Jussie, Please take the following detailed advice as my attempt to save you aggravation and spare your budget in the future; take from it whatever works best for you.
I’d like to start by saying that some of my favorite of your style photos are the black and camel outfits which are, I think, not represented by any of these style categories....
Part of my thinking about this isn’t just color palette, it’s also got to do with texture. I strongly prefer seeing you in uniformly smooth textures, with just a pinch of a strong texture thrown into the mix.
From my perspective, the heavily three-dimensional aspects of your bohemian outfits tend to look a bit like camouflage, and it detracts from us seeing your face or figure.
I’m including a photo from an artist named Nancy Standlee. I really like her work, and I think that it captures maybe some of what attracts you to what you are calling bohemian. I think that you could think about the balance of elements shown in this painting and apply it to your outfits. It’s the contrast between rough and smooth, rounded and angular, focused and disparate that make this a very successful painting.
In addition to the textural elements, there is a strong downward movement (eye travels from up to down) to Standlee’s work. It too works very well in this painting. I think you can include this downward element, but the manner in which you are doing it right now iseems a bit heavy handed to me. In my opinion, it needs to not overwhelm us in seeing you and to not just be seeing your outfit.
My impression is that you’re searching for some visual anchors for the floaty feeling and style of the Care Bear palette, but in the outfit pictured in 4-7, I think you’re going too far in the direction of: “all anchor and no sailboat!”
I would propose that you think about outfits in which you are integrating all of these ideas by anchoring the Care Bear palette in camels and black and denim. And I think that likewise the textural elements of your outfits can also serve as an anchor.
Part of the issue is that I’m not getting a sense of purpose to the three styles. I’m not getting a sense of why one day is chosen as a Care Bear day versus a why on another day you choose Colorful Romance. What’s different about your feelings or activities on one day or another which makes you choose one or the other?
I think that one of the reasons Aida looks so good in an all pink and floaty outfit is because her dark densely textured hair provides a built-in counterpoint to all of the soft and light elements. You need to think about what your counterpoints can be.
I think that the reference to MaiTai’s style by LTS above is absolutely brilliant for your style. MaiTai has a similar complexion and body type to you and she is anchoring many of her outfits with substantial tassel necklaces similar to the one in photos 10-12. She also likes complex and densely patterned good quality scarves, sometimes folded up tightly around her neck and sometimes worn in a more draped manner.
Clearly you love scarves, but I’ll continue in my devil’s advocate role here and suggest that maybe you aren’t choosing scarves which are really visually dense and substantial enough to ground your outfits, or perhaps just tying them too loosely and not defining your neck well enough.
I’m not saying that every outfit has to include juxtaposition in order to be successful. I’m saying that if you want to simplify your life and spare your budget, I think it takes careful dissection of all the existing elements in your wardrobe and taking a comprehensive overview and seeing what elements can be integrated into a more cohesive whole.
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