94. Minimize Your Accessories

If there is one variable that can make or break a fashion statement for women, it’s accessories. Once again, men have it easy: All they have to worry about is a tie, possibly a tie pin, a watch, a briefcase, and shoes (which, because they are almost always the same color and height, aren’t, strictly speaking, an accessory). Women have to deal with earrings, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, watches, scarves, ties, belts, glasses, handbags, a briefcase, occasionally a hat, stockings, and shoes of every conceivable color and height.

Because the variety of accessories is unlimited, and because the appropriate combination of these items is an art form that few women have mastered, most of us have a problem getting it right, particularly when it comes to shoes and purses. How many times have you seen an otherwise wonderfully combined outfit ruined by shoes of the wrong height, or a handbag that simply doesn’t work with the rest of the ensemble? Gucci and Louis Vuitton and other “initialed” bags are the worst offenders. They seldom go with anything.

The classic fashion statements that have endured the test of time have always been the simplest. Getting rid of your handbag and kicking off your high heels will go a long way toward simplifying your look. Cutting back your jewelry to a couple of simple but elegant pairs of earrings, and eliminating most of the rest of the accessories, will make the job even easier.