Archive for March, 2010
So you have been invited to that all important event and you can’t wait to go. You have spent hours trying on and shopping for evening dresses and have finally found the perfect dress. All that is left to do is to decide on the accessories to wear. No matter how gorgeous the dress, the right accessories can make or break the outfit. Accessorising an evening dress is key to looking amazing, so pick your accessories carefully and don’t forget to try on the whole outfit in advance to check that it looks as good as you hope.
This beautiful satin gown (pictured above) is really striking and a feature in its own right. It therefore needs subtle and stylish accessories that do not detract from its beauty. A simple pair of black heels and black cover up is all that is required, perhaps a simple and plain black clutch bag. The detailed neckline would look best without a necklace or with a very simple pendant necklace and small hair accessory perfectly balances the pattern on the lower half of the dress.
Each type of accessory should be considered carefully and chosen to balance and compliment the dress. You should also consider the outfit as a whole to ensure that you are achieving the right balance of accessories and dress. Often with evening wear accessories less is more and the most stylish look is achieved with just a few simple pieces.
Here are some of the key accessories to consider when putting together your evening outfit.
Jewellery -as mentioned before, less is often more. Think about the colour, sparkle, length and shape of your jewellery. A complicated neckline will need a very simple necklace that hangs at just the right height. A small diamond (or similar) pendant is very elegant and looks great with almost any type of evening wear. Before you select earrings decide how you will have your hair. A pair of long earrings will usually look better with short hair or an up do.
Cover up -when travelling to and from an evening party or during the evening, you may feel slightly chilly and want to cover up. You may also feel slightly self conscious of showing your shoulders and prefer to cover them. Boleros are the most practical and stylish type of evening cover up but wraps also look really good and formal with an evening gown.
Underwear -whilst not strictly speaking an accessory, underwear is an important part of your outfit and contributes towards its overall success. Make sure you choose underwear that does not show at all and streamlines your shape.
Handbag - A small clutch bag is the perfect handbag to carry when wearing an evening dress. For a simple dress pick out a beautiful beaded clutch, for a more elaborate dress a simple black clutch will be perfect. Â
Hair -If you have medium length or long hair, an up do will look really formal and compliment your evening dress. You could choose a feather or sparkly hair accessory which will draw peoples eyes towards your face. Remember to balance and co ordinate with any jewellery that you are wearing.
Shoes -black high heels (if you can walk in them) are the best option for evening wear. Other alternatives include gold or silver heels or embellished ballet pumps for those that cannot wear heels.
So it seems that spring has finally sprung in the United Kingdom so perhaps it is now time to update your wardrobe and your look to reflect the change in season. This is something that can be done quite easily with the addition of a few key items.
The first thing to consider when updating your wardrobe is colour. Dark colours such as black, grey and navy are fine for the winter months but are not quite as suited to spring. Whilst dark colours seem to symbolise winter and provide women with a sense of comfort throughout the colder months they often look somewhat out of place when it comes to spring, and consequently should be avoided wherever possible.
Rather for the spring months it is preferable to opt for pastel shades such as lemons, lilacs and pale blues. Any one of these colours can add warmth to an outfit, however some of these pastel colours suit different complexions better than others.
For those of a paler complexion, who emulate something of an English rose look, pale pinks are probably the best options. The pale nature of pastel tones often means it is often difficult for those of a paler complexion to find a pastel tone which suits them. However, pale pink is a great colour for paler women as it really warms their skin and complements their complexion beautifully.
Whilst for those of a darker complexion why not try colours such as peach or lemon tones? These are tones which will undoubtedly complement your complexion beautifully whilst reflecting the current spring time trends. Pale blue is another great option for those of a darker complexion as blues tend to be quite cool colours and therefore often cannot be worn by paler women as they tend to clash with their complexion and leave them looking paler than they actually are.
For those who are unsure about trying out these pastel tones, it is advisable to experiment with smaller items to begin with. For instance why not opt for a piece of knitwear which can be easily teamed with much of your existing wardrobe? For example simply team light weight sweaters or cardigans in pastel shades with black trousers to recreate the look. It really is as simple as that and once you feel more confident and comfortable with the look you can integrate larger pieces in these tones into your wardrobe.
Dressing for your age is an important part of looking stylish. We can all probably think of some examples of people who refuse to give up wearing the clothes that they wore in their teens and insist on following the latest trends regardless. Whilst pink hair bows may look cute and trendy on a 17 year old, they may look a little bit twee on a thirty something. Wearing clothes that are too young for you can actually make you look older. That is not to say that you can’t follow trends in your thirties, you just need to pick and choose what you wear a little more carefully than perhaps you did in your twenties.
In your twenties you will have probably been able to wear whatever you liked. People are much more forgiving of fashion crimes by teenagers and twenty somethings. By your thirties you are generally expected to know better and have worked out to some extent what suits you and what doesn’t. Twenties are a great time for experimenting with new looks, following the tends and having some fun with your clothes. In your thirties you can still keep some of the fun and fashion but be that bit more selective.
Learn to recognise which styles clothes look good on your body shape and try to base your wardrobe around these shapes. Also work out what really doesn’t work for you and avoid these types of clothes at all cost no matter how much they are in fashion. You can usually keep your look up to date and trendy without resorting to unflattering clothes.
There are some high fashion pieces that whilst you do not necessarily need to rule out altogether, but should approach with great caution include harem trousers, jumpsuits and all in ones, leggings, body con dresses, patterned tights, micro mini skirts, racer back tops, crop tops, tracksuit trousers and cycling shorts (unless you really are going cycling). You may be able to look great in these clothes, but there is higher probability that you will not.
There are plenty of current trends that will look great in your thirties and you can wear to your hearts content. These include draped dresses and tops, tunics, nautical styles, military tailored jackets, florals or any other prints, chiffon floaty dresses, trench coats, tailored shorts and blazers.
Your thirties are also a great time to get to grips with which colours really suit you and look great on you. Wearing the right colours will do more for your complexion than any expensive face cream at this time in your life.
You should also ensure that you do not dress to old for your age, thirties is relatively young, there is plenty of time for dressing like a fifty year old when you are in your fifties. There will never be a time when you need to dress in frumpy old fashioned clothes (particularly now) as you can look elegant and stylish at any age.
Whatever you choose to wear and what ever your age, your style should reflect your personality, you can still have fun with your clothes and enjoy choosing what to wear.
This spring and summer there will be two very strong but contrasting trends. Bold, bright and busy including all of those tribal, floral and abstract prints sometimes all mixed together in clashing eclectic outfits. On the other hand there is an abundance of minimalist, neutral and pastel shades for spring. Which ever camp you fall into there is plenty of choice in all sorts of different styles to suit all shapes and sizes. Perhaps you will follow both trends by mixing some of the seasons neutrals with some full on patterns.
This seasons neutrals come in a variety of hues ranging from white, cream and beige to warmer pink, peach and rose tones. There is also a great palette of cool pastels to choose from. Ice Cream, sherbet or candy colours are all great descriptions of these colours. They are sweet but not sickly sweet. Cute but not too cute. Perfect for those who want to look feminine but in a sophisticated way.
You can take inspiration from how these neutral and pastel tones were worn on the catwalk. There were plenty of both military and safari influences with crisply tailored jacketsin shades of beige, camel and stone. From Celine to Oscar De La Renta safari shorts, utility trousers and tailored jackets were all hot looks.
At Jil Sander, the master of minimalism clean lines and tailoring in unbleached shades of hessian and hemp had unfinished edges for a raw, earthy feel. At Chanel the neutral colours were balanced by textured fabrics in classic Chanel style.
From Calvin Klein to Dior, Versace and Tommy Hilfiger to name but a few there were sheer and floaty creations in sugary pastel shades. Baby blues, pastel pinks, pale yellow, spearmint and lilacs all gave a very sweet and feminine feel which was balance by thigh skimming skirts and splits. There were also plenty of frothy and frou frou dresses in shades of cream, white and rose. The swirls of ruffle and tiers of pleats seen at the catwalk shows of Valentino, Gianfranco Ferre, Roksanda Ilincic, Roberto Cavalli, Chanel, Fendi and Chloe (the list goes on) were as romantic and feminine as it gets but carefully balanced by their neutral colours for a fairytale frock heaven.
Then there were the underwear inspirations. Flesh coloured and cream corsets were very visible at Bottega Veneta, Dolce and Gabbana, John Paul Gaultier, Louise Goldin and Just Cavalli. Wearing ones underwear on the outside seems to be all the rage. But if this look is too much for you a delicate satin camisole or corset top worn with a jacket is a far more wearable way to work this trend.
Finally, we couldn’t talk about neutrals without mentioning the ever popular trench or rain coatsas seen on the catwalks for spring and summer at Charles Anastase, Pringle, Burberry Prorsum, Sportsmax, Dior and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Each version had its own slightly different features. The Burberry Prorsum mini trench worn with a short skirt and socks and sandals may well be one of the biggest looks for the summer.
A great way to wear this trend for a really relaxed look is to combine neutral stone and beige tones with pastel and baby blues and tan leather accessories. Most of us will look good in some sort of neutral, but you may need to try a few before finding the perfect shade to suit your skin tone.
As a fuller figured lady, it can sometimes be more difficult to find beautiful and on trend clothes in the high street shops. But there are a number of retailers including Roman Originals who cater for plus sized ladies both online and on the high street with a range of casual, work and evening wear in the latest styles. Finding the right outfit for a special ocassion like a wedding, ball, prom or evening party can be particularly challenging. With summer not too far away, now is a good time to start thinking about what to wear for any important events over the coming months.
A plus size prom dress is the a great choice for all sorts of summer occasions. The prom dress is a classic style that suits all sizes and shapes of body. As a plus size you will look really great in bold patterns. The term prom dress is usually used to decribe a strapless dress with a flared skirt. It can be either ong or short in length and have all sorts of other features including net underskirts, lace overlays, embellishments like beading or embroidery and patterns or prints.
This contrast panel evening dress (pictured above) is the perfect choice for a plus size lady. Available in sizes 12 to 22. The bold design in black and white is amazingly flattering and creates illusion of the perfect hourglass figure, even if you do not have one. For those who do not feel completely confident in a strapless dress, it has detachable straps. The lace up bodice means that it can be adjusted to fit perfectly.
The traditional style of prom dress is not the only dress that will look great on plus sized ladies. A floaty or chiffon dress hangs beautiful and drapes over curves to flatter them. A black chiffon dress is particularly good for an evening pary and brighter or pastel colours are great for daytime events.
The key to finding beautiful prom dresses and evening wear for plus sizes is about finding styles that skim rather than cling. It is also important to find the just the right size to fit perfectly. A dress that is too big or too small will not flatter you. A perfectly fitting dress will make you look elegant and stylish.
All plus size ladies are different and so will find different styles of dress to suit them. Generally speaking a line skirts will look best on those with larger hips and thighs will look best ina line and fuller skirts. Those with hour glass shapes will look best in styles that cinch in at the waist. For ladies with rounder tummies, empire line dress are really flattering.
Just because you are plus size, it does not mean that you have to settle for boring or unfashionable clothes. You can still follow the latest fashions (if you want to) and find beautiful and stylish prom dresses and evening wear. Don’t forget to pick out just the right accessories to compliment your outfit. If you have a simple dress you can choose bold and eye catching statement accessories. If you have chosen a bold dress, then a few simple accessories will look amazing.