Accessorization, Part 2

As I was saying yesterday, I try pretty hard to put together "looks" for myself, and there are no accessories I shun. As I dress, I make sure that all elements of my outfit compliment one another. If I have time, I make sure they're the ideal shoes, necklace, whathaveyou, out of all that I own -- but this does take thought and trial, and I don't have the energy to do it always.

But when I say that I'm not as put together as some people, I don't even necessarily mean that lack of effort. I mean that at my peak, I somehow manage to miss that element of effortless glam, of synchronized styling, that other women do daily as if they were born knowing how. [Enter imagery of a baby in a Pashmina with a purse here.] I really envy and appreciate the work of those ladies, as I admire pretty much anyone who can do something I just can't do (which is a lotta people, and a lotta things).

What the far lazier and less gifted Bard tends to do is buy big shiny lookitme! items, but then have a very boringsimple go-to set of things.

For the big bold items, I like to think that if I'm going to spend money on something, it should be something I really love and which other people are going to notice. This, I admit, is a flaw, as I know that other people may compliment a modest trinket as much as an attention-grabber, as much if not more, but somehow I just can't convince myself that I should fork over $200 for plain. Here are some examples of dramatic pieces I'd be attracted to:






(And of course we all know what shoes I'd rather be wearing.)

Meanwhile, here are examples of the mundane items I own and lazily opt to wear most of the time:

Shoes - Old Navy flip-flops in warm weather; cheap monochrome flats in the cold

Necklace - a sterling silver chain with whatever charm I'd last put on it (often a single pearl)

Rings - my right-hand diamond ring that never comes off; my gold I Love You ring on the left middle finger

Watch - a two-tone watch that I don't change unless I'm reeeally inspired. Gold and silver as the height of laziness -- it goes with whatever else I put on!

Bracelet - single sterling silver chain on the left hand, plus assorted hairbands. (What, it's convenient! ... yeahyeah, I know.)

Purse - black with bronze adornments (goes with everything so I can switch out purses as little as possible)

Earrings - I actually have 7 holes: two in my left ear, five in my right. In the cartilage I wear the same studs all the time, in the top set of lobe holes I wear shiny clear-blue studs, and in the bottom set I wear pearl studs.

Now, when my daily accessories are all put together, I look all right. I just know that with any given outfit, these particular things are not necessarily the best of what I own to compliment the tone and look of what I'm wearing. I don't think that women should settle for "all right" in their appearance (much less anything else), and I really do need to put forth more effort -- especially because lord knows I shop all the time and have quite an arsenal of shoes, earrings, etc. to choose from on any given day! But then it's 7am and I'm running out the door to work... and it's kind of hard to say hey, maybe if I'd woken up five minutes earlier, I could have the PERFECT bracelet on right now!


What accessories do you wear daily? Is your accessory style fussy and in flux with the trends, or constant and classic? Are there things you just never bother with -- or something you won't leave the house without? Let me know!