If there were ever a name synonymous with Canadian fashion, it's Jeanne Beker. As the longtime host of Fashion Television, she has been to fashion events all over the world. We stole a few moments to chat with her about accessories and how to know when we should say goodbye to certain items...
We’ve seen a ton of oversize accessories this season (in magazines and on runways). How can the average person wear them without looking ridiculous?
I have to say one thing about these oversized accessories, whether they be the shoes, the bags, the necklaces or certainly the bracelets and the earrings; they make such a bold statement. You have to have a certain type of personality to pull them off or a certain level of self-confidence. These are empowering objects (or at least that’s the way I like to see them), and you really better feel up to the task if you’re going to wear them and strut them. I think the key is to not clutter yourself up too much; sometimes, less is more. If you’re wearing a big, fabulous necklace, then you might want to tone down the earrings.
I do think you can afford to have more than one statement piece. For example, you can have a big fabulous choker and huge clunky shoes, and I don’t think that would necessarily conflict. But if you’ve got this big rocking belt that really makes a statement, then you may want to do away with the necklace.
With the Dress for Success program, you are asking people to bring in and donate old items. How do you know what you should hold on to, and what is safe to give away?
As much stuff as I have, I really have to think two, three, four times sometimes about actually parting with things. We all like to hoard this stuff sometimes, since we’ve seen so many instances of Oh No! Now that’s coming back again, why the heck did I get rid of it?!? Obviously, you have pieces that don’t appeal to you anymore, but then somehow you put them away in a little shoebox, and five years later you resurrect them. If a piece has some sort of sentimental value to you; if it was given to you by a loved one or if you wore it at a time in your life that you felt very special about, or it was a gift from some source that really meant a lot, we don’t want to give away these things. If we think we’re ever going to wear them again, I certainly wouldn’t part with those either.
Jeanne Beker is host of Fashion Television, with viewers across Canada and in more than 120 countries across the globe. She is also segment producer of both FT (the series) and Fashion Television Channel – Canada’s first and only channel dedicated to fashion, beauty, and design. Jeanne is the editor-in-chief of FQ Magazine and SIR Magazine and a regular featured columnist with The Globe and Mail.
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