When you look in the fashion magazines these days you see women with dark dramatic make-up, bright red lips Avant Garde hair and clothing that you know if you saw someone walking down the street your jaw would drop. The thing about these looks is that a lot of young woman are not confident enough to try these sorts of looks, deeming them way too much for your every day wear, dooming their most fabulous garments to the back of their closet and opting for a t-shirt, flip flops and jeans.
Recently in a blaze of credit cards, samples and birthday gifts I managed to score myself a whole bunch of new make-up and a couple of stunning pieces of clothing. And while digging through my unpacked luggage from Melbourne I discovered my high waisted shorts and some much needed faux tan along with a couple of other much missed items. I thought to myself, well, lets make this Summer the most fabulous yet, add some visual drama to every day and get some eyes poping!
Take a look through your favorite fashion mags and look at the things you wouldn't normally wear. There is no way you'd look good in that, right? I roll my eyes at you mademoiselle! You would not only look amazing, but because you also have amazing personalities that the girls in the magazines simply cannot show, you will be the tres chic-est of the tres chic! Yes, this applies to you shy ladies too. Why not go Dolce and Gabbana style and wear bright red lipstick? It'll boost your confidence and you'll shine like a star. Become a boho beauty and rock a kaftan and some flats without the tights and add tones of bronze chunky jewelry! Maybe you are like me and envy the dark eyed, high high heeled, leggy, cinched waisted cat walk models. Sure I may not be a size -0, but its fine cause I have my confidence and an awesome range of waist belts. Don't worry if your budget doesn't allow Couture. Just stop by a couple of op shops and pick up some junk jewelry, belts, bags, etc. Pull it apart and remake it as your own! That way you'll have a totally original looking accessories for a millionth of the price! Here are some my own ideas:
Bejeweled leather bag; totally loving the new jeweled bags coming out? Head to target for a soft faux leather bag for around $30 (or grab a good one from trift) then to a couple of good thrift stores and pick up a whole bunch of necklaces with cool beads. Then off to Lincraft or spotlight to grab some sequins, thread and a leather-working needle and start adding it all to the bag in awesome patterns! Extra points if you use lace, chains or rope.
Chanel style pearl necklace; I love Chanel pearls. Chanel anything really. She is my hero. But I simply cannot afford the minimum of $2000 for a single stranded pearl necklace. So being very sneaky I found a way you can mimic without copying. Once again, raid one or several thrift shores for pearls. Re thread them onto a new cord with nice clips and get a flat bead you can tie (and glue) a black ribbon into a bow onto and tread it onto the side of where the necklace would sit. Extra points for white edges on the ribbon!
Eccentra-Chic Shoes; these crazy shoes coming out have so much going on its hard to know where they start or come from. Bejewel a pair of your old heels with old brooches and sparkly jewels and beads for some super original foot-wear. You can also use old earrings with the posts cut off or clip ons. Extra points for matching brooches, or chains on slouchy boots!
Plated leather belts with rocking buckles; once again its off to the thrift store in search for a belt. Grab a couple if you see some with interesting buckles or textures. You can take them to shoe repairer if you want to swap buckles around for pretty cheap. To make a Plated belt, you may need some help from your trusty local leather expert. Or you can search google for some tips and tricks.
You will need a belt that is at least 4 or more sizes too big for you.
Strong twine.
Leather working Needle. (And possibly a metal thimble)
Glue suitable for leather.
Cut the belt into 2 pieces starting about 3 inches from the buckle. Cut the long half into 3 strips for platting leaving about 6 inches at the end with the holes so you can do the belt up. Plat the leather either tightly or loosely depending on your preference and when you have done, secure the top of it with glue. When the glue has dried, hold the long half around your waist and match up where the buckle should sit to get the correct size and sew it on tight remembering to glue the remaining plait to the inside of the buckles strap. Leave to dry on a flat suffice with a weight on top so as it does not crinkle. There you go! A -insert your name here- original! Extra points for adding large beads onto the plaits and buckle swapping!
Now you have the accessories. Next is the clothing. Opt out of trends and go for timeless. You'll never be left behind and updating your closet will be endlessly cheaper. Things you should have in your closet should include:
Day;
Blue jeans that FIT you.
Shorts/Pants that fit well.
Black, White and Gray T shirts.
Flowing girly tops.
A couple of mini skirts and longer (below the knee) skirts in flowing materials.
Jackets - one long and one short.
Plain black pumps or ballet flats and an interesting pair.
2 Pairs of sneakers.
Night (out);
Little black dress.
At least 2 or more cocktail dresses.
Some sparkle such as bracelets and necklaces.
Tights in nude and black.
Same shoes as above.
Accessories;
Leather belt.
Black leather belt.
Waist belts in at least 3 different types.
Silver charm necklace/ bracelet
Gold charm necklace/ bracelet
Stud earrings and dangly earrings
Bangles
Underwear;
T shirt bra in nude, black and white.
Black and nude strapless bra/ stick on bra
G strings, plain and lacy in black and white
Low rider/ brief knickers in black and white
In addition to the above feel free to have corsets or fluro leather undies.
So there we have the staples. Check your closet, chuck anything too big or too small and definitely things you know you'll never wear. Hand them into the thrift store. Now you have clothing you love and that fits you and closet space for anything new. Fit is the most important factor. If you see an amazing top next time, check the fit. And to be sure it is definitely NOT an impulse buy, leave it, put it on hold for a day and if you're still thinking about it, then you know its meant to be. Don't be limited to the casual. Tops with ruffles and glitter and beads and embellishments are made to be worn. If you love it and you buy it, wear it! Wear the damn thing till it breaks! (Which shouldn't be for a while cause you should be following the care instructions!) If need be, hide all your plain tops so you have to wear the good ones. Wear them everywhere. From the mall to the grocery store. You never know who you'll bump into! By all means have track pants and home boots. But don't you dare wear them out of the house (or gym). I'm serious. Don't.
Dramatic make-up in normal situations scares the absolute crap out of people. And I don't mean people seeing you in it. I mean the people wearing it. They think, that people think all sorts of things when they see them in red lipstick and dark eye make-up. They hear "Ooh what a tramp" or "What the heck was she thinking" in their heads, when, in actual fact, they think "Wow, look at her! She looks amazing!" So get those silly thoughts out of your heads girls and vamp up!
Seasonal colors are always fun to play with, but limited edition stuff (and I don't know about you girls) annoys me. To think I'll never get to lay my hands on its glory again? I simply cannot. If you're going to spend good money on make up make sure you can get it again. Trendy stuff is fine too, but when the trend is over, you're left with 'pond scum' green toe nails and 'I just got punched in the eye' blue eye shadow. Not sexy.
Check out Jean Paul Gaultier's music video from the 80's - "How to do that". You could get away with pretty much all the make up they're wearing in it. Proving that true style never goes out of fashion.Here are a couple of my personal tricks to maximise the drama of your look and wow unsuspecting onlookers.
I have pretty thin lips. I call them my little bird lips. I don't mind them so much but sometimes I wish I could have bigger ones. So to give the impression of fuller lips I trace below the fold on my bottom lip with lip liner and just above the top of the line of my top lip. I then fill it in with liquid lipstick and add super shiny gloss. Voila! Collagen without collagen! Red is my favorite to play with, as it is the strongest color you can wear and will always look fabulous.
Learn to love liquid eyeliner. You can create some dramatic patterns such as zig zags and swirls or even hearts around your eyes. Kohl is a good tool to cover larger areas and create smokey eyed looks. If you want to learn how to achieve these looks, practice with liquid eyeliner on your inner wrist. The back of your hand is hard to work on because the skin texture is so different from your eyelids. Don't forget that your best resource is in make-up departments and specialised stores as they usually hire trained make-up artists who would be happy to show you some of their moves (If you ask nicely, that is).
To achieve a healthy glow you must first establish whether you should wear bronzer or blush. It usually depends on your skin tone and what foundation you wear along with other factors such as eye and hair color. For either, you will need a large blush brush to apply it with, don't skimp otherwise you'll end up with a rough one that might add too much color and make you look a tad nuts. Large soft brushes cost from $40 onwards and you wont need to replace them for years to come.
Add color to your eyes, but be careful. Practise at home with different color combos with lipsticks and accessories to achieve different looks.
I hope to hear some of your tips and tricks to make your looks more striking!
Au revoir!
xo-xo
