ACCESSORIES AND ELEVATING YOUR OUTFIT

Today’s blog post is going to be focusing on accessories that help enhance and bring an outfit together. Accessories are essential to an outfit, just as much as the outfit itself. The wrong jewelry, handbag, or heel, will definitely throw off your look as a whole. After all, fashion is art. A painter is mindful with his or her brush stroke, so the same will be true for a fashionista putting together a look. The goal for any artist is to create art that is cohesive to the eye. This is the same goal for a fashion designer and stylist.

I’ll start with jewelry accessories. There is fine jewelry and fashion (costume) jewelry. Fine jewelry entails gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals, and as well as various previous stones (diamonds and more). Fashion/Costume jewelry is made with look-a-like faux stones that are meant to appear like a real stone, and with base materials as well. This post will focus on fashion jewelry, I will save fine jewelry for another post.

Fashion jewelry was looked down upon until Coco Chanel made it socially acceptable to wear. When a woman wore fashion jewelry before Chanel changed the status quo, she was looked down upon for not being able to afford fine jewelry (“the real thing”). This is another aspect of how fashion has historically been kept for the wealthy, which is still done today might I add (a topic for another day).

When it comes to jewelry as a whole, if you decide to just stick to the staples and never indulge in more festive or trend style fashion jewelry, that’s ok. I was actually like that for a long time myself. It wasn’t until the past year I decided to buy more fun statement pieces. I will say though it is a good idea to invest in staple classic pieces before buying fun pieces. That way you have accessories for any occasion.

When I started investing in fashion jewelry I knew I needed to get gold and silver (not actual gold and silver, but color wise). Personally for me, I am more of a gold woman (as most middle eastern women are), so naturally I opted to focus on gold accessories, and silver pieces I would invest in the future when my budget allowed. Another crucial point is that I always buy earrings that are light. I won’t wear earrings that give me the slightest discomfort. Because of this it takes me a bit more time to find drop earrings that I like and feel comfortable in, but it’s worth it in the end.

STAPLE FASHION ACCESSORIES (GOLD AND SILVER)

1. Stainless Steel Watch
2. Stone Stud earrings
3. Hoop Earrings
4. Drop Earrings
5. Bangles (2 or 3)

The goal is to get versatile items that can be paired with casual dressy or dressy. This is especially helpful when you want your outfit to be a classy dressed up day outfit, but also a night outfit as well. While doing that, you also want to make sure the pieces you purchase are quality made and quality looking. It has to be something that looks believable to be made out of precious metals, without breaking the bank of course.

For stone stud earrings and bangles, I would recommend Kate Spade. They are good quality and they go on sale often. Another brand I would recommend for bangles is Nadri or the Nordstrom fashion jewelry brand. Both of these brands tend to have their bangles go on sale eventually. I scored all of mine 50% off (around $25 dollars for each bangle). Sometimes it is possible to mix gold and silver bangles together for an outfit. So if you see a good deal for both gold and silver bangles, go for it! You won’t regret it because you will get equal good use out of both of them. I sometimes mix both colors myself.

Here is some of the same fashion accessories I bought and others I recommend below, which most were on sale up until the day before this post went public. These go on sale frequently so check back in! I honestly like to get most of my fashion accessories from Nordstrom because they have some great quality pieces. I usually wait for things to go on sale so if you don’t want to pay full price then I would recommend doing the same. But, if you are willing to pay full price, then go for it!

Kate Spade in Both Gold And Silver Small Stud Earrings – Nordstrom

Kate Spade Gold Crystal Hinge Bangle – Nordstrom

Open Cuff Bangle in Either Gold or Silver – Nordstrom

Knotty Gold Cuff Bracelet – Nordstrom

AllSaints Curb Chain Bracelet – Nordstrom

Kate Spade Gold Bracelet – Macy’s

Givenchy Silver Flower Hinge Bracelet – Macy’s

And here is some great accessories that will be on sale August 19th for those who don’t have a Nordstrom Member Card (those who do, the sale starts as early as August 4th, depending on your card holder status):

Platinum Pavé Cubic Zirconia Earrings – Nordstrom

Platinum Precious Metal Plated Cubic Zirconia Earrings – Nordstrom

Delicate Cubic Zirconia Bracelet – Nordstrom

While I do emphasis on investing in a stainless steel watch, I am aware that it is sometimes not possible to drop $150-$250 dollars on a watch. I know this, and I’ve been there. When I started revamping my wardrobe, my first watch was a $20 dollar gold watch from BP Nordstrom (the teenager section). It obviously looked like plastic and low quality, but it was all I could afford at the time. Don’t be ashamed for not having top quality right away.

For those interested in investing in a watch, here is some (one of them I own):

Nixon Sentry Watch – Nordstrom

Citizen Two Tone Watch – Macy’s

On to handbags! I like to categorize handbags in three types:

1. Versatile bags
2. Evening Bags
3. Situational/Trend bags

Versatile bags would be bags that go with every outfit you wear, whether it is day or night. Basically your “go-to” bags. This type of bag is a must to invest in. You want your bag to match everything you wear. I typically pick gold hardware with my handbags because my jewelry accessories are mostly gold. My Versatile bags are premier designer brands, but they don’t have to be. I have a black, white, and then a burgundy bag that are my versatile bags. My white handbag I do not wear it with jeans though (I don’t want the denim dye to rub off on it). I also recently bought a brown Louis Vuitton Monogram bag at the beginning of this year to have a quick go-to bag when I don’t want to carry a bigger or more fragile bag. Plus, I lately have been having an obsession with pairing brown with orange so that was one of my incentives for getting that bag.

Evening bags would be clutches. Sometimes an outfit needs a clutch and only a clutch as the handbag choice. A perfect example of this would be when wearing an evening gown. As much as I would like to have a few clutches, at this time I only have one. So I will say it is a must to have at least one in case you might need to use it.

And the third category, situational/trend bags. These type of bags are only used for specific outfits or specific outings that call for it. This could be an eccentric outfit or a woven basket handbag for a hot summer day with a beautiful summer dress. All black outfits are another good way to use a trend bag while still looking chic.

And last but not least–shoes.

Shoes can make or break your outfit. They are very important. You can ruin an outfit with the wrong shoes, poor quality, or design, or all the above! And there is another specific thing about shoes that can ruin your outfit if you don’t have it…Comfort. If the shoes are not comfortable then you will not be able to walk in them and keep them on for the whole night. For me, once I put my shoes on for the night, we are to be inseparable until I get home. Though if I am wearing any shoe that is expensive, this rule becomes altered because I wear my driving loafers when I drive instead.

Anyways, when it comes to shoes, specific colors and styles go with specific outfits. I’m more of a pointed heel kind of woman instead of a round heel, so choose to your liking. these are my staple shoe picks:

STAPLE SHOE PICKS

1. White Pointed/Round Heel
2. Beige Pointed/Round Heel
3. Black Pointed/Round Heel
4. Nude Strap Sandal Heel
5. Black Strap Sandal Heel
6. Black Ballerina Flat
7. Beige Ballerina Flat
8. Black Loafer
9. Kitten Heel
10. Driving Loafer
11. White Sneaker
12. White Flip Flop
13. Black Dressy Slides/Flip Flop
14. Black Athletic Sneaker
15. Black Boots
16. Brown Boots
17. Black Booties

Some outfits will call for an open toe heel (strap sandal heels) instead of a pointed or round toe. This is especially true for a lot of spring and summer outfits. The ballerina flats and loafers are a great way to dress up while still being comfortable. Sometimes we women just don’t feel like wearing heels but want to still dress chic. And then when you’re not feeling like wearing flats or loafers, that’s where the white sneakers come in. There are some dressy outfits that you can substitute heels for white sneakers. Emphasis on some. There is the trend of replacing heels with sneakers, but sometimes it really ruins the outfit. It’s a case-by-case basis only.

Personally for me, the maximum heel height I can wear is a 3.5″ inch heel. However, for certain situations I opt for a 2.5″ heel. Situations such as where I have to stand on my feet all day, or if I’m going to an event where there will be a lot of dancing. For that reason, I have some strap sandal heels that are 2.5.” They are Sam Edelman heels that I got on sale for over 50% off.

These are the ones I have:

Black and Nude PATTI Ankle Strap Sandal Heel – Sam Edelman

In regards to the shoe list above, I have everything on this list except for the black and beige ballerina flats, black booties, and brown boots. It takes a awhile to complete a wardrobe. Especially one that is with quality items with well thought out designs. I’ve been working on it for almost 8 years so don’t feel rushed.

Overall, with fashion the sky is the limit. Over time it is best to expand with stand alone accessory pieces. Getting the right classic staples will help you be ready for any event or outfit. That way you’ll never have to be worried about picking accessories, just picking your outfit!

Pollá efcharistó xoxo

Nadine