Whoa my! Summer decided to arrive in LA this week. It happened suddenly. Gray, chilly, cloudy days turned instantly into that kind of Southern California heat that punches you directly in the face as your smiling about what a lovely winter we had. As my constant bemoaning and pale complexion might suggest, I do not tolerate heat or direct sunlight well. The only benefit of this heat for me personally, is my summer wardrobe...which I actually began to miss lately. Wondering if the soft linens and airy skirts and sandals would make their triumphant return. Well yesterday darlings, was that day. Luckily I am prepared with an AMPLE selection of cotton jumpsuits and beautifully feminine sandals.
I paired this contemporary jumpsuit (sadly not everything I wear can be vintage afterall!) with some strappy wedge sandals. I am very selective about the outfits I pair with wedges, I don't own many wedges because they can make many ensembles go horribly awry. Something about them is too juvenile looking for me. Please be careful with such a shoe choice! The wedges I found at a thrift store of course, and they are made by Seychelles, which is a fabulous contemporary shoe designer. I've loved every pair of their shoes I've ever owned. I also selected a 1960's vintage Courreges lizard skin handbag in brown to compliment the shoes. I find it best practice in accessories to try and match you handbag to your shoes whenever possible. They should be within a becoming color palette together and be of similar styles. I wouldn't pair a set of black 5" patent leather Louboutin's with a muted brown purse...it wouldn't make any visual sense. It would be quite outrageous in fact. Your accessories in any given outfit should always look as if they belong to the same 'family'. When you branch out of this concept, that is when huge fashion mistakes are made. Ones that the eye will not forgive. Remember, it is all about harmony!
For the earrings, I selected a pair of white beaded tassel earrings (give me tassels on ANYTHING....FOREVER!). Their length and color compliments the long vertical white stripes of the jumpsuit, you see. And because it's summer, some of my more bold lip colors come out to play. I wore a coral orange matte lipstick by MAC called 'So Chaud'. I love pairing oranges with blues and browns. The blue stripes of the jumpsuit and the brown accessories pulled the lipstick perfectly into the frame of my ensemble. Remember, complimentary colors paired with other neutral colors generally work in a color palette. Complimentary colors are any colors opposite each other on the color wheel. The compliment of orange is blue. Of red is green. Of violet is yellow. And so on...through the tertiary colors and beyond! While the depth of color theory is virtually endless, understanding the concept of complimentary colors is rather simple and can get you quite far. Keep tuning in for more in depth posts about the glorious world of color theory and how to apply it to a wardrobe that suits your skin tone the best.
Yours truly,
AU