The Power of Accessories!

Keep in mind, everything you put on before you walk out that door tells a story about who you are. We all look at someone and decide who we believe that person is before we actually meet them. Example, the guy with the dreadlocks and sloppy clothes is not exactly the guy you want to take home to mom telling her he is your new boyfriend from Harvard. However, that is yet another story! Let’s stick with you and your accessories; we will get to fixing him later.

What works with what? What do my accessories say about me? Accessories can make or break an outfit. Let’s say you have on your white tee shirt and jeans, but you’re going out with your girlfriends for cocktails. This gets me excited because there are about a hundred different ways to go with this. Hats, scarf’s, vests, belts, bracelets, rings, necklaces and don’t forget the handbags and shoes! OMG, my favorites are the shoes!

Every time you pick up a magazine your hit with what all the latest celebs are wearing. The trick to knowing what to wear can be made really easy. First think about what you like, are you a lots of bracelets girl or a less is more type. Are you fashion forward or country hip? Knowing who you are is definitely square one. If you are anything like me, I fit in the “all of the above” category, depending on what I am doing and who I plan to be that day.

Magazines are great for keeping us up to date on what is current and hitting the runways. So does that mean we have to hit the shopping trail every time the trend changes? No. If you notice the styles don’t really change they just recycle. Things we are calling trendy today we called old fashion five years ago. If we look back about two years ago accessories were simple, delicate and silver. Today, bold necklaces, big rings and gold jewelry are all the craze. When I look back into my yesteryear closet I see the wide belts, big necklaces and out of date bulky gold jewelry. Styles recycle and the latest trends are just a new version of what we wore a few years ago. The trick is how do we purchase a few new updated trends and mix them with our yesteryear accessories, thereby creating the iconic you. This will make you stand out from the crowd of followers and scream individuality.

Of course, if you’re among the still “financial untouched” by our present economy and money was meant for shopping, Neiman Marcus is holding the door for you! The rest of us are looking for fun places to pick up those trendy pieces to create the new us. I like the consignment stores for the unique estate pieces, you know the stuff that Miss Neiman Marcus bought and just could not bring herself to wear! Another place that is great is the Good Will stores, they are updated and this is a twofold shopping event because you are not just helping yourself to fun accessories you’re also helping those in need, again unlike Miss NM.

Before heading out on your scavenger hunt for your newest treasures, do just a bit of homework. Yea, I know homework sucks, but this will keeps us focused on the prize. Go through your favorite magazines and tear out the pages with the looks you just have to have. Using a red, purple or whatever color marker, circle your desired item on the page and have an idea of what you already have in your wardrobe that you will pair with these items. Ok, off you go! Your desired treasures are out there and you don’t have to spend your last dime trying to look like Miss NM. She will be wearing what the sales girls told her looked great on her (we know they all lie) and you on the other hand, will have great pleasure of knowing that you are your own personal fashion designer, after all, aren’t they all just knocking each other off anyway!

Written by: Brooks Rose