Over the last 6 weeks you have learned how to evaluate your accessories. Accessories allow you to personalize any outfit. This is when your personality can shine through. Oscar de la Renta agrees with me.
A woman makes an outfit her own with accessories. Oscar de la Renta
Marc Jacobs says it in another way.
Any opportunity to adorn oneself is human, and accessories is an easy way to do it. Marc Jacobs
To convert any outfit into yours, you start with understanding your body elements and the clues they give you and then translate the clues to accessories.
In this post we will review all 6 steps:
- Shape
- Horizontal Lines
- Vertical Lines
- Color
- Color Combination
- Scale
Accessory Shape -- Evaluate Your Accessories
Step 1 in evaluating your accessories is to look at their shapes to determine if the shapes match your body’s clues. (To review this post go to: Accessory Shape — Evaluate Your Accessories)
The Body Element that gives you clues to accessory and print shape is your Face Shape. Face shapes come in two categories:
- Angular
- Curved
If your Face Shape is angular then look for accessories with an overall angular feel. On the other hand, if your Face Shape is curved look for accessories with an overall curved feel.
When shopping for shoes, handbags, jewelry or belts look at the overall feel of their shapes. Only consider those that match your Face Shape.
If the accessory has a print, like scarves, shoes, handbags and belts, look at the overall shape of the print. Once again, only consider those that match your Face Shape.
My Story
I have a rectangle face which is in the angular category. Whenever I wear angular accessories I feel more like me. For example when I wear round toe shoes I feel like I have Olive Oyl feet (Poppy The Sailor Man’s girlfriend). But when I wear angular toe shoes my feet feel like Cinderella.
Horizontal Lines -- Evaluate Your Accessories
Step 2 in evaluating your accessories is to look at the horizontal lines they create and determine if their placements are right for you. (To review this post go to: Horizontal Lines — Evaluate Your Accessories)
The Body Elements that give you clues to placement of horizontal lines are:
- Body Shape
- Body Proportions
With respect to Body Shape, make sure the horizontal lines created by accessories don’t land in your widest parts. For example don’t place a scarf as a horizontal line at the shoulders if you have a “V” Shape Body. Wear the scarf so it flows down from your shoulders.
With respect to Body Proportion, make sure the horizontal lines created by accessories don’t land in short body proportion areas; but rather place them in long areas.
My Story
I have an “S” Body Shape and my Body Proportion is long from my chin to bust and bust to waist. As a result, I love wearing my scarves and necklaces that create horizontal lines between my chin and bust. These horizontal lines make this area appear shorter.
Vertical Lines -- Evaluate Your Accessories
Step 3 in evaluating your accessories is to look at the vertical lines they create and determine if their placements are right for you. (To review this post go to: Vertical Lines — Evaluate Your Accessories)
The Body Elements that give you clues to placement of vertical lines are:
- Body Shape
- Body Proportion
When looking at Body Shape, carefully place the vertical lines created by accessories. If you have a “V” Body Shape, when wearing scarves, place them closer to the center of the body and away from your shoulders, resulting in the shoulders appearing thinner.
For Body Proportions, place vertical lines in short areas so those areas appear longer. If you’re short between your chin and waist, wear a scarf that hangs down below your waist. This will visually make this area appear longer.
My Story
As I said above I have an “S” Body Shape and Body Proportions long from my chin to bust and bust to waist. I avoid long necklaces and scarves in these areas. When wearing scarves I make sure there is a horizontal line between my chin and bust along with the ends of the scarf ending between my bust and waist.
Accessory Color -- Evaluate Your Accessories
Step 4 in evaluating your accessories is to look at their colors. (To review this post go to: Accessory Color — Evaluate Your Accessories)
The Body Element that gives you a clue to what fashion accessory color enhances your coloring is the Color of Skin, Hair and Eyes.
This body element gives you clues to not only what color enhances your coloring but also neutral colors. Neutral colors for handbags, shoes and belts can be:
- Black
- Grey
- Navy
- Brown
- Taupe
- Tan
- Khaki
- White
Neutral colors for jewelry and belt buckles are:
- Yellow Gold
- Silver
- Rose Gold
Along with knowing your best fashion accessory color, you need to understand your best neutral of non metal and metal colors.
My Story
I have a high contrast Color Contrast Profile because I have very dark hair and eyes and very light skin. My main neutral color is black with a little navy blue and cool taupe. I have tried other neutrals but these fit me the best and I’m very lucky I can wear both yellow gold and silver.
Accessory Color Combination -- Evaluate Your Accessories
Step 5 in evaluating your accessories is to evaluate the color combinations. (To review this post go to: Accessory Color Combinations — Evaluate Your Accessories)
To determine which color combinations enhance your coloring, first you need to understand your Color Contrast Profile. This is the difference between the relative lightness and darkness of your skin, hair and eyes. If you have little difference you have low contrast. However, If you have a medium difference you have medium contrast. Finally, if you have a major difference you have high contrast. Before you go any further determine your Color Contrast Profile in the above posts.
There are two color combinations you need to consider:
- Your favorite colors combined with other colors
- The relative lightness and darkness of these colors
In the post link above you can determine which color combinations are right for you.
Accessory color combination can be in the accessories themselves:
Or your accessory with your outfit can create the color combination:
By understanding your best color combinations you can create unique looks by combining different accessories with your clothes.
My Story
I have a high contrast Color Contrast Profile because I have very dark hair and eyes and very light skin. My favorite colors are red, fuchsia, blue/purple, and royal blue. I wear mostly triadic color schemes and very light and dark colors. The above red dress with blue/gold necklace and white pearl necklace are staple looks in my closet.
Accessory Scale -- Evaluate Your Accessories
Step 6 and the final step in evaluating your accessories is to determine their scales. (To review this post go to: Accessory Scale — Evaluate Your Accessories)
The body elements that give you clues to accessory scale are:
- Color of Skin, Hair and Eyes
- Body Proportion
- Body Frame Size
To determine what size of scale is best for you, you need to determine your Scale Strategy. This is done by:
- Combining the clues from Color of Skin, Hair and Eyes with Body Frame Size
- Increasing or decreasing the results depending on if your Body Proportion is short or long in a particular area
My Story
When it came to necklaces I always shied away from medium, medium/large necklaces. I used to stay in the medium small range. Much of that was the fact that I didn’t want to stand out. I knew with my Body Frame Size I needed smaller scale accessories.
When I created the 5 Body Element System and realized what my Body Elements were telling me, at first I focused on clothes. But because I started to feel more confident, wearing the right clothes for me I started exploring accessories. To my surprise I found I could wear medium/large scale necklaces.
The color of my skin, hair and eyes created a high contrast Color Contrast Profile, and my Body Frames Size is small. The result is an overall Scale Strategy of medium. When taking into consideration my Body Proportion, I’m long between my chin and bust; I can increase the scale for necklaces. I was amazed when I wore the right necklace for my body elements that I could tap even further into my confidence.
Your Story
Now you can tap into your confidence and personal power by wearing accessories that match your body elements. Follow these 6 steps when evaluating any accessories.
The final test is to put each one on and determine if you feel lighter or heavier when wearing it. If you feel lighter, it’s a winner! But, if you feel heavier then put it down. If shopping, put it back where you found it. If you own it, donate it and get it out of your closet. (To review the trick go to: Your Body Knows)
Were you like me when understanding your Body Elements and accessories opened up a whole new world? What did you discover? Tell us about it by writing in the comment section below.
The next post is about the science behind how clothes can change how you feel. Yes there are studies on this subject. It’s called Enclothed Cognition. The post is called: Clothes Can Change How You Feel.
Wear Your Greatness!!
