As the spring season approaches, the days are getting longer, and so are necklace styles. This season features necklaces with longer lengths, bright colors, dangling charms and lots of opportunities to mix and match.

Access, 224 E. College Ave., offers a large selection of different necklaces that are hot for this season. Kara Boots (senior-media studies), an employee of Access, explained some of the latest necklace trends.

"Gold is kind of the new metal for jewelry for this summer," she said. "It looks really great with a tan."

She said that white beads with gold accents, bright colors and red with terracotta are popular for the upcoming seasons. As for length, Boots said that long chains layered with different textures are trendy.

"Also, a lot of people layer different length chains," she said.

Longer chain-link necklaces and anything with charm-like boggles and ivory horns attached are in style.

"If you're going to make it the focus of your outfit, minimize everything else," Boots said. "Just balance it out."

Sydney Mac, owner Sydney Mac Boutique, 115 E. Beaver Ave., offers similar advice.

"The worst thing that you can do is wear something that is big, brassy and bold, even if the shirt is of the same color scheme," Mac said. "For this time of year, something lighter, not very heavy."

Mac said her store carries a lot of specialized and unique jewelry, some of which she and local artists create.

"If people can't find what they need, I usually can make it for them," she said. "I would say that what are asked for often are local artists' pieces. That is the biggest request of all."

As for what's popular for this upcoming spring and summer season, she said green hues are popular in her store.

"Green is coming in really strong this season," she said.

Penn State students also have the option to personalize the trend in jewelry by making their own designs.

Kathy St. Martin, owner of Isabelle's Bead Shoppe, 109 S. Pugh St., said that longer strands are really in, as are greens and pinks.

"Another thing that is popular are large silver beads and gemstones," St. Martin said. "As far as shape, really anything goes, but primarily larger beads."

St. Martin said that gold is making a comeback and that fluorite, Peruvian opal and pearls are also selling well in her store.

Another local store that features genuine gemstones is Sunshine Imports, 127 E. Beaver Ave. Pam Steckler, the store's owner, said customers come to her store to purchase jewelry or beads to create their own.

"I'm really into unique stones," she said.

Steckler, who recently returned from a gem show, said she handpicks all of her store's pieces.

"I pick my stuff, so I try to buy the best in stone quality. I try to high grade it so I can get the best," she said.

Steckler said that although amber and buffalo turquoise are always selling well, she suggests other unusual stones for the spring season, such as shell, larimar and rhodochrosite.

"Larimar is aqua and has a little bit of translucency. It's not flat looking like turquoise," she said. "It kind of looks like the Caribbean Sea and is only found in the Dominican Republic." She said that rhodochrosite is a pink stone with unique lacey shapes within it and that her shell beads are spiny oyster, which are speckled pink and coral colors.

Steckler said she likes all lengths for jewelry pieces.

"Sometimes I've been seeing people get these really long strands," she said. "And if people want to make them longer, they can use silver spaces or they can do whatever they want with them."

She said another option is to purchase strands of beads and wear them mixed and twisted together.

As for purchasing genuine stones for jewelry creations, Steckler has a few tips.

"I think that the most important thing is to really trust whom you're buying from," she said. "If something has been treated, they should be up front about it. Specifically ask, 'Is this natural?'"

Whether crafting personalized pieces or purchasing someone else's creations, longer lengths, genuine stones of flattering colors, gold metals and charms can be mixed and matched to represent individual styles while correlating to this season's latest trends.