small: our nearest thing to a mourning locket. The pendant is 3.5 by 2.4 cm on a 60 to 65 cm chain, in alloy, for $19.99. It is photographed in red enamel and silver-tone; the listing mentions silver, red and black, but offers no colour choice.
The Gothic Crow Forest Pendant is a whole churchyard under a clear dome: a crow perched on a grave cross among bare trees, in a black filigree oval on a black cord. It is zinc alloy and $19.99.
At the wrist, the Raven's Ribbon Bracelet is a black lace cuff tied with a red satin bow, with a small gold-toned heart frame holding a red cross at the knot. It is one size, in black and red, at $29.27.
The faded garden: pearls in mauve and lilac
The colour in southern gothic jewellery comes from the end of mourning. Half-mourning brought back grey, mauve and lilac (our Victorian mourning dress guide walks through each stage), and Wikipedia notes that pearls in black settings were already allowed in the middle phase. So look for dusty, pale pearls.
The Dead Garden Necklace loops two strands of dusty mauve pearls around the neck and meets at a translucent purple butterfly with an antique gold-toned body, with small pearl drops and an amethyst-coloured crystal teardrop below, $32.99. The listing does not say what the pearls are made of.
The Persephone Necklace is the garden after the frost: a silver-toned chain choker with a cluster of frosted lilac and ivory petals, and pearl drops in blush, mauve and cream hanging around it, $32.99. Both sit in our Moonlit Amethyst world.
How do you wear southern gothic jewellery?
Wear one piece that looks old and one sacred note, then stop: southern gothic is a quiet look, with no stacked chokers and no shine. Three ways to put it together:
- The preacher's daughter: the Stone Cross Necklace worn long over a cream or white lace blouse, with the Sacred Cross Earrings. Nothing else at the neck.
- The widow in the parlour: the Raven's Omen Choker or the Queen of Thorns over a high black neckline, with the Raven's Ribbon Bracelet at one wrist. Our Victorian goth outfit guide has the clothes.
- Miss Emily's house: the Grave Portrait Necklace at the throat and the Gothic Coffin Pendant on its long chain, tucked under a collar so only the chain shows.
If you want pearls and a cross together, the pairing The Lace Ledger describes, wear the Persephone Necklace with the Onyx Cross Ring rather than two pieces at the neck. For skulls and bats, which belong to a louder kind of memento mori, see our skull and bat jewellery guide.
Lengths and sizes, as listed
Only the Gothic Coffin Pendant prints a length: a 60 to 65 cm chain. The Cross Coven Necklace and the Ruffled Cross Choker are choker length with an extension chain, and the Onyx Cross Ring is an open band listed as "one size fits most". The other chokers print no length: measure your neck with the method in our goth chokers and collars guide, and if you are between sizes, choose one with an extension chain.
What we do not sell
We do not sell rosaries, real cameos, photo lockets, jet, real bone, turquoise, bolo ties, or anything in sterling silver or gold. Every piece above is costume jewellery: three listings name zinc alloy, the coffin pendant says "alloy", and the rest name no metal. If you want a southern gothic piece to pass down for real, our goth jewellery brands comparison includes makers who work in sterling silver. For metals and sensitive skin, see our goth rings, necklaces and earrings guide.
The rest of our crosses and chokers are in the gothic necklaces and cross necklaces collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is southern gothic jewelry?
Southern gothic jewelry is jewellery styled after the Southern Gothic tradition of the American South: crosses, black mourning lace, cameos, coffins, pale pearls and darkened metal, chosen to look inherited rather than new.
Is southern gothic jewellery the same as gothic western jewellery?
No. Gothic western jewellery belongs to the frontier: bolo ties, conchos and heavy silver worn with a cowboy hat. Southern gothic jewellery belongs to the parlour, the church and the graveyard, and takes its pieces from Victorian mourning instead.
Why are crosses part of southern gothic style?
Because religion runs through the South that the genre describes. Flannery O'Connor called the region "Christ-haunted", and crosses were already common in mourning jewellery.
Where can you buy southern gothic jewellery?
Independent makers on marketplaces such as Etsy sell pieces under the name, and our own range covers the costume end, from $19.99 to $42.89. For heirloom metal, choose a maker who works in sterling silver.
