Accessories can make or break an outfit and are a great way to balance proportions. In the last Fashion Friday I talked about using patterned tops to draw attention upward on pear-shaped bodies. This week I’ll show you how I accomplish the same thing with scarves.
I’ve always had a thing for scarves! The first apartment I ever rented was the second floor of an old Victorian house. A staircase opened into the middle of the living room and my colorful scarf collection adorned most of the sprawling banister, one part rainbow and one part flock of tropical birds. These days I settle for a basket in the corner, but it’s still a large basket.
What I love about scarves is the versatility. They can be casual or dressy, playful or professional, and they never go out of season or style. Look at my photo at the top of the post. I changed the whole look of each outfit just by adding a different scarf! There are a million different ways to tie scarves and YouTube has a lot of great tutorials you can play with. My go-to is to just wrap it around my neck, but I’ve also played with the “flight attendant” look a lot lately and it’s fun for warmer weather. ThredUp is a great place to build a high-end yet budget-friendly scarf collection (nope, there are no affiliate links in this post!) but some of the ones in this post also came from other love, Target.
Notice that aside from the scarf, the rest of the outfit is rather neutral. I pair a dark skinny jean with chocolate brown knee boots to downplay my lower half and top it off with a light brown moto jacket that hits right at my waist. The lighter color automatically draws the eye up and helps balance the proportion and the wide lapel creates additional structure and interest. Pop on a brightly colored scarf and voila! You have a chic, flattering outfit that draws attention to your beautiful face.
Please remember skinny jeans are for every body. They will do more for your figure than baggy bootcuts ever can. Yes, I am also wearing my favorite CZSalus compression under these. When you feel great you will look great and my compression leggings ensure I accomplish both on a daily basis.
I love jewelry so I usually also add some sort of bangle no matter what I’m wearing. In this outfit I’m wearing a beautiful leather cuff handmade in Liberia (shout out to Craft to Heart run by fellow returned Peace Corps Volunteers!) but just about anything would work, including a nice pair of earrings if you prefer.
Being a lipedema woman, I would be remiss if I didn’t say more about the boots. This is the first pair of boots I have owned since I was about five years old. I literally cried six months ago when I zipped them up. They are Torrid wide calf boots – that’s right the extra wide calf was too wide! Ladies, they see us. When I bought them, my calf measured just over 19 inches and here I’m below 18 inches. I suspect the inflammation I lost during non-dairy January accounts for a lot of that. These are a size 9 ½ which is my normal shoe size but about a size larger than I usually buy Torrid flats, so bear that in mind when buying.
You’ll be amazed what a difference a cute outfit can make in your day. It shifts your energy and everything and everyone feels… a little bit happier. Hopefully you are inspired to dig into your closet and play with your accessories today. I’d love to see what you come up with! Leave me a note in the comments to join the Sturdy conversation.
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