Seven Affordable Ways to Glam up your Favorite Fall Outfits

We all want that perfect outfit that makes us feel fashionable, yet comfortable.  Here are seven different fall outfits that most women own and ideas on how to use fashion accessories to glam them up.

1. Comfy Gray Sweater: Everyone needs a cozy gray sweater for lazy days.  The trick is to wear color with it to bring it to life. Try a solid burnt sienna handbag and a turquoise gemstone necklace to spice it up.

2. Little Black Dress: Dress it down with a casual printed belt at the waistline and glitz it up for night with a long-chained silver black onyx pendant necklace. Pair with simple silver hoops to balance to the look.

3. Wool Coat: When you're all buttoned up to stay warm and cozy, a printed scarf and dangly earrings are more appropriate than necklaces and bangles. The scarf adds color and still keeps you warm while the earrings add some visible sparkle.

4. Black Solid Tee and Jeans: Glam up this simple attire with a medium-green graduated bead necklace and a teal silk fabric belt. Adds some color, yet keeps it casual and comfortable.

5. The Plaid Shirt: Plaid is big for fall, so whether paired with a skirt, jeans, or slacks, the idea is not to look like a lumberjack.  What about a chic braided leather belt at the waist, delicate silver earrings, and chunky black rhinestone bangles.

6. Printed tee and navy skinny jeans: A great weekend look paired with a long, gold pendant necklace.  Since the t-shirt is busy, keep the accessories simple with a solid navy fabric clutch and a leather belt with a simple, yet big buckle. To add more to the outfit, try a studded leather belt.

7. Floral Dress/Top: The floral dress from summer turns into a fall outfit when worn with opaque tights.  Pair this with a chunky wooden bangle and earrings. Skip the necklace so as not to overdo the look.

 

Whichever fashion accessories you decide to use, keep it simple, add some color and remember that don't always need too many accessories. Sometimes, one or two pieces of accessories are enough to make you look great and feel good.

How to Care for Silk Apparel and Accessories

Although silk garments and accessories usually come with care instructions, here are some basic how to's in caring for silk. 
 
Dry Cleaning:
For most types of silks, including the lighter and finer varieties, dry cleaning is the best option. Make sure that your dry cleaner is made aware that your garment or accessory is made of silk as silks are sensitive to the common types of cleaning detergents.
 
Hand Washing:
Though hand washing can eventually affect the texture and color of the fabric, silk tends to react well with warm water. As in dry cleaning, do not use strong detergents or cleaning solutions. Instead, use shampoo or soap dissolved in water. A small amount of soap is sufficient since silk has a natural resistance to stains and dirt. Don't soak the fabric for a long time as the dye may become dull. To enhance a slightly faded sheen in the silk or to remove an alkali blemish, spray the garment or accessory with white vinegar and dry it with a towel.
 
Do Not Machine Wash Silk:
Machine washing is not recommended for any type of silk belts or garments because the whirling motion can damage the fabric. However, there are washing machines that allow for washing of silk and other sensitive fabrics. If your machine specifically indicates that it can accommodate silk, make sure to put the garment in a mesh bag and to check for remnants of soap or dirt inside the machine. Spin cycles should be kept to a minimum.
 
Do Not Use Machine Dryers:
Never use machine dryers when drying your silk garment as the motion and friction of dryers wear out the fabric's shape and texture. And neither should they be wrung. Instead, press the remaining water out using plain white towels. When hanging them to dry, keep the fabric away from direct sunlight or any other source of heat. It is recommended that silk be dried at room temperature.
 
How to Press / Iron Silk:
When pressing, make sure the silk garment is turned inside out and not completely dry. To make sure, dampen it by spraying some water over it. Set the iron to the minimum temperature and do not steam.
 
How to Remove Stains from Silk: 
Lastly, when removing stains, remember that silk is not as strong as other fabrics and therefore cannot withstand chemicals. So bleach is not recommended. For most stains, a mixture of water and white vinegar would do the trick. Tougher stains may be removed using some ammonia diluted in water. 

Using Accessories To Highlight Your Best Features

You want everyone to notice your best features and ignore your less than favourite features, right? Well you can draw peoples attention to your favourite features and away from areas that you would rather they didn't look at, by highlighting areas using accessories.

Here are some great ways that you can use accessories to high light your best features. The more eye catching the accessories, the more attention they will draw.

1. For a tiny waist, highlight with a colored and/ or an interesting or patterned belt as demonstrated by Naz Chafe a jewelry designer at NYFW. Picture from Vogue by Indigital

2. Point towards a graceful neck using long earrings or a short necklace like Vanessa Hudgen (pictured below). Picture from thehollywoodgossip.com

3. Highlight your delicate wrists using chunky bangles like Whitney Port does for this OK Magazine photo shoot. Picture thehollywoodgossip.com

 4. Show off your cleavage with a long pendant or beaded necklace, as demonstrated by Blake Lively (above) picture from thegrumpiest.com

5. Make your hands and manicured nails the focus with beautiful sparkly jewelry and cocktail rings. Tyra banks weara this large and very eye catching purple ring with a neutral outfit highlight her fingers. Picture from thisislondon.co.uk

Please comment and let us know if you have other tips to share.

Accessorizing This Seasons Sequin Dress

The sequin dress is one of the biggest trends in party wear for Fall. It can also be dressed down for daytime wear. The key to accessorizing the sequin dress is keeping it simple but still using accessories in a clever way to finish the look.

You can work the sequin dress with sparkly accessories but just choose one or two pieces. Avoid too much around the neckline - instead, try an eye catching bangle or a bracelet, simple earrings and a colorful clutch wallet. Dress it down with boots and a cardigan or a jacket.

Pixie Lott has accessorized this silver sequin mini dress with some black bangles and boots. Just enough to add a cool rock chick edge to the outfit - picture from glamourmagazine.co.uk.

At Diane Von Furstenberg a low key sequin dress was accessorized with a bright pink clutch wallet. Also add a cardigan and skinny trousers for a great daytime look.

At Blu Marine, a tailored jacket and some contrasting black rhinestone bangles give this white sequin dress a look that almost anyone could work for daytime or night.

pictures from http://www.style.com/

Fashion Accessories to Suit Your Personality

Style is something that is very personal. Each person has their own unique and individual style that says something about who they are including their history and their personality. If you want to look really stylish, you should always feel comfortable and relaxed in your clothes. You should choose clothes and accessories to suit your shape, colouring, lifestyle, personality and budget. A great way to develop your own style is by finding key classic pieces of clothing that look amazing on you and are versatile, then dress up with fashion accessories that show your personality for lots of different looks.

If you are fun loving and have a sense of humour, then try finding bold and unusual accessories like Madonna in these Louis Vuitton bunny ears. Picture from bluefly.com

If you love feeling relaxed and chilled out, then go for the Boho style with hoop earrings like Kate Hudson above or Boho beaded necklaces. picture from Examiner.com.

If you like to look gorgeous but in a low key way, understated fashion jewelry is the way to go. Try simple pendant necklaces like Alexa Cheung (above). Picture from femalefirst.co.uk.

Define Your Shape With a Belt

Unless you wear skin tight clothes all of the time, which is not always the best option, your shape can become lost under baggy clothes. Depending on your proportions you can add definition to your shape using a belt and give your clothes the appearance of a better fit. Adjustable fabric belts are ideal for getting just the right fit.

If you have a very slim and athletic build, give your hips some definition by wearing a belt low slung on your hips.

For hourglass shapes, you should make the most of your waist. Make sure that it is clearly defined by wearing a belt on your waist.

For those with a slightly larger tummy or no waist add definition to your torso with a belt under the bust.

pictures from marieclaire.com

Our Favorite Fashion Jewelry Trends for Fall/Winter 09

With Fall just around the corner, I thought that I would offer a few ideas for accessorizing those winter outfits with my top 5 fashion jewelry trends for the season. Fall and winter jewelry is great to throw on with woolly jumpers, polo necks and other toasty warm high necked, long sleeved tops. Take the opportunity to brighten up a dull winter day with a little bit of sparkle and glamour.

1) Sparkly Bangles - as seen at 3.1 Phillip Lim for Fall 09, look for shiny and sparkly bangles in blacks, greys and metallics.
2) Chunky Chains - This is a trend that has been rumbling on in the sidelines for a few seasons, but this fall it is making a big appearance. It was seen at Michael Kors (above). The perfect accessory for both high necked tops and strapless dresses, it certainly has a big impact.

3) Lots of long necklaces - as seen at Blu Marine, long necklaces look right on trend with this seasons blazer or tailored jacket worn open (top optional!).

4) Green Jewelry - bright greens, jades and leafy hues were a popular choice for catwalk jewelry this fall. I love this green necklace teamed with striking black and white at Chanel (above).

5) Black Stones - black stones including Onyx and Hematite were big news on the catwalks for fall. Seen at numerous collections including Sonia Rykiel (above) they make a bold statement.

About us

Hi Everyone,

My name is Ash Moosa and my wife, Hajira, and I are the founders of Outfit Additions. We are a California based women's fashion accessories store. Our collection includes a variety of fashion jewelry, silk belts and wallets.

Our goal with this blog is to give our readers tips on accessorizing, gift ideas, trend updates, and also offer periodic gift certificate giveaways.

Enjoy reading. We appreciate all your comments. If you wish to get in touch, please email me at amoosa at outfitadditions dot com.

Ash

Visit our accessories store at OutfitAdditions.com.