One of the things my personal style clients feel least confident about is accessorising. How much is too much? ‘Am I trying too hard’ or ‘Is this too young for me’ are the thoughts that often hold people back from showing their personal style through fun, stylish, crazy and classic accessories.
So where to start?
Look first at your outfit and the colours that form the base of your canvas. Are you wearing neutrals, brights or classic black. What is the style? Tailored? Girly? You want all the items to come together and be as stylish as possible.
Jewelry is the easiest and most obvious way to accessorise. It’s best to choose one body part and concentrate on that. If you love large and eye catching earrings keep your necklace simple or wear none. Feel free to load your neck with a combination of dainty and chunky necklaces but then wear the simplest of earrings. Don’t do bracelets and rings at the same time, one or the other is best.
Don’t forget your head, especially when the harsh sun can be so damaging to your skin, but make sure it goes with your outfit. A baseball cap is great with jeans and a well cut t shirt or casual jacket but not with a sun dress. A straw hat with silk flowers can be lovely with a long flowing sun dress but would look out of place with a pair of jeans and boots.
Belts are not only helpful in keeping your pants up but also set the style, bring an outfit together and really make a statement. Scarves are not just for winter, but match the season with the weight of the fabric, and you can layer these also as long as the colours, lengths and fabrics co-ordinate. Take a look at Nina Proudman’s style and see it in action.
Shoes and handbags are not only functional but highly necessary. This is an area worth spending money on and investing in classic and quality pieces to last through the years. Don’t feel that your shoes and bag have to match. First check that your shoes work with the outfit and then the bag with the whole picture. Remember, if the world matched then life would be really boring. Style lies in cleverly breaking the rules. As I talked about in Top 5 style tips , Colour Connection is also key. White adds weight and black reduces, yellow, orange, lime and almost all shades of pink are instant weight gaining colours and darker colours are slimming. So you might not feel confident in an orange dress, but a great pair of shoes and matching handbag in orange might give you that exciting confidence boost that makes you feel fun and edgy.
Category: Accessories, Accessories, Fashion Advice, Personal Style, Style Advice, Womens
