If you’re a devoted fashionista—and let’s face it, if you’re reading our 7 Sistersblog, you must be—then you’ve been keeping an eye on jewelry and accessory trends for Fall/Winter. Because as we all know, the established notion that every woman should have a handful of classic, modest pieces she can combine with every outfit and wear on any occasion might be true… so long as she can also sashay her heart out wearing bold, extravagant, funky, experimental or downright unique accessories!
Luckily, this season, designers are all about bold and colorful. On the catwalks in Paris, Milan, London and New York, we saw lots of geometrically-shaped necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings in reds, purples, blues, oranges and yellows. In many cases, colored stones were combined with black or gold settings.
If this gets you running to your closet to plan your outfit for your next night out, that’s awesome. But remember: the trick with brightly colored accessories is to know how to wear them. Keep the following tips in mind:
- Less is more. And by less, we mean fewer colors. Okay, if you’re Nikki Minaj, you can get away with combining wigs, outfits and jewelry in all sorts of crazy colors. In fact, you can even accessorize with blue and pink poodles and still look fantastic! But for most of us, too many colors are distracting, so choose one color and carry it through with all of the accessories you’re wearing.
- Forget tip #1. Well, not quite. Provided your outfit is relatively toned-down, you can combine accessories with different colors. The trick is to choose either analogous colors—colors that are next to each other on a color wheel, for example, yellow and lime or red and orange—or complementary colors—colors that are opposite each other on a color wheel, such as yellow and purple or turquoise and orange. (You can find more information about colors and color harmony on colormatters.com.)
- Use shades of one color. Using only one bright color will make the accessory pop, making your entire ensemble bold. For a softer look, combine a bright color with lighter or darker shades of the same color. For example, wear a chunky bracelet with bright pink stones and combine it with a soft pink scarf or a light pink stud earring.
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Wear a neutral-colored outfit. Black, gray, white, cream, dark brown, dark blue and even dark green are all great backdrops for brightly colored accessories. Let’s say you love the color red. However, wearing a red pantsuit to the office might be a bit much. So why not wear your favorite gray slacks, a black silk shirt, and an ornate hairpin and matching earrings with red stones or enamel? Bonus tip: for some great ideas, just do a search on “Kim Kardashian” and “necklace.” This fashion icon knows exactly how to dress in neutral colors to make bold, bright accessories pop!
- Wear bright colors immediately next to your skin. Bright colors often look great against natural skin tones, so wearing a necklace, bracelet, ring or anklet with a bright color can be very flattering. If you’re dark skinned, you’re lucky: you can pretty much wear any bright colors. If your skin is a more light brown or olive, then try green, turquoise or blue. If you have light skin with some freckles, most colors will look good on you. And if your skin is very pale, try blue, green, turquoise, red or orange, but stay away from pink and purple.
- Choose ornate jewelry. Though a lot of the jewelry and accessories for Fall/Winter are bold geometrical designs, why not unleash your inner Bohemian and select pieces with ornate, intricate designs and brightly colored stones? You can either pair them with an outfit with a simple, elegant cut or go in the opposite direction and combine them with a luscious, layered, retro look à la Vivienne Westwood.
Of course, there’s one more thing to keep in mind: fashion is all about innovation and self-expression. So if you come up with an entirely new way of accessorizing with bright colors, we want to know about it!