Style Secrets – Shoes and Hats

We have always enjoyed “embellishing” store bought items with a bit of a personal touch and others seem to enjoy what we do as well.   For this reason, we thought it would be fun to share a couple of ideas with you.

Hats and Shoes…Accessorize Your Accessories from Two Chums on Vimeo.

We both love wearing hats, as we have mentioned before.  Years ago, whilst in Hawaii, I realized that I needed a hat so picked one up and when doing so, I saw some pretty hat/head bands.  They are rather like leis (with faux flowers, of course) but on a shorter strand.

I bought some of those hat bands in several different wonderful colors, and find myself, every time I go back to Hawaii, buying more of them.  You can actually buy these head bands online now, as you can most things.  If you do go onto the above-mentioned website, you will notice that a lot of the photos also have head bands.  That is what you are looking for.  As far as the hat goes, I buy inexpensive hats and usually have to replace them once every couple of years.  Find a hat shape that suits your face and go for it!

As I mentioned to Robin in the video, I hardly ever go out in my flower decked hats without someone saying something lovely about it.  It never ceases to amaze me!  And Robin finds the same thing with the shoes that she embellishes!

Robin takes a plain pair of shoes (these came from Target and were $14.99) and, with the help of velcro and pretty ribbons, makes them into special shoes!  It is the sticky velcro that you need, the velcro with adhesive on the backs of each side.  You can buy this in strips and cut it to the size and shape you want or you can buy small circles of adhesive velcro and use those.  Both are available at Michaels or Walmart or Joanns or any fabric store. You tie your bows (one for each shoe) and then cut a small, triangular piece of velcro for each shoe.  Stick the rougher side of the velcro onto the shoe and then put a corresponding softer piece of velcro on each bow.

Then, you just stick the ‘velcroed’ bows onto your shoes and, all of a sudden, your shoes are transformed!

You can make lots of different sets of bows in different colors and just take them off and on as you need them.  You can also do this with interesting buttons, as long as you have two, one for each shoe.

Another embellishment technique is to buy two matching costume brooches and pin them on to the toes of the shoes.

If you choose to try this way to embellish your shoes just be sure the pins are strong enough and the leather on the toes of the shoes is soft enough that the pins can go through with relative ease.

Alternatively, you can buy hair accessories, flowers on clips, and simply clip them on the toes.

If the clips are small enough you won’t feel them even though they come over the end of toe. Pretty simple, we think, and makes all the difference in an outfit.

Robin has also used little diamantés with sticky backs that you can buy at Michaels to embellish a pair of mules.  She gets so many compliments on those shoes!

I am sure you all have some great ideas about how to do some of these fun things. ….add a little drama to an otherwise plain item.   We hope these ideas add to your wardrobe.  We offer them with love, joy and the desire for you always to have abundant living….Enjoy!