You don’t want your jewelry to make you look fat. A lot of what’s out there now does - you just wind up looking like a Christmas tree.

Lakshmi is offering a blunt, practical rule of thumb about accessorizing: jewelry should complement the wearer’s proportions rather than add visual bulk. Her “Christmas tree” image criticizes the then-common trend toward oversized, heavily layered, highly reflective pieces that can overwhelm an outfit and draw attention to width rather than line. The remark also signals a broader style philosophy—editing and restraint over accumulation—where the goal is balance (scale, placement, and negative space) rather than maximum sparkle. Underneath the humor is an insistence that fashion choices should serve the person, not the trend.