How to Accessorize: 7 Surefire Tips for Choosing Stylish Accessories

By Chi de Jesus

Hello there, fashionistas! We’re pretty much in the last month of summer and fall’s just around the corner! While you’re putting together your wardrobe for those special occasions based on your body type, here’s one important fashion element that you can also think about to either spruce or glamourise your ensemble – ACCESSORIES.

This means your jewellery, handbags, shoes, eyewear, and even your hair blings. So, let me jump on the bandwagon by saying that “the devil is in the details” because it is. What you put together makes people want to come nearer and see you. What they see up close makes them want to leave you IF – they’re not well thought of or they’re just … too much.

So, here are some points to ponder as you go through your collection of fashion blings through the years:

Streamline the look

After putting together your ensemble, use your accessories to complement its design – a thin neckpiece for that gorgeous neckline, a nice bangle for those sleeves, an interesting handbag for a pop of colour.

Accessorise to transform the simple chic

To update simple silhouettes or straight-lined designs, add interesting pieces to make them look more fab. A simple wife beater and denim look would look really exciting with open-toe high heels, layered neckpieces or bangles, and possibly cool sunnies.

Have a focal point

Accessorising can be fun but too much fun will make you look like a treasure chest threw up on you. You can possibly wear 3-4 pieces but make sure to find that one accessory that will be the accent of your look. A subdued colour ensemble could get that necessary pop with an asymmetric bag or even a signature piece of jewellery.

Create a colour story

Build on 2-3 colours to make your look cohesive and well- thought of. Wearing gold with silver is not so taboo anymore but make sure that it’s consistent – you can now throw in rose gold, leather and feather as long as it doesn’t unintentionally clash with your outfit.

Choosing the colours of your accessories can either come off as a complementary feature of the whole ensemble or an eyesore unless that’s what you’re aiming for. The first step, review your colour wheel.

Size matters

As body type directs you to what type of clothes you may wear, so does accessorizing – with an addition of your height. Women with larger body frames can deal with larger accessories. Ideally, women with a smaller frame should be more careful in choosing accessories that can “eat them up.”

Quality, Quality, Quality

Your accessories can be your “bat signal” or “magic lasso” so make sure that you be mindful of the quality of your accessories. Even wigs can be tricky. Cheap ones may not look like your natural hair colour so make sure that it’s at least within an acceptable shade and texture. Otherwise, it would look like a dead animal on your head.

Your shoes will always be your saving grace

If there’s anything that you would have to save for, it’ll be shoes. The right fit and design make you stand tall in so many ways. Just don’t forget your standards – closed-toes for a more classic look, open-toe for sleeveless and shoulder revealing tops, platforms for picnics, flats for the beach, and long shopping trips. There will always be something that will match the standard black, nude, and gold/silver so always keep one handy.

Accessorising is fun and it’s important that whatever you put on can strike a conversation to make meeting you more interesting. Just don’t forget that “cohesion is key;” there is just one look in one go, it’s like having a lot of things to say without meaning anything that’s why “cohesion is key.” Also, having so much fun putting things on can make you look too busy or “trying hard” so learn how to edit.

Source: The Australian Filipina