
Using Accessories with Solid Colors to Add Interest to an Outfit
Quote of the day: “I can’t give you a surefire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: Try to please everybody all the time.” Herbert Bayard Swope
The icing on the cake, the cherry on the top. These are just some of the expressions I’ve heard to describe adding in accessories when you are getting dressed. And whether or not you subscribe to the theory that these details can change the look of an outfit, I thought I’d show a side by side comparison.
The idea of a post series on accessories was suggested by Clare, one of our readers, quite awhile ago. I hadn’t forgotten about the idea, but I wanted to figure out how to showcase it for the blog! And I was lucky enough to have a blogette join us for this series. See Clara’s outfits at the bottom of the post!!
So this is what I came up with for you. I had the three of us style an outfit that was only made up of solid colors. We all accessorized a little differently, and then I showed the outfits with and without the extras!! Tell me what you think??
Jodie’s (50+) Outfit: Adding accessories to solid colors is my favorite way to incorporate a totally different color to my outfit.
For my example, I wanted to add in an entirely new color with my accessories. I tried to keep it relatively simple and see if you’d even notice them?

The photo below shows the outfit without any extras!! It’s a nice enough look, I think, but it could be better!!

To add in a third color for this outfit, I chose turquoise earrings, bracelet & sunglasses.
Red and turquoise are often grouped together in southwestern jewelry, so that was my inspiration for the color combination! If you already have some turquoise jewelry in your possession you may have noticed that color combination. If not you can see this pairing in necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings!

I purposely left off a necklace because the earrings are so long. Considering that the with and without photos would be side by side, I was interested to see if there would be much difference not including a necklace.
Hopefully, when you are talking to people, they will focus on your face, so large earrings can be just as effective in introducing a new color as a large necklace. Just because earrings are big and long, doesn’t mean they have to be very heavy. The earrings we were given by Coruu, were as light as air.

Jeans: LOFT (here)~~Jacket: Joseph Ribkoff ~~Top: Stephanie O )~~Shoes: Louise et Cie ~~Earrings: Stella & Dot ~~Bracelet: Boho Betty ~~Sunglasses:
Nancy’s (60+) Outfit: For Nancy’s comparison, we added in a large colorful necklace.

The outfit without the accessories is below. This dress is one of my favorites of Nancy’s because of the color and fit. However, it looks so plain without any extras!
I do love one color dresses though because you can pair almost anything else with them. Just because the dress is one color doesn’t make it uninteresting. For instance, Nancy’s dress has a small peplum at the waist. However, even with these details, I still love to mix in accessories with solid colors.

The necklace we added has many colors in it almost like her shoes!!
If you do tend to wear more solid colored pieces, then print shoes could be a fun way to add in a variety of colors. With the colors being on your shoes, it’s only a small amount of print.

We couldn’t forget the earrings too! I think having earrings with multiple colors already in them, makes it easy to match for most of us!!

Dress: Evan Picone ~~Shoes: Impo~~Necklace: ~~Earrings: ~~Bracelet:
Charlotte’s (70+) Outfit: And in the last example of adding accessories to solid colors, my mom chose a scarf for her decoration!

Here’s a funny story which is how I felt too!! When I had my mom take off her accessories for the “without” photos, she commented that she felt naked! It really made me think about how we get into certain habits. Not that the habits are bad, but it’s amazing how they become second nature. Like for my mom, adding in any kind of accessories is just part of getting dressed!!

Scarves are one of those accessories that can be worn so many ways! Sometimes, I know we won’t wear them because the thought of how to tie them is off putting!
Therefore, mom just threaded her scarf through a clip to hold it in place, and let it hang! If you are ever looking for other ways to tie your scarves, I made a couple of videos on my You-Tube channel that you could reference!!

My mom’s scarf does a nice job of pulling in the two colors of her outfit! That’s definitely an advantage of a print scarf when you are wearing solid colored separates!
You may not think about scarves much in the summer, but it could be smart to have an extra one in your car. For me it seems like the restaurants and stores are always so cold!
How creative, my mom made her earrings and bracelet! My mom bought plain tassels at JoAnn Fabrics and then threaded through an earring post! The bracelet is a great way to use up a ton of old buttons by sewing elastic thread through the backs!!

Pants: Old Navy ~~Top: Romwe ~~Shoes: SO ~~Scarf: ~~Earrings: Mom made them ~~Bracelet: Mom made it (similar here this is gorgeous, but after you see the price, you’ll realize why you should make your own!)
Clara’s (Blogette at 80+) Outfit: And Clara joined us again for our styling fun!
Even though Clara chose the same color necklace as her shirt, it still shows up nicely. And it’s such a beautiful color for her, don’t you think??

A side by side comparison is the easiest way for me, personally, to always evaluate things!! Of course, I’m partial to wearing accessories with solid colors as they can add so much interest to the look! The accessories can pull together the colors in the outfit or add in another color!
But how about you? Do you always wear accessories?
Thanks to one and all of you for your support. It means more than you know!
The Facts
Even if you wouldn’t consider purchasing your clothing online, it can be helpful to look through my links to see what is available! It certainly doesn’t hurt my feelings, if you click on them but don’t like them. Just so you know, one of the ways I make money from this blog is through these linked items.
Keeping in Touch
Are you registered for my email reminders to let you know when a post goes live? I’d certainly love it if you take the time to sign up and make sure all your friends sign up too!! There are other ways to follow my blog. Facebook readers can see my posts by liking my page. Or my Pinterest page has all of our outfits in a nutshell! Then there’s also Instagram! I’m really trying to grow this platform, so if you’re on it, I’d appreciate the follow!
And if you’re new to the party, you can always see our outfits organized by categories, here! Don’t forget to check out the deals & discounts too, on this page!
You can add fun accessories with solid colors without spending an arm and a leg! Each of these accessories are under $50!!