Accessorizing can be tricky. It’s hard to know when you’ve added too much or too little. That’s why thousands of women hardly even bother with accessories anymore, wearing the same few pieces day in and day out, missing out on an opportunity to express their personal style.
Because here is the truth. There are more modern ways and more trendy ways and more balanced ways, but there isn’t a single way to get accessories right. And for every rule or guideline, there’s a woman who is breaking it with style. So how do we approach accessories? As with everything in style, it’s part art and part science. The science is a system, and impact points, while the art is your personal preference, style, and way of putting things together.
In today’s video, I’m going to show you how to combine art and science to create perfectly accessorized looks every time!
Impact Points
An updated take on the 16-point-accessory system, which has been around since the 70s, Impact Points calculate everything in your outfit that could “count” by assigning it a specific number of points. In a nutshell, subtle pieces get 1 point, in-between pieces get 2, and statements get 3.
What counts? Anything “interesting” is going to be a 2 or 3, including hair that gets comments (long, color, shape, etc.), bold makeup, printed clothes, fun accessories. Subtle pieces are like everyday dainty jewelry and simple hair and makeup.
One hack is to find an outfit that you like, count the number of points in that outfit, and shoot for that number in your own looks.
Accessory Zones
One of the ways to create modern and balanced looks is to limit the number of statement accessories in a specific zone. For example, a statement earring and necklace are close together, which can look a little over the top and out of style. So what are the accessory zones? Well, each of us has 3 of them.
Zone 1, from the top of the head to the middle of the bust, includes glasses/sunglasses, earrings, necklace, hats, scarves, etc.
Zone 2 goes from the middle of the bust to the middle of the knee. It includes belts, bags, wrist and hand jewelry, etc.
Zone 3 includes socks/tights/hose and shoes.
An easy rule of thumb to create balanced accessory looks is to add a statement to each zone, and keep the rest of the look simple.
Subtle Jewelry Is Interchangeable
This may be surprising, but it really doesn’t change your outfit all that much to swap out one pair of small gold earrings for another. They are pretty much interchangeable.
4 Ways An Accessory Can Be A Statement
Subtle jewelry, like the pieces above, are interchangeable between outfits and usually only get 1 point. Statement accessories, on the other hand, can be a statement for one of a variety of reasons. They include the following:
- Details
- Scale
- Color
- Pattern
- Shape
Subtle vs Statement
A subtle accessory harmonizes and seems to “go with” the outfit. A statement accessory is more unexpected.
What do you think of the accessory zones and impact points? And how can you use them to explore your personal style and feel confident accessorizing? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Nada Manley says
Thank you! So glad you liked it!
Paula says
Love this video Nada! Accessories is where I struggle the most! Thank you.