Basic jewelry

With all of springs colorful clothing it's best to downplay your jewelry and accessories. In other words, pair basic metallic and pearl jewelry with bright clothing. Or wear colorful jewelry with neutrals such as black and white.

You'll actually find that metallics are big trends in jewelry at the moment, so now is an especially good time to build or refresh your basic jewelry wardrobe. I'm not much of a "pearl girl", but I've been loving this necklace:

It's modern, yet classic and basic. I personally can't decide on the silver or the gold. I'm not the kind of image consultant that does color consulting and strongly recommends certain colors over another. I know I look better in gold, but I feel gold makes more of a statement than silver. So whichever you choose is a personal decision.

Because the necklace above albeit basic, makes a statement, I like the concept of pairing it with simple, somewhat more casual hoops like either of these.

Another option for an everyday, "go to" necklace is crystal. (Or if you've got the money and are comfortable, go with diamonds.) The necklace below could be worn dressy with a suit and matching crystal earrings.

If wearing the crystal necklace and matching earrings feels too dressy or "matchy," pair it with the plain hoops. The important thing to know is that any of the jewelry pictured can be worn with formal business wear, business casual clothing or even with jeans and a t-shirt.

Dresses

I'm so excited that dresses are so hot this season! I know it all started with the wrap dress, which I never really got around to, not to mention I can't afford the DVF's. But there is quite a plethora of dresses on the fall market.

I wore dresses as a little girl, but they were gone from fashion for years. The thing is...they're so easy. One piece...pop it on and out the door you go! But back up one moment. You still need accessories. The great thing is, though as with the "little black dress," or LBD, you can completely change the look of a basic dress with the accessories. I was looking through my InStyle Instant Style book this morning over breakfast.

They showed a LBD 3 ways. First, a la "so genteel" the dress was topped with a velvet cropped jacket with ruffled trim and worn with pearls, black lace over nude satin pumps and a clutch purse.

Next, a la "haute stuff" the dress was topped with a feather shrug. (Feathers are hot this season.) The model was also wearing very strappy shoes and a couple of mid-sized silver bangles.

Last was the simply sexy style. Starting with the basic dress, the model belted the waist of the dress with a metallic buckled belt, carried a sleek silver clutch and wore super sexy shoes, think Sex in the City shoes.

Those are only a few of the options for a dressy little black dress.

The sheath dress is big this fall, too. It can double as a jumper over a white blouse, be worn alone with several strands of pearls, (think Audrey Hepburn) or be topped with a basic blazer in the same color as a stand in for a suit.

Although I've found that dresses are super comfortable and easy, there are still tons of styles and fits, so you still have to try on a bunch to find what works. And on that note, I better go shopping!

Photo courtesy of: edressme.com