On a stroll around my cities main shopping district recently, I amused myself by paying careful attention to what people were wearing. As someone who think about fashion and is involved in this industry, I was able to rapidly put together a mental list of do’s and don’ts. A lot of these are common sense – sadly something which seems to be lacking these days for some of the people I saw strutting around!

The thing that stood out the most was this golden rule: Don’t try to be something you’re not. I saw many people slavishly copying the latest style, who would have looked far better in something different, even if it wasn’t being worn on the red carpets or seen on TV this month. This made me wonder whether people really think critically about what they are trying to achieve when planning an outfit. I suspect not!

The process of planning an outfit is simple. Start by looking in a full length mirror. Keep looking, and scrutinize every detail. The trap is that you will be familiar with what you see – try to look ‘through’ this to identify what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you have a friend good enough to be totally honest, this will help!

Next consider how you can use different items in your outfit to show off your good features and downplay the ones you don’t like. For example, if you are a little wider in places than you’d ideally like, try wearing dark colors or simple prints. If you have a slight figure and want to stand out more, accessorise with a chunky belt or necklace.

Be careful that you don’t overdo this though. Sometimes the traditional wisdom can be wrong – for example, many advise vertical pinstripes to make you look slimmer. However often the boldness of this type of pattern will make you stand out even more! Look carefully at how your outfit works to create the impression you want – don’t just assume that because you read it in a magazine, it must be so!

No matter what the season, women get very busy when it comes to formal events since they have to plan out the entire night and shop for tons of things to wear. Looking gorgeous during such formal events could prove to be quite stressful to several women; however, it doesn’t always need to be like that. As a matter of fact, any evening gown, no matter how boring and drab it may seem, could instantly turn into a stunning masterpiece with the proper choice of accessories.

Here are a few tips on how to accessorize your formal evening gown.

That Little Black Dress

A little black dress is always perfect to wear to any formal occasion. Black happens to be a slimming color, but it also happens to be versatile, simple, and therefore stress-free. Black dresses would be ideal to wear to swank evening parties or even afternoon luncheons. Another bonus is that the color black matches well with anything.

Keep in mind, however, that if you don’t play up your black dress properly, it could end up looking a little understated. Because of this, you need to accentuate your black dress just right. The ideal choice to do this would be with silver jewelry, textured jewelry, or jewelry that has flattering gemstones. If the occasion is quite elegant, stick to necklaces with diamonds or cubic zircon gemstones to dress it up.

Strapless Wonders

Strapless dresses, regardless of their style or color, offer the ideal opportunity to show off stunning necklines with outstanding necklaces. As with that little black dress, these strapless dresses provide the chance to get dressed down or up, depending on the accessories that you choose to become its centerpiece.
Strapless dresses can also provide women with the chance to stay away from necklaces and focus on their ears for a change with eye-catching and dazzling earrings. Dangling, long earrings produce an effect that is highly elegant. Plus, if your neck happens to be long and thin, small studs could look stunning, as well.

Lady in Red

Red dresses happen to be huge hits when it comes to formal occasions nowadays. Today, women get the chance to don stunning colors in evening gowns that would have been a little out of place back in the day or even at today’s awards luncheons and PTA meetings. Red is an imaginative, bold and sassy color that makes women feel just as sassy as bold for the night. When it comes to stunning red evening gowns, it would be advisable to wear gold or silver-toned bracelets, earrings, and necklaces that have bright and sparkling gemstones.