Sunday 7 June 2009

Accessory Necessities

With shops like Primark, Accessorize, ASOS, Claires Accessories, Topshop, Miss Selfridges DIVA range and Hennes you can get accessoried up to your eyeballs with scarves, hats, clutches, belts, hairbands, broches and jewellery. You can even pick up some vintage look a likes!

For some serious vintage jewellery at some unfortunately serious prices i will always recommend Portobello market, however if you can't make it up to Portobello physically or financially, then Miss Selfridge is great for vintage homage.

So, if you're doing Recessionista Chique for fashion purposes, for savings and sensible spending or just love accessories, here are my ten top tips before i Bling and GO!

1 - Bags


For shoppers, totes and general day bags it's always easy to become attached to one particular bag - do try and mix it up a little and don't be afraid to add some colour to your bag collection. If like me, you refuse to be adventurous with designer bags (all my designer bags are always neutral in colour) then i would definitely reccommend River Island, their bags have all the designer intentions and all the style, without the huge price tag!


Never under estimate the power of a clutch bag. Evening bags should be saved for the evening, but universal clutches carried during the day can look sexy. Quirky clutches are cool for drinks during the day and add that extra something to an outfit. ASOS is great for high fashion clutches with lots of detail, the last one i bought was £13 and is similar to the D&G envelope clutch. Never forget Accessorize for their trademark sequined embellished clutches - i was given a Union Jack sequined clutch from Accessorize for my birthday this year, it's the perfect accessory for a white tee, jeans and a blazer.


2 - Jewellery


For those of us too scared to look too classic, but love the tailored smart looks that we've seen on Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo ss/09 wear an oversized ring, huge earrings or a statement bangle, this says that you don't take yourself too seriously. Miss Selfridges is great for statement jewellery.


Gucci Ad Campaign ss 09

3 - How much is too much?
J-Lo and Eva Longoria front row Spring 09 DVF NYC



Don't be afraid to over do the accessories from time to time. Fashion isn't about imitating, it's about innovating. There are rules, if you wear big earrings you can't wear a big chain or necklace, or you can't wear two statement rings at one time - forget this! Apply and don't apply it when it's appropriate. Sometimes accessories can be the main focal point of an outfit and you can pile them on like you would decorate a christmas tree.



4 - Colour
Louis Vuitton a/w 09/10 RTW

Marc Jacobs a/w 09-10 RTW


Colours do not have to match! I find that colour matching is too obvious - we learned the colours of the rainbow when were three years old - there's nothing creative about wearing matching colours. It's a given!
You don't have to wear a ring the same colour as your top or hair band, your shoes do not need to be the same colour as your bag or anything else you're wearing. Do not stress over colour matching - colours just need to compliment each other.



5 - Nail Varnish

Do not underestimate the power of nail varnish. Nail varnish is the perfect accessory and says loads about your style - pastel colours are more quirky and stylised, darker colours are sophisticated, bright reds and hot pinks are sexy.


Coloured rings and nail varnish shouldn't clash in colour!




7 - Scarves, Earrings & Sunglasses



If you are a true fashionista you will notice the difference between a black tint or brown tint sunglass, i try to match glass tints with my outfits. Brown tints i usually wear boho, black i will wear with black or more sophisticated looks. I never wear black lenses with thick rims as i find them way too harsh for my face. For designer glasses i would always bank on Ray Ban aviators.

Cindy Crawford, Vogue Paris 08

If you love boho and ethnic looks then head scarves and oversized glasses are perfect - especially with a HUGE pair of earrings. Earrings can completely define your whole look and says loads about your personality and style!




Kate Moss for Topshop
8 - Waist Belts

Marc Jacobs a/w 09/10

Very rarely do i wear dresses without a belt to cinch in my waist. You should wear the belt at the smallest point of your torso to pull you in at your slimmest point. My favourite waist cinching belts are embellished with gold buckles and screws. I have one belt in four different colours from Primark - it's one of my favourites for dresses and seldomly do i wear a dress in the evenings without one of these belts around my waist.

9 - General Belts

I never wear jeans without a belt - unless i am wearing a particularly long top. If you can see the top of my jeans then you will see a belt. The kind of belt you wear can define your outfit, for casual day time belts i tend to stick to chunky manly looking belts or vintage. If i am going for a rocky look i will wear a black belt with silver hardware, for a boho look it's always brown and i always think gold compliments brown better than silver. For more sophisticated looks patent belts are nice with either a delicate buckle or a statement buckle.



10 - Hair and Make Up


Gwen Stefani Elle USA



Don't be afraid to experiment with your hair and make up. Buy hair clips and pins, try new hairstyles and do your make up so that it compliments your face shape, your outfit and your hair!
Wearing a jump suit you might be tempted to wear back combed hair, bright eye shadows and dramatic blusher - tranforming the the outfit right back to the eighties! With a strapless dress you might want to elongate your neck by wearing your hair up. If i wear my hair up or off my face i pay particular attention to accentuating my cheeks and eyebrows - this helps to sculpt the face, giving your face more definition. My best buy for face sculpting is the MAC facial sculptor, however all you really need are some darker and lighter blusher shades. The trick is to brush a darker shade of blusher on the area of the face that hollows if you suck your cheeks in, this makes your cheek bones stand out more without having to put loads of red blusher on!


11- Forget the Rules



Apply and discard rules as you please, afteral they were made to be broken! The key is to experiment - if trying it out means getting it wrong - then, GET IT WRONG!


Of course the best accessory in life is the Joie de Vivre - without the Joy of Life nothing else counts!

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