The art of accessorising

Accessories add interest to an outfit, they make it look special and they also hold the whole look together and make it look finished. You will notice some people are masters at accessorising and can make a very plain outfit look really amazing and stylish by adding the right accessories. But how should you choose which accessories to wear with which outfit?

There are so many different accessories to choose from. They include shoes, bags, jewellery, belts, gloves, scarves, hats and tights. How you choose to accessorise each outfit will depend on the look you are trying to create. For example a simple little black dress may be accessorised for a party with patent black shoes, a silver clutch bag, a sparkly silver necklace and bracelet. A more casual sweater dress may be accessorised with some thick tights, boots, wide belt and chunky beads. The key to accessorising is not to over do it. Only wear one accessory that really makes a statement teamed with maybe two or three other more subtle accessories.

When choosing accessories, you need to think about the outfit that you are accessorising. An eye catching dress may look too much with statement accessories as well. Some other considerations when choosing accessories are:

· Mood – Do the accessories match with the mood of the outfit and the look you are trying to create? Unless you are a real trendsetter a gothic style scarf will not look great with a power suit.
· Colour – Do the accessories match or compliment the colours of the outfit? – Contrary to popular belief black does not go with everything. Accessories are a great way to add colour to an outfit and experiment with different colour combinations.
· Silhouette – How will the accessories that you add affect the overall shape of the outfit? eg wearing a belt will completely change the look of a loose fitting top or dress.
· Drawing or diverting attention – do your accessories draw attention to your best features and draw attention away from your worst features? If not they should e.g. draw eyes towards a pretty face with a neck scarf, a neat waist with belt, long legs with some gorgeous patterned tights.

As with any fashion and style advice the only real way to find out what something is going to look like is to try it on. Try on two or three different accessory combinations with an outfit and choose which looks and feels best.

This chunky Onyx and Lava Stone Bracelet is really unique and intersting and looks great with black, grey or white outfits.