Learning how to wear ladies accessories seems easy when you see them in fashion magazines and celebrity red carpet events. Beautiful fashion necklaces, gorgeous designer shoes, artfully tied scarves – at the hands of a fashion stylist, anything seems easy. Until you get home and try it yourself, that is.
Fashion accessories can be tricky, because so much depends on the wearer. If the earrings are too long, the belt too wide, or the heel too small for your size, the accessory looks weird.
What Accessories can do for YOU
- Take a look from beautiful to fabulous.
- Get you more compliments on your adventerous fashion sense.
- Focus the observer's eye for emphasis where you want it.
- Add colour or splash to an everyday outfit.
- Update your basics or your last years wardrobe.
- Make your wardrobe seem 10 TIMES LARGER
Ladies Accessories: Petites
When you’re “5’2” with eyes of blue,” it sounds cute in a song — but it’s a lot less fun in real life when all the trendy clothing and accessories are geared to women 6 inches taller than you. Oversized bags, gigantic belts, hats that make you look like you’re playing dress up – welcome to the world of accessorizing petites.
Here are a few of the things petites need to remember about ladies accessories:
Wear hats with small brims
Don’t wear chunky necklaces or earrings
Have straps shortened on shoulder bags
No belts over 2” wide (no belt at all if you’re plus size)
Shoes with ankle straps will make you look shorter
Now you may not like being told you “can’t” do something, but when it comes to ladies accessories and the petite body, you need to make some exceptions. After all, your goal should be to look good every day, not look like you’re playing dress up in your mother’s closet.
The word you need to remember when shopping for clothes and accessories is proportion. If you’re petite, you don’t have the same amount of vertical body space to cover as someone 4 or 6 inches taller than you. So you have to scale things to your size. Otherwise you’ll look even shorter than you are.
Learning which ladies accessories work best for you can be tricky, but if you keep proportion in mind and use fashion magazines and clothing catalogs as a styling starting point instead of a destination, you’ll have a lot more luck finding the best.
Ladies Accessories for Tall Women
If you’re tall, you have the same problem as women who are short: finding women’s clothing and accessories in your size. Whether it’s finding pants that fit, long sleeves that actually reach to your hand, or shoes that accommodate a larger-than-average length, you know what a challenge looking great can be.
But here’s one truism about ladies accessories for tall women: horizontals are your friend.
I know – fashionista’s will tell you to never wear horizontals because they make you look shorter and wider, and they do. Which, if you’re very tall and thin and tower over everyone you know, can be a GOOD thing.
Some of my favorite accessorizing tricks for tall women include:
A wide, collared necklace
Bangle bracelets
A wide belt
There are others, but I think you get the idea. When you learn which ladies accessories work best for tall women, you can unlock a bag of tricks that will help you dress more confidently every day. Try is yourself and see!
How to Accessorize: Plus Size
When your dress size is big, it means you need big accessories — earrings, bags, boots, etc. – in order for things to look right. If you wear dainty stuff like a pretty little gold necklaces or a watch, then small things on a big body just made it look bigger. Not good.
Here are some things to remember:
Keep accessories in the same mood as your clothing
Stay away from soft, floppy handbags; structured bags will make you seem smaller
DO go for bold color, especially around your face
Being plus size doesn’t mean you have to give up being fashionable. It just means that you can’t wear everything just the same as those skinny little models they have in fashion magazines. Once you learn the best shoes, belts, and other accessories to wear for the plus size gal, dressing became a whole lot easier. It also starts turning some heads…whatever your size!
ACCESSORY TIPS FOR EVERY CATAGORY
HANDBAG - The handbag is the most important accessory in your wardrobe. Beyond being a container for your lipstick, your car keys, wallet, and all those things we could not possibly survive a trip outside our houses without, a handbag is a fashion accessory, and a powerful one at that too. Handbag’s underscore your look and accentuates the curves of the body. We may not realize it, but whoever looks at us most likely gets his or her eyes drawn first to the purse we are carrying. Therefore, a handbag can build your look up or destroy it completely.
In choosing a handbag, purchase a neutral shade or multicoloured that will go most of your wardrobe. It doesn’t have to match each of your outfits but there should be some coordination. The style and the size is your choice as long as it will carry what you need. Tan, black and brown handbags are good for day time use.
JEWELLERYis sensual and feminine. It includes short necklaces, earring, rings and bracelets. Silver and gold jewellery used together looks contemporary. If both metals are mixed with pearl it breaks up the overly feminine look. If your going out to a formal dinner, use crystals or rhinestone. It will look perfect for the night. For casual look, you can combine a short choker with long strands. With a turtleneck, dangling earrings looks fabulous but if you are at work never use dangling jewellery. It doesn’t work with an office look. Chokers are nice and elegant but they don’t usually work on short, thick necks. They look good on long faces and neck. Necklaces length that stops at the breastbone looks good on women with big bust. For tall women, a necklace with thirty-four to thirty-six inches gives them a good balance.
BRACELETSare feminine, fun and sexy. Cuff bracelets comes in a same shades and places as beads. Skinny bangles either gold, brass, silver also looks good in great numbers. Chain-link bracelets can look stylish if you mixed them with narrow bangles. Ivory beads and wood beads look good with silver and gold.
EARRINGSare the accessory closest to the face. You need a full length mirror to show whether the proportion is right. Wearing gold or pearl buttons are suitable for daytime use. Dangling earrings are good for evening, weekend or at home look. For oval-shaped face a round medium sized earring like a big circle with pearl in the middle will look good. For round face or jaw wide use a flat, slender drops or oval button earring looks best. A pear shape earrings, wider at the bottom will be flattering to triangular face. A clip earring can be used if your ears are not pierced.
SUNGLASSES - Whether it is summer or not, you should always keep a pair of sunglasses with you and wear them whenever you are out under the sun. Beyond making you look trendy and stylish, sunglasses have another, more important function and that is to protect your eyes from ultraviolet rays. Sunglasses can be used as finishing touch to woman’s wardrobe. In order to get the right look, choose a frame that will complement your facial structure. The shape and size of the frame matters, it should be proportionate to the size of your face. For a round face, a square shape frame will look best. If you have Square face choose round frames. Long narrow face can use wrap around oval frames.
SCARVES - In fashion, a scarf be used as a casual necklace, its a nice accent under a shirt collar, over a turtle neck or t-shirt. It can be used as a chic head wrap by folding two corners in and folding again. They can cover the hair too by folding into a triangle. A scarf makes hat more festive. It can also be used as colourful belt, a pareo around the waist. During summer it can be used as a sarong to cover up bathing suit. No matter how you use scarf it should look natural. In choosing a colour an abstract print of gray, black, white, navy, burgundy and tan goes with everything.
