POWER of Pearls

5 Power Reasons to Wear Pearls

 

  1.  Pearls communicate higher standards of quality. Pearls are a rare gem. Since first being established they have held their value. Their scarcity adds to their market value.
  2. Pearls represent wisdom and are symbols of purity, integrity, and loyalty to the wearer. They are known for balancing one’s karma. (bellatory.com)
  3. Pearls are culturally iconic as a highly valued fashion accessory.

 
Photo credit: LEFT: GRACE KELLY IN EARRINGS BY JOSEFF OF HOLLYWOOD. RIGHT: AS SEEN IN THE 1954 FILM, REAR WINDOW; PHOTOS ON INSTAGRAM @PRINCESSGRACEUS, THE PRINCESS GRACE FOUNDATION.

4. Pearls are now an anytime, any occasion accessory. They are no longer saved for special events. They are popping up for daytime, to use with leather biker jackets and jeans, tees and denim.
5. Pearls can be mixed with other jewels. Add strands of pearls with rhinestones and other jewels as a way to add a positive fashion edge.

Additional iconic examples:

  • Jackie Kennedy-Onassis added pearls in double and triple strands to her silk dresses and boxy suits from one of her favorite designers, Oleg Cassini.
  • Princess Grace Kelly was quoted as saying, “I favor pearls on screen and in my private life.”
  • Longer strands of rope pearls became synonymous with the Coco Chanel brand.
  • How can we forget the opening scene of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” where Ms. Holly Golightly enjoys her breakfast out of a paper bag while looking at the windows of Tiffany & Co in New York City, wearing her own amazing pearls.
  • Michelle Obama, Oprah, and a number of stars wear pearls as a powerful and modern fashion statement.

How will you empower your appearance using pearls?

Stylist tips for adding pearls:

  • Add them to simple dresses and sportswear items from a dressy suit to casual jeans and tees.
  • Keep a single and double strand on hand. It’s okay if you can’t afford the most expensive. There are mother-of-pearl versions that are natural and less expensive.
  • Pearls come in other than white, so utilize them in colors, especially the black ones that are actually deep pearlized charcoal.
  • Shop Vintage: Many vintage shops have brooches with pearls available. Etsy.com has vintage and other pearls at good prices.
  • Adapt the Chanel multi-strand idea of adding lots of pearls. They can be combined with metals and other semi-precious stones. 
  • Accessorize: Long single strands can be wrapped around and around the wrist for a dramatic bracelet.
  • On Tees: There are craft and fabric stores offering trims with pearls added. Trims can be sewn onto a little black jersey tee at the neck and sleeve edge. Find your best colors and add trims to upgrade a little jersey top.
  • On shoes: You can trim the edges of a basic kitten-heeled shoe, straps on sandals, and any other favorite shoes by gluing on trims. Craft store sell glues for every surface.
  • Earrings: New or again shop vintage, craft stores, resell shops and new fashion stores for pearls.
  • They make the best gifts! Timeless and heirloom quality gifts last forever.

They are in style at the moment so it’s a great time to collect them!
Facebook Twitter Google-plus

Fashion Collaboration for Greater Good

 

Riccardo Tisci and Vivienne Westwood. Image by David Sims/Burberry

Burberry’s Chief CreativeOfficer, Riccardo Tisci, brought in Vivienne Westwood and Andreas Kronthaler for a British limited-edition collection. It’s available for online at the Burberry website. Select pieces start as low as UK£55/US$70. (fashionbombdaily.com).

 

Image by David Sims/Burberry 

There are kilts, berets, jackets, and a handwritten message by Westwood herself expressed on an oversized t-shirt. That piece is earmarked to raise money for non-profit charity Cool Earth. Cool Earth is a non-profit organization that works alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation and climate change(https://uk.burberry.com/?selected=Y). who help put a stop to deforestation and climate change. A cause very close to the designer’s hearts. Westwood will also customize 4 items from the collection to be auctioned, proceeds of which will go to Cool Earth.

 

Image by David Sims/Burberry

The Burberry Check that made an appearance during the 60’s British Invasion has hung on to its iconic status over the years. Although it’s best known to most consumers for trench coats, quilted jackets, and tees, Burberry history begins in 1912.  Thomas Burberry created the original coat for military personnel during WW1 (www.harrods.com). Who knew the Burberry trench coat and other items would grow such a powerful fashion story.

This limited-edition collection is fashion-forward, and consuming any of it helps the planet. Everyone’s a winner!

 

 

Empower Your Appearance

Why Color Matters

Jennifer Lopez in the Pantone Color of the Year Coral. Retrieved from Vogue.com

This is my third time writing about color in recent weeks including how Pantone is a key player in establishing seasonal fashion colors. What’s the fuss over color? Some look at seasonal changes in fashion colors as built-in obsolescence for more consumption. However, color is huge to fashion and it matters a great deal to your appearance.

Cognitive Psychologists believe color is our most important visual experience. It’s been found to play a significant role in many areas such as: enhancing memory function, assist in learning, marketing, communication and more.

Pantone is referenced in the linked article because it is the king of color. For more information on how it establishes colors for our world, check out their website.

My focus here is why and how color is used as a tool to empower your appearance.

Want to be remembered? Memory is one of the mental processes of human cognition. One study that got my attention is from Dzulkifli and Mustafar on how color enhances memory. Color in appearance determines how much attention we receive and how fast it comes, not to mention how it aids memory.

What happens when we see color? Our brain turns our memory system on and gets busy encoding, retaining, and retrieving environmental information for us.

Certain colors get emotional arousals grabbing attention and helping with memory retention. (Even if we aren’t Jennifer Lopez). Coral is one of those colors. It operates similar to red, and helps you stand out in a crowd. Gets attention quickly and assists the memory.

Finding your best harmony and contrast colors is empowering to your appearance. Learning to use color to frame your face such as scarves and accessories for women, ties and scarves for men, can be a simple application that differentiates you in the best ways.

For more tips on color and how to use it effectively, go to Color Tool in Stylist Tools at POWERofAppearance.  Join Our Group for Stylist Tips, Fashion News Links, and Seasonal Updates.

Reference: Dzulkifli, M.A., Mustafar, M.F., (2013). The Influence of Colour on Memory Performance: A Review. Department of Psychology, IIUM. Malays J Med Sci. mar-May 2013:20(2):3-9.

 

   

Empower Your Appearance

GRUNGE Has Its Value

How to use Grunge? 

First of all, this picture shows a Marc Jacobs collection from 1993. “In early November, Marc Jacobs announced that he would be re-issuing the iconic 1993 “grunge” collection that got him fired from Perry Ellis back in 1993.” (Fashionista.com) His brilliant use and combinations of fabrics, silhouettes, colors, and accessories are ever current today. Even the skinny booties and heavy-duty Dr. Martins are gracing the catwalks for Fashion Weeks. So many messages here including “never give up,” but I digress. Let’s talk about how we can all gain additional value from these looks.

When do we wear Grunge and what does it express of us?

Grunge falls into a fashion section of casual themed clothing. Research shows that casual clothing is best worn for bonding and making friends. According to “The Cognitive Consequences of Formal Clothing,” casual clothing is related to intimacy and familiarity,” (Slepian, Ferber, Gold, and Rutchick). Since these looks are fashion-forward, there’s an extra message expressed about the wearer. The fashions can signal an image to others and help you find your tribe. They express creativity and confidence.

DECONSTRUCT: There’s something here for everyone to examine. The message of color combinations and textures, such as knits and lace together, leather as glamour evening wear, understated-simple crosses all categories, cropped pants, small cross body shoulder bags, love the fanny pack… short blazer… mixed patterns… etc… 

RECONSTRUCT: As a stylist, each of these trends can be re-applied in new ways for a wardrobe update. Fashion doesn’t have to translate literally. There is much to discover by deconstructing.  Every one of these fun works of art can be of value in the right application.  Use your imagination and enjoy the process!

Sharing is Giving!

Blue Box for Christmas?

 

Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/34396697@N00/8272642867/

Tis the Season…

Christmas Season is in the air. Even here in California, we have cool evenings by the fire, enough to cozy up and watch new and old movies. One can’t help but dream of possible gifts to give … and receive. Maybe even a “blue box” will show up in the stocking?

Tiffany’s blue box along with the Tiffany & Co store became iconic to many long before the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (See Trailer). After the movie, Tiffany & Co. became a global phenomenon. Every couple years I manage to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s an entertaining movie checking all the boxes for me: funny, visually good, great acting, love and romance, in a setting I love. Additionally and just as important, it’s an amazing fashion show with one of the most revered style icons, Audrey Hepburn, looking perfect in Huber de Givenchy’s little black dress.

In 2016, a documentary, Crazy About Tiffany’s, came out and was every bit as entertaining (CrazyaboutTiffanys.com). Learning the 150plus years of history of Tiffany’s, and how it entered pop culture is fascinating. Tiffany’s hired a female design director, Francesca Amfitheatrof, a smart move. The documentary explores how the jewelry is made, as well as how the pieces find their way to the red carpet in Hollywood. It also includes the story behind the color, Tiffany Blue.

And that’s why the iconic Blue Box for Christmas represents the ultimate!

Written by Karen Mathis     

Email: Karen.POWERofAppearance@gmail.com

 

“Fashion is your greatest tool for personal expression”
~Karen Mathis

Empower Your Appearance

Pantone 1837 Blue: Tiffany Blue

Tiffany blue has become an iconic color. It became centralin establishing the brand. Pantone standardized Tiffany blue or “1837 Blue” asthey named the color. It reflects the founding of the New York store which wasin 1837.  More than 10 million designers and producers depend on the Pantone products (pantone.com).

Pantone is the company that revolutionized the printing industry in 1963. They developed the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM. It’s a tool that organizes color standards. Pantone calls their process a universal language of color, with over 10,000 color standards across multiple materials including printing, textiles, plastics, pigments, and coatings (pantone.com). They determine the specific shades of colors that we see every day. The standards serve fashion customers when matching two items from the same season, even from different designers.

And that’s how we recognize the iconic Blue Box!

Karen Mathis

Email: Karen.PowerofAppearance@gmail.com

URL: www.PowerOf Appearance.com

Empower Your Appearance