A friend on Instagram asked me recently for advice on how to use accessories to incorporate pop color into an outfit. She always found that she was reaching for her black shoes to go with her black dress and was looking for ways to shake things up. I’m certain she’s not the only one who’s intimidated by this styling challenge, but trust me that anyone can embrace the pop color to make an outfit look effortless. Sometimes, I go a bit color crazy and over accessorize and have to backtrack to find the pop color happy medium. None of us are immune to the process…
I told her she was pretty much halfway there just by using the word “pop” and “accessories”. Your outfit is the cake and accessories are the frosting – they’re actually there to serve as accents to play up some of the subtle features of a garment and really pull a look together. They can take your outfit from fashion to style. And a ‘pop’ can mean a print against a solid, a metallic against a matte (read: SPARKLE and then add some more sparkle. I clearly have a problem.), or a bright color against neutrals. Or you can go crazy and include several of the above. As you might imagine, I have a tendency to go crazy. In the immortal words of Stacy and Clinton (oh, how I miss you): In every outfit, incorporate color, pattern, texture and shine.
So, I dug into the wardrobe and came out with this stunning 1950’s Jonathan Logan dress, with black and brown and white (effectively neutrals) hand-painted brushstrokes, just waiting for her frosting…
When hemming and hawing over what accessories to use on a printed dress, I first try to find a subtle hue of something that already exists in the print and play that up. There are brushstrokes of mint every so often in these ferns, which meant I could easily make mint my pop color. When you play up a subtle color that already exists in a print, it’s helps the pop look intentional, as opposed to shocking.
Instead of grabbing a mint-toned handbag (which veers towards matchy matchy, which I vehemently try to avoid), I opted for a gold vintage bag to play up the metallic paint that sparks every so often when this dress catches the light. I personally also like to find a secondary pop – not as vibrant as the first, but something a bit unique. As a huge fan of mint and red, I grabbed my red apple necklace (because what outfit isn’t better with a sparkly apple necklace??? None is the answer) and a rhinestone bracelet that I wore in my wedding. I find people tend to shy away from mixing metallic tones – but I promise you they can work. Think of metallics as neutrals and you’ll be mixing and matching to your heart’s content.
Side tip: Those items you might be saving for a “fancy occasion” – I promise you they will just gather dust. Take them out for a spin! This bracelet has special meaning – it was a gift from my mom and I wore it on my wedding day – but it’s also so blingtastically fabulous that it would be a crime to lock it away.
For me, the most important thing is to always have fun with an outfit – despite the fact that I gave a whole lot of rules above, never follow rules so closely that you don’t allow for a bit of accidental magic to happen. Try whacky color combinations. Try prints that you don’t think have any business being together (a good tip for that is to play with scale by mixing a large print with a small one. But that’s a post for another day).
I also think that playing up dichotomy can go a long way to create a really interesting style – pairing really modern shoes with a vintage dress or a black leather motorcycle jacket with a sweet gingham skirt. Go rogue. No one’s watching (okay, they are. But most likely in admiration at your awesome style). And they will probably ask you for tips on how you managed to look so effortlessly stylish. If I’ve learned anything about developing a personal style, its to commit and wear it with confidence.
After awhile, you’ll find yourself reaching for things you never thought you would, thus giving airtime to some sorely neglected pieces in your wardrobe. They’ll sing with joy at the chance to be taken out into the sun!
If you’d like more styling tips and tricks, let me know in the comment section below. Happy styling!
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Dress: Beleza Vintage (similar modern here or here or vintage here, here, here & here)
Necklace: Swarovski (similar here, here & here)
Bracelet: Swarovski (similar here & here)
Handbag: Vintage (similar here & here)
Shoes: Modcloth (similar here, here & here)
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