The number one thing the majority of my styling clients tell me they have trouble with, is accessorizing. Most people know how to get dressed in the morning; pants, shirt, shoes  – there you go! Ready to face the world, and not get arrested for indecent exposure.

But the right accessories can totally take an outfit from ordinary to EXTRAORDINARY! Accessories are the best way to give your look some personality – your own sense of style.

I’m a huge fan of making a statement with your accessories so I thought I’d make this week ACCESSORIES WEEK on the blog.

Over the course of the week, I’ll share some insider secrets on how to accessorize (biggest insider secret? It’s REALLY easy!)

So let’s get straight to it!

How to top and tail with colour.

This is a bit of an insider secret (I actually stole the term from Gok Wan – my idol!). It’s a really easy trick to make ANY ordinary outfit look amaze.balls! (because we all want to look amaze.balls don’t we!)

The idea behind “topping and tailing” is to use the same colour for all your accessories! See? easy right? Use the colour of the accessory to tie your whole look together – that way it doesn’t really matter what you are wearing in between (well OK, it matters some, but pretty much anything goes)

Here are some examples of me doing it!

Simple outfit + colourful accessories = easy style!

 Bright orange is a colour I use A LOT! It makes a simple (kinda boring) outfit look a little more exciting! Any bright colour will add some interest to a black and white outfit, or will work as a great contrast against another block colour (for example, I often wear this necklace and sandals with a purple dress!

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The idea is that it doesn’t really matter what you are wearing, or what the accessories are, it’s the COLOUR that ties the whole look together, like bookends!

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Top and tail with aqua – shoes from Wittner and bag from Portmans with Sacha Drake dress (of course!)

You don’t just have to use jewellery to top and tail – coloured bag+coloured shoes do the job just as well! This gorgeous aqua colour is also in the print on the dress so it tied the look together really well! (Sorry about the bad pic! Gotta love an iPhone selfie!)

There are those trusty orange accessories again! Necklace – similar from Diva, shoes from Novo and dress from Witchery.

Aqua necklace + aqua clutch makes black and white look more chic, less waiter. Necklace similar from Diva, clutch from Portmans

Where to start and where to buy

Start by picking ONE colour that you like. Find a few pieces of jewellery, or some shoes and a clutch bag or a wallet that are all in that colour scheme.

Don’t feel like you have to break the bank either! These kinds of accessories should be FUN!

Hit the chain store jewellery shops like Diva, Lovisa and Colette and the cheap shoes stores like Rubi Shoes in Aus and NZ, Payless Shoes in Aus and Number One Shoes in NZ.

Once you have your first colour, then start matching it with EVERYTHING you own! You will be surprised what it works with.

Once you get the hang of it, you can choose another colour and before you know it, you will need a separate room to store all your accessories!

So obviously bright orange and aqua blue are my two go-to colours for top and tailing….. tell me yours in the comments below or on Facebook and don’t forget to watch out for more Accessories Week posts still to come!

Cait xo