Colour co-ordination is the
key to my style, if I am co-ordinated I feel together, if that makes sense. If
I look good I feel good and this is not as shallow as it seems. It’s all about
boosting your self-confidence and projecting an image of self-assurance and
positivity.
I do often wish I was the
kind of person who can throw on any clothes, look and feel great and not worry
about the way they look. So often people who don’t plan their outfit look
relaxed and one hundred percent sorted despite making no effort in their
choice of clothes apart from making sure they’re comfortable. Each to their own
I say, good luck to them.
I’ve put together some of
my more co-ordinated looks to show how I like to dress. Most of my clothes are
charity shop bargains, as are my bags. You can look good on a budget by finding
what kind of pieces suit you and working with what you have. Whether it is
browsing in the charity shops or regular high street shopping it is best to
know what suits you in colour and style and what pieces you already own. If you like to wear outfits that match it is a good idea to consider whether you own anything to go with what you are buying before you make the purchase. Obviously if it is the most fabulous dress you have ever seen at a knock down price, you will need to adapt what you have to work with it. 😉
Some of the outfits
featured include a Jasper Conran jacket, a French Connection dress, a Wallis
dress and clothes from Mexx and Topshop. All are second-hand bargains and cost
under £7 pounds.
I find that colour with
colour works nicely (as long as the shades are carefully chosen), as does a colour
and a neutral. I do not like to wear too many colours at once but bright
colours with a neutral can look fabulous. A neutral outfit with a bright jacket
and/or bag can give that pop of colour that really brings an outfit
out. I am not comfortable mixing patterns, though mixed colours
within a pattern is fine. Some people can mix patterns and it looks amazing,
others do not pull it off at all. There is a fine line between
deliberate clashes that work and a lazy mess. I like to wear a pattern with
plain, it tends to accentuate the pattern rather than hide it.
I find that picking out one
colour of a patterned dress and teaming it with a cardigan or jacket, shoes and
bag that contrast, can work really well. Last year I bought some of the George
at Asda patterned, flowery, summer dresses. They are a kind of sleeveless
pencil dress style in various flowery patterns and colours. The example below
is where I have picked the aqua in the dress as the accent colour. I have
teamed it with an aqua bag, aqua cardigan and navy blue shoes to compliment the
navy background of the dress. As you can see there is also yellow in the dress
and I have a yellow satchel that matches it very well. I can team this with a
navy cardigan or jacket and navy shoes. It shows that you can change the look
of an outfit by varying your accessories.
The next outfit works well
and was totally accidental. The Mexx dress was a charity shop bargain last year
and the satchel was an irresistible purchase from what I call The Heart
Foundation Boutique. The dark brown/nearly black and red satchel clearly
compliments the red and black of the dress. Teamed with a pair of black shoes
or boots and a black jacket, this outfit really works. I did buy a similar
colour Apricot dress in Launceston while on holiday last week and Bob the mannequin has
grudgingly agreed to model it for me...... sort of. The black, burgundy and
cream will work fabulously with the satchel as it is the same shade of burgundy
red in both dresses and the satchel.
This looked is based on
my favourite dress. It is a brilliant orange “flippy” Topshop dress which I
bought second hand in Somerset earlier in the year. I call it a flippy dress
because of the shape of the skirt, though I am sure there is a professional
term for it. I accessorize with creamy nude shoes, and my double sided
orange/nude bag for a fabulously co-ordinated look. The double sided bag is one
of my few new purchases and was £10 when I bought it about four years ago. You
can wear the main bag as orange or nude colour and the small bag inside is
orange too.
My black, grey and orange French
Connection dress combines brilliantly with my orange Jasper Conran jacket and black
accessories. It looks like it is made to go together but it was two individual purchases
in a charity shop sale. (an unbelievable couple of bargains as it was less than
£10 for the two pieces.) The black satchel was £2 in a charity shop in
Launceston. Yes, another satchel, I am really into them. I love the style of a satchel and
they are easy to use. I could also accentuate
the grey in the dress if I teamed it with my grey bag and can wear it with
black boots or shoes.
Now my mysteron dress,
thus named because the pattern reminds me of Captain Scarlett and the
Mysterons, is also a less formal style than some of my other dresses. This
black and white dress from Next (via Oxfam Boutique) has a slight sixties vibe
about it and teams well with black boots and pale tights. A black bag and black
jacket could work with this dress but it also it looks good with a burst of colour
from my orange jacket.
My final look is a
casual black Topshop dress accessorized with my grey Jones of New York bag (a
gift from my cousin and his wife) and black, lace up, slightly glittery pumps
from Miss KG at TK Maxx. I did throw on my denim jacket for this look but soon
took it off due to the heat.
Denim is worth mentioning
as something which goes with most outfits. My dark denim jacket can be thrown
over most things without seeming un-coordinated. This is the same for jeans,
they do go with anything apart from other denim. I think denim and denim should
only be worn together if you want to look like members of the 90’s Irish pop
band, Bewitched. It may have worked for them but it wont work for your average women in the street.
I believe you
should wear whatever you want, but I like my clothes to match
and enjoy putting outfits together. My advice is to put your outfit
together the night before you want to wear it as you will only be running
around before work throwing on the wrong things. 🙂
