Fashion Accessories are Everything
Fashion Tips from the Style Guides and Celebrity Stylists
May 1, 2008
Rachel Zoe is without doubt one of the most sought-after and influential personal stylists in the world. Famed for working with a clutch of famous Hollywood celebrities she reportedly (according to the Daily Mail’s article “Don’t Blame Me for Anorexia," of 5 October 2007) commands the princely sum of $6,000 a day.
This diminutive power-pack of style is responsible for influencing both celebrities and fashionistas the world over with her distinctive “Zoe” look, of large, layered accessories, towering heels, huge shades, floaty caftans, vintage dresses and oversized handbags.
A Copycat-Culture
With our current copycat-celebrity culture, “So many women get their fashion information by looking at Paparazzi pictures,” says designer Michael Kors, in the Daily Mail's article. Zoe has somehow found a way of keeping her celebrity customers glamorous, whether it be on the red carpet or chilling out on a day off. Photographs in glossy magazines of Hollywood icons such as Keira Knightly, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Mischa Barton subconsciously influence the wardrobes of young women all over the world.
With so many celebrity clients under her belt, this is one busy lady. Somehow in the midst on all the emails, editorials and press interviews she deals with, (not to mention an up and coming TV series to be aired around June or September 2008) she has managed to find time (along with co-author Rose Apodaca) to put together one of the most motivational style books for fashionistas on the market today.
Style Guide - Style A To Zoe
Style A To Zoe, The Art of Fashion and Beauty and Everything Glamour (Grand Central Publishing, October 2007), is the ultimate look-good book, transforming you from plain-Jane to glamazon, through its glossy pages. It is full of advice, not only on fashion and beauty, but on restyling your home too.
However, what makes this guide different from the rest is Zoe’s unfailing support for fashion accessories, or “excessories” as she prefers to call them. A huge proponent of oversized sunglasses and purses, five-inch heels, vintage belts, chunky jewelry and men’s watches, Zoe admits that much of her fashion flair stems from her mother’s influence, with a mother was always very tanned and “would always wear amazing oversized jewelry.” In her The Little Black Book of Style, fashion director of Elle, Nina Garcia also extols the virtues of a classic man’s watch, and recommends it as one of ten key wardrobe items every stylish woman should have.
Accessories are Everything
Go beyond the introduction in Zoe's book and the first chapter you hit relates to the power of fashion accessories. Says Zoe, “Usually with style books it’s all about the dress or the shoes, ...but I have put the section on accessories at the front.” The opening line in chapter one reads “Accessories are everything… to me, they are more important than clothes." In her book she provides a lovely description of her morning routine and states “I think accessories first, clothes second."
She admits to being able to do without the newest dress or pants, providing she can update her wardrobe with accessories. She insists that accessories can tell a lot about a woman’s state of mind and give an indication of who we really are. Statement pieces such as a patterned scarf, a vintage purse or a blinding cocktail ring, allow us to express, in Zoe’s opinion, our real personalities, more than clothes ever will.
Style Versus Budget
One enlightening section in the book is what is referred to as “Cheap Thrills.” Here Zoe insists that style is more about your eye than your budget and purports to using $10 costume jewelry with fake stones (and other accessories) that she picks up in flea markets, garage sales etc. She also advocates the humble scarf, due to its versatile properties. It can be tied, twisted, rolled, folded and used in countless ways.
When it comes to classic, timeless pieces though, invest in the best. Her advice is to splurge on shoes and classic purses for a long lasting effect.
