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One of the best and easiest ways to sort of take a simple outfit, is accessorize. You
can wear the same pair of jeans and t-shirt every single day if you just accessorize differently;
pair it with a different bag or big jewelry one day.
Maybe one day you wear heels and the next, sneakers. It's a really easy way to take your
wardrobe and make it go really, really far.
Honestly, I know people that wear a uniform; you wear jeans and a blouse, maybe it's the
same little black dress. But as long as you have the accessories, and they do not have
to be expensive, you can really take that outfit and make it look absolutely different;
and take it from day to night for whatever you need.
One of the rules that people love to say in fashion is, again, that you have to take something
off when you walk out the door. I completely disagree. I think accessories are where you
can really show your personality.
They're a very easy way to take a wardrobe on a budget and make it look incredibly expensive.
Costume jewelry, vintage bags, vintage scarves; these are all things that, as long as they're
bright and colorful and sort of draw your eye to them, they don't need to cost money
and they go with anything.
The first thing every woman needs is a bag and everyone loves carrying one; you know
that's the running joke is women and their purses.
What I love to do is have a variety of bright bags. This is a Banana Republic bag that's
$50, this I got on eBay for 25. So the point is that they're bright colors and they look
exciting but they don't have to be expensive.
With any of these bags, they don't necessarily have to match; you don't have to be wearing
a turquoise outfit or turquoise shoes to be wearing this bag. In this case, I'm wearing
black and green and a bit of brown. I would wear this bag as a pop of color.
I'm sort of wearing a relatively neutral outfit and this is a fun way to make it a little
more exciting and maybe add something a little more interesting so you don't look like everybody
else walking down the street.
One of my favorite ways to accessorize, really, is jewelry. I literally won't walk out of
the house if I don't have an arm full of something, some big earrings, and definitely a few rings.
For me, it's a really easy way to look dressed up and put together, when you don't feel like
doing much. I will wear jeans, I'll wear a t-shirt, but as long as I've got some big
earrings and some costume jewelry, it kind of looks like I've been put together.
One of the biggest trends right now is an over-sized men's watch. That's something that
people love to wear; you can get them almost anywhere and they don't have to be expensive,
but they add a really cool conversation piece for your outfit.
You would not believe how many men and women always ask about the watch and they just love
how big it is. It really draws their eye and that's another way to feel like you've added
a little something personal to your outfit.
Another thing is big earrings; I think people really shy away from them because you don't
want to look like you're dressed up, or maybe they don't match your outfit because your
outfit is casual; again, don't worry about the rules. If you really like something, wear
it; you can pull it off.
In this case, I love earrings with color; these are a pair of green. These are BaubleBar
for Erickson Beamon and they're bright, they're costume jewelry, they're under $100 and, if
you get them, they will take any outfit and really spice it up. You can wear it during
the day or especially at night; I mean you don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy
jewelry or diamonds or gold. Just get something with a lot of color and that's a lot of fun
and that's going to make you feel happy when you put it on.
Another thing people are talking about all the time right now is statement jewelry. We've
sort of talked a little bit about earrings and piling on the jewelry; a great way to
do this is a big necklace.
If you do a large necklace, you want to keep it simple; you don't need to pile on the jewelry
and you don't really even have to worry about your outfit.
I love something that has a sort of collar feel to it and that's got a bright color.
This is something you can just drape around. You could wear it with a dress, t-shirt, blouse,
honestly even a tank top and maybe a blazer.
The point is that it's got all the color you need; it's going to brighten your face up
and it's going to add a little bit of glamor to an everyday outfit.
Another way to wear a scarf is spice up a purse that maybe you're sort of sick of or
bored, or maybe you wear it to work a lot and you want to wear it on the weekend and
feel like it's different. So take a relatively simple bag and you can wrap that scarf around
it, almost like a purse accessory.
So in this case, it's just a simple red leather bag and I'm taking this sort of bright yellow
scarf and tying it around the handle. That way, I've added a little bit to the purse
and I've added a little bit to the outfit as well.