Dear Readers,

For those of you who have been reading my posts or who know me, you know I’m ALL about color. I can’t ever get enough of my reds, greens, oranges, browns or yellows on or around me (my house is pretty colorful too). But for some reason, the past few summers I’ve been craving a more neutral palette, which for me is white or ivory. Last Spring/summer the trend in color was black and white and I really gravitated towards the white end of the spectrum in most of my ensembles;  white dresses, white jackets, white suits, white skirts. I wore a lot of white last year, and this season even though it is all about the citrusy and bold colors, I’m still rocking white. So it made me wonder-why white? (as I write that sentence it reminds me of one of Sarah Jessica Parker’s voice overs as she penned her column in each episode of SATC. But we’ll get to the movie later in the week!).

So why white? I know I love the easy, clean, crisp and nautical feel of the color. And against my tanned skin (yes I do get my bronze on this time of the year) white for me just oozes a ‘bohemian chic’ sentimentality that can be both timeless and understated, yet incredibly statement making. I attended a business conference last October, and on the last day I wore a chic white suit. Among the sea of blacks, browns and grays, guess who commanded attention?

But of course, if you’re going to rock white you’ve got to pull it together. You don’t just wear a white dress, jacket, skirt or suit—you wear it AND you accessorize accordingly so that the white outfit and you ‘pop’. This is what takes you from good to great, nice to fabulous, cute to stunning—it’s all in how you accessorize. Case in point- I wore a white jacket and skirt combo to an event and paired it with green accessories to take it to another level.  Check out the picture below.

When I wear white dresses, you will always see me wearing a statement making necklace—typically a longer one for full effect. I did this repeatedly last year, sometimes wearing the same dress just paired with different accessorizes and I always got compliments on my look. In my head I knew if I just wore that white dress sans necklace and cute sandals the effect would be very different. Then it’s just me wearing a cute white dress not me looking fabulous. You get the difference?

Or the white shirt/top which I own aplenty and wear year round. Nothing makes a white shirt/top sizzle than the perfect coordination with accessories. I can wear a very cute white top and equally adorable skirt. But it’s the necklace, shoes and earring that gives it that one two punch that makes the entire outfit memorable. Same goes for white skirts. This is a recent photo of me at a event using white (and black) as my palette with a pop of red.

 

 And even the celebs are all over this white out look. Here are some of my favorite white dress looks of the celebs this season.

Nicky Hilton in a Versace mini and very cute silver shoes and equally outstanding handbag

Singer Ashanti in a great form fitting white with black trimmed shift and coordinating shoes and silver accesories

Gwyneth in a Lanvin one shoulder drape dress with edgy black gladiator sandals, matching clutch and cool bangles and earrings

Mischa Barton in a Matthew Williamson gown and a pop of color in her ears and around her hips

Natalie Portman in a stunner of a white dress. Wohoo!

Sienna Miller looking casually chic in a simple white bejeweled shift, black T strap sandals and silver bangles

Model Molly Sims in a Tory Burch white and paprika orange number with black shoes and clutch

Kate Beckinsale beachside, with killer brown platforms and ‘look at me’ sunglasses. Very effortless.

 

Kate Hudson looks divine in a Dolce & Gabanna mini paired with metallic shoes, bangles and a really becoming updo

And Eva Mendes is scoring mad points lately as a true celeb Fashionista. Here she wears a white Calvin Klein dress with killer earrings and bangles. She looks fabulous!

 So have fun with color but don’t forget white is a color too! And the perfect backdrop for all your jazzy, funky accesories this summer.

The Image Diva, Élan Image Management

As always, make sure your Presence is Purposeful! www.ElanImageManagement.com