Melanie Lippman 3/8/19 Melanie Lippman 3/8/19

Accessorizing with Intention!

One of my absolute favorite things to share with my clients is the confidence to accessorize and add more color into their wardrobe. You are able to bring an outfit to the next level by using accessories… but that sometimes it’s hard to figure out where to start and how to avoid looking like you just raided your grandmother’s attic.

“I like to think of accessories as the glue that holds your outfit together…It pulls everything together to have it make sense.”

Edit the accessories you are wearing. Some make the mistake of piling on all the accessories they own at once. When it comes to accessorizing, less is usually more. If you're wearing jewelry, a tote, a scarf, a bold shoe and sunglasses, not one piece will stand out, and your outfit will end up looking like a hot mess. Choose a few pieces that accent your outfit or highlight the feature you want to play up.

Wearing a whole jewelry suite, complete with earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings, can overwhelm your look. Try wearing either earrings or a necklace.
If you you do wear a few accessories, make sure they aren't competing for attention and are streamlined. Match your metals and colors so that your accessories look like they were chosen with intention to ensure you look polished. For example, you could wear big gold hoops, a colorful warm-toned scarf, and a gold watch for a streamlined look.

Pair bold accessories with understated clothes! A basic outfit of a cropped pant and a sweater can be completely transformed when you add a few bold accessories. If your wardrobe has a lot of neutrals like black, white, beige, grey or navy, accessorizing gives you a chance to play with fun colors and give your outfits a pop. The best thing about neutrals is that they look great with most other colors, so you don't have to worry too much about making sure your accessories match your clothes. Here are a few ways to use bold accessories to add some excited to your neutral outfits:

Pair a thin red or hot pink belt with a black or navy dress.
Wear a splashy orange or yellow scarf or shoes with khaki or olive-colored clothing.
Freshen up your white blouse with a multicolored statement necklace or big drop earrings.

Wear items that play up a color in your outfit. If you're wearing a multicolored outfit, accessories can add interest by allowing you to bring out one of the understated colors. For example, if your dress is black with a small flower pattern, you might wear ceramic bangles that match the green of the flower's leaves. Playing up one color makes the outfit look pulled together and elegant.

You can also use accessories to tie together two seemingly mismatched clothing items. Pick an accessory that shares colors with both of the clothing items, like a scarf that picks up the pink in your blouse and the beige in your pants. Now your outfit looks like it each piece was chosen with intention, rather than just thrown together.

Balance the size of your pieces. If you're wearing a pair of large, dangling earrings, don't pair them with an oversized statement accessory. Your look will be more balanced if you wear a smaller necklace (or no necklace at all) so that your face isn't overwhelmed by too much large jewelry. Keep the size of your various accessories in mind when you decide what to wear together.

Accessories can also be used to balance details on your clothes. If you're wearing blouse with interesting embroidery near the collar, you wouldn't want to wear a big scarf to cover it up. Instead, choose a thin chain that will accent but not hide the details you want to show off.
Let one item be the star of your look. If you're excited to wear an new hat you just bought, don't wear your bold new belt at the same time.

Choose items that enhance your features. Accessories give you the opportunity to bring out your best features. Well-chosen accessories can make your eyes look bigger, your neck look slender, or your calves look more defined.

Wear large hoop earrings to accent the slant of your cheekbones.
Wear a pump nude to elongate your legs.
Wear a scarf that matches your eyes to make them look brighter.
Wear a slender chain necklace to draw attention to your collarbones.

Melanie lippman style consultant , Melanie lippman, style consultant, personal shopper, wardrobe stylists, shop your closet, wardrobe overhaul, wardrobe consultant, shopping, personal style, personal stylist, shopping help, what to wear, how to dres…

As i’ve mentioned… accessorizing is so my jam and I could talk about them until the cows come home… There are no cows where I live… so I will keep on chatting. Please join me if you’d like to know more… by scheduling a chat with me.

Melanie Lippman 10/23/18 Melanie Lippman 10/23/18

Does this season's jeans & boots have you confused?

Jeans and boots are a classic go to uniform for the winter… Today’s version of the look has gotten super chic and a little challenging to decode. Jeans are cropped, flared, embellished, or straight and boots are short, chunky, funky, or flat this season.

Wear your jeans over your boots

I’ve been suggesting that straight leg jeans are more flattering than skinny jeans, but the questions always comes up…. what does do I wear with them? I suggest styling their jeans over your boots, with hemlines ranging from grazing just over the top of the boot to hanging down several inches. My favorite way to wear them is a little cropped giving attention to your awesome boots! Here are a few of my favorite boots to wear inside your jeans.

Tuck Your Jeans In Your Boots

This one is the trickiest of all in my opinion.

Do tuck your denim when it is very skinny at the ankle and will not bunch. It also has to be long enough to tuck.
Do tuck your denim when your boots have a wider opening at the top.
Don’t try to tuck your denim when your boots are very short (i.e. hit at your ankle), only when they are a bit taller.

Here are a few fab boots to tuck your jeans into.

Cropped Denim

This is perhaps the easiest way because your jeans do all the work for you. If you are wearing a cropped pair of jeans, they are already not going to conflict with your booties.

Do let your denim hit above your booties
Don’t let there be too much skin between the bottom of your jeans and the top of your booties. This may mean (depending on how cropped your jeans are) that you need a taller ankle bootie (one that hits above your ankle bone) or you can go for a more relaxed look with a little fold.

Here are some great booties to pair with a cropped jean.

image shopping — **Happy to help!**
If you are still having trouble in front of the mirror, contact me for an in-person or virtual consultation on how to polish your style and dress your best. Our first half-hour together is complimentary. I look forward to helping you!
xo,
Melanie

Melanie Lippman 4/19/17 Melanie Lippman 4/19/17

Stop saving your clothes for "good".... enjoy them now!!

I always worked really hard to be able to buy really nice clothes. So when I would finally acquire the items, I didn’t want to mess it up. I would end up keeping them “for good” and never got the most possible enjoyment out of these investment items.

There were plenty of times I forgot that I had these precious items. When the occasion was finally right to put on such a piece sometimes they didn’t fit as well as they did when I purchased it or it was out of style and it didn't look current.

Moral of the story… there is no day like today to put on something special!

Here are a few tips to getting those items in your outfit rotation

Pull out 3 items you save for “good” hang them on the door or in the front of your closet and wear them within the next week.
Dress down a piece if you feel it’s a little dressy for your daily life with casual basics like a white tee, jeans, or sneakers.
It’s finally getting warmer out so pair a frilly dress with a pair of flat sandals and a denim jacket... go out and have some fun!

This is now I have been enjoying some of my "good pieces"

Click here to see or purchase items pictured below

Melanie Lippman 3/21/17 Melanie Lippman 3/21/17

Spring 2017 Trends that will become your go to items for years to come

Here are a few of my favorites that will wonderful additions to your wardrobe for years to come.

Spring trends that will become classics

Have you ever bought an item, thought you loved it, and wore it for one season for it to never be worn again? Now when you look at it hanging in your closet you think “why did I buy that and when did I ever wear that?” You probably bought a piece that was the IT trend last year and feel like you will be wearing “last year’s old news” if you were to wear it now. Where did you go wrong? You’re not a fashion victim… It happens to the best of us… who can resist those bell sleeves that can be found everywhere from Target to Bergdorf’s? I’m not telling you to avoid trends all together, I myself cannot resist a good trend. I tell my clients if you are going to make an investment in a trend item, try to picture yourself wearing it in two years. There are a number of Spring 2017 trends what will stand the test of time…. Here are a few of my favorites that will wonderful additions to your wardrobe for years to come.