Accessory scale is the last element in evaluating your accessories. Understanding your accessories enables them to add to your confidence and personal power.
In the past, accessories were a mystery to me. I had a hard time figuring out what felt the best on me. But I had one thing going for me though; I knew clothes and accessories affect how I feel. It wasn’t until I really understood my body elements that I started getting a handle on accessories.
For me understanding scale has always been an issue because I could never figure out what was right for me. It felt like they were too big or not big enough. But when I figured out my body elements I started to fit the puzzle pieces together.
When I get all my accessories right, along with my clothes, I feel like I can go out and conquer the world or at least face whatever is stopping me at the moment.
This will also happen for you.
In this post your will learn:
- What body elements give you clues to scale of accessories
- How to create your scale strategy
- Determining accessory scale
- How to determine whether your accessories scale are right for you
Body Elements -- Evaluate Your Accessories
The body element that gives you clues as to the scale of accessories and prints are Color of Skin, Hair and Eyes, Body Proportion and Body Frame Size. You can determine the clues each body element gives you in these blog posts:
Once you understand the clues these body elements give you, then you can create your Scale Strategy.
Your Scale Strategy
I wrote about creating your Scale Strategy in the blog post called Scale Strategy — Bringing It All Together.
To summarize the process first you add your clues from Color of Skin, Hair and Eyes and Body Frame Size. This gives you your overall Scale Strategy.
Once you determine your overall Scale Strategy, your look at your Body Proportion results. In areas where your Body Proportions are short, decrease scale in those areas. For areas where your Body Proportions are long, increase scale in those areas.
For example if you are long from your chin to bust, like I am, and your overall Scale Strategy is medium then you increase the scale of necklaces. However, if you’re short in this area you then decrease the scale of necklaces.
For example if you are long from your chin to bust, like I am, and your overall Scale Strategy is medium then you increase the scale of necklaces. However, if you’re short in this area you then decrease the scale of necklaces.
My overall scale is medium to medium small. However, between my chin and waist I increase the scale and between my knees and floor I decrease the scale.
Determining Accessory Scale
When determining accessory scale you first need to understand the elements of scale:
- Relative size
- Visual weight
Relative Size
The relative size of an accessory gives you clues to it’s scale.
The left hand necklace is smaller and the right hand one is larger. The right hand necklace looks larger and heavier and as a result is considered large scale. The left hand necklace is small and lighter and is considered small scale.
Visual Weight
The visual weight of an accessory looks at whether it’s solid or not. This is something that you will consider mostly in jewelry, belts, and scarf prints. If it looks more solid, then it carries more visual weight.
Both of these necklaces are the same size. However, the left hand solid necklace is visually heavier than the right hand one made out of wire. Even though both are the same size the right hand wire necklace would have a smaller scale than the solid left hand one.
Evaluate Your Accessories
Now that you understand your Scale Strategy and how to determine the scale of an accessory, it’s time to look at your accessories and make sure they match the clues your body gives them.
Put on each accessory to determine if the scale is right for you. If it’s right, put it in your “yes” pile and if it’s not, put it in your “no” pile. When you have the accessory on ask yourself “Does this make me feel light or heavy?”
When it comes to shoes I can’t wear chunky shoes. These are examples:
I need to wear more delicate ones like strappy sandals or classic pumps. These are examples:
For handbags I shop in the medium to small range. Look at this picture I created last year (before my hair cut). Notice how the handbag on the left is too big and it takes over my body. The one on the right is my handbag and I get tons of compliments whenever I wear it and I have had it for 4 years.
Jewelry scale has been my biggest problem but by understanding my body elements I was able to narrow down what would work and then I used my trick by asking myself “Do I feel light or heavy?” I buy jewelry in the medium to medium/large scale.
This is the last element of evaluating your accessories. In the next blog post I will summarize all the steps so you can keep it as a guide when purchasing new accessories or coming up with new combinations of accessories you already have. The post is called 6 Steps To Evaluate Your Accessories.
What did you learn about scale in general? How does this relate to the scale of your accessories? We would love to read your comments.
Wear Your Greatness!!
