Hello Indianapolis!
It’s becoming cooler and the as the leaves change to deeper shades, of course, your outfits should reflect this. I do love fall colors — burgundy, olive, navy, gold, green, purple, etc. As you put your outfits together, I encourage you to think about the “pop.” This is especially true if you wear all neutrals, which is an easy way to dress. When you wear these colors — especially grey and black — it’s important to add some type of focal point. What is your pop? It depends on you.
Indianapolis Wardrobe Stylist Tips
An emphasis point should always be near your best feature — and farthest away from your worst feature. For example, while I am on the smaller side, I proportionately larger in the hips and much smaller in the waist. I was looking around for some new jeans with embroidery in floral (always love a good floral.) I was in a store over the past week and found actually four options in the same store: a black border jean (that I really liked); a washed-out rinse with embroidery with birds and flowers; and two floral embroidery options on a dark rinse. One had really large motifs on the side of the hip, bottom and back pocket. The others were a dark rinse with very petite flowers. I snapped a photo of these shown here. I picked the jeans on the left.
First, I evaluated the jeans for flattery. It was clear that while I loved the print with the birds, the light wash made my hips look much bigger as did the one with the black trim. The other two pairs were both dark rinse, but the larger details clearly were drawing attention to an area where I do not want “pop.” I decided on the ankle, dark rinse jeans with the smaller flowers. They were the most flattering.
When I wear these jeans, I will plan a “pop” higher up on my shape, closer to my eyes or face, since that is what I consider my strong points. Most likely, I will add a bright top in red or teal with an interesting neckline. I will also add some interesting jewelry or some earrings — possibly chandelier in gold.
A very formal, basic wardrobe especially needs pop and interest. This is especially true with tops and dresses that do not have detail. With a pop or detail, a very plan ensemble shows the characteristics in your face and shape that are not perfect. A print that is unbalanced, has variety, some point of emphasis such as cold shoulder tops or unusual details such as fur will detract from your imperfections.
I recently learned this in my online image consultation class. It was quite enlightening, since I always seem to reach for the more plain, formal clothes. If you do too your accessories are extremely important to give you outfit interest and to highlight the features you want to highlight.
If you want to highlight your shoes, be careful. If your calves are heavy at all, do not wear a high strap near your ankle or booties that stop below the ankle bone, since this “pop” will emphasis your heavier legs.
Keep it sassy, Indy.
Beth Divine, Indianapolis Wardrobe Stylist
