glamour guide

Luxe Glam Guide: How to Look Fab in Florals

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As the flowers wither from the trees this month, you'll find them revived in your wardrobe this fall. I don't know about you but I've noticed lots of floral print already. Within one short block's radius on my way to the city, I saw 5 women ranging in all ages wearing flowers on their garments. Here's another addition to the Luxe Glam Guide: How to Look Fab in Florals. image

1. The Right Print

Take into consideration the color, shape and size of the floral prints. Compare the color of the flowers to the background. Now, take a look at your features; skin, hair and eyes.

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If your features are highly contrasted, the right floral for you will also have a high contrast. This looks best with more flowers and less ground showing. The farther away your dress goes from this concept, the more washed out or invisible you will look compared to the piece. Anne Hathaway's fair skin is highly contrasted with her dark eyes, hair and also dark, pronounced eyebrows. The dress on the left has a high population of roses, varying in shades of red against a mostly covered up black ground. Anne looks fab in this floral as opposed to the patchy one on the left. Not to mention, the cut of that dress makes her look a bit juvenile. Below is a similar situation with Kim Kardashian. Her skin is darker than Anne's, (which would place her in a medium category), but her dark hair, eyes and also thick brows lean her towards a high. Now, the "yes" dress definitely works. The "no" on the other hand is more of a "meh" for me because I like the blue against her skin but I am drawn to the dress more than I am to her face, so it's a no-go from me.

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If your features are lower in contrast, so should your floral number. The print should also be bigger and spaced farther apart. If it's too busy, you'll look like a billboard for the botanical garden. No bueno.

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Let's look at the fashionable Lupita Nyong'o. She has medium to dark skin and her hair and eyes are dark as well. This means that she has a medium to low contrast. The dress on the left also has a low contrast and she looks radiant! On the right, the boldly stated yellow flowers on the deep blue are pulling your eyes towards it and the lighting away from her face. Hence, the first dress works a lot better than the second. On the other hand, Cameron Diaz (below) with her light hair, eyes and skin, (also considered a low contrast), looked great in the black dress but washed out in the beige and black. In fact, the flowers look like they're crawling up to eat her head.

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2. Shoes and Print

Matching shoes with florals are fun and easy because there are so many options! Here are three. First, go neutral with a nude (find your shade of nude here), black, white or (careful with this one) an earth-tone shoe. In my outfit on the right, I kept the booties subtle but sexy to allow the shirt to shine. Your second option is to go with a metallic. Accent it up with an understated gold or silver shoe. No pungent Austin powers gold members or the likes please. Last but not least, my absolute favorite, choose one color from the mix and match it with your shoe. I used the pink suede shoes to go with the pink petals hiding amongst the red. Choosing a color that is least shown adds an element of surprise to your overall look. I chose suede (in both looks) instead of say, patent leather, to avoid a clashing competition with the "centerpiece" of the outfit. Give it a try and let me know how it works out.

3. Accessories on Print

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With a busy floral print in high contrast, you want to keep your jewelry minimal. Compliment the shape of your flowers with your jewels (round with round and so on). In my first outfit, I used stud earrings. I pulled from the light blue and semi oblong shapes on the dress and cut the total match-up with white. The silver clutch is an example of how to pair a floral with metallics. The second look has larger flowers on the side and near the neckline thus a large necklace would be fighting for attention so I added a long, thin one instead with rhinestones for some bling. Longer earrings work with this look because it acts as a continuation of the large designs on the blouse. Pretty way to be casually fab in florals.

Shop

Well! Now that you're an expert in looking fab in floral, here are a few pieces I've pulled to help you shop for your own. Good luck!

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Your Glam Stylist,

Luxe LeBlanc