Shop Local: Lou Lou

The hunt for the perfect cocktail dress or new outfit for work is never complete until you’ve tied it all together with a killer accessory. (Trust me, truer words have never been spoken). But sometimes it can be hard to dig up the right piece of jewelry from your cluttered collection. Instead of a last minute, frantic trip to the mall, my DC-area readers should check out Lou Lou, a cute accessories boutique with numerous locations across the DMV.

I recently shopped at Lou Lou in Old Town Alexandria and was blown away with their massive selection of reasonably priced jewelry. Seriously, hydrate and have lunch before stopping by — you’ll need the energy to sort through the tables of jewelry!

Exhibit A:

And Exhibit B — so many brightly-colored watches, bauble necklaces and lovely scarves and purses.

I couldn’t resist picking up two new pairs of earrings both priced under $25. One practical, one fun!

Locations:
Numerous! The original Lou Lou boutique is located in Middleburg, VA, but they have 9 DC-area shops including Alexandria, DC, Reston, Bethesda and more opening soon. Click for details.

Old Town Lou Lou:
132 King Street, Alexandria, VA [Map]
Mon-Sat 10-8, Sun 11-7

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You might also like: Shop Virginia: Covet

Watches and Bracelets: Friends or Foes?

Reader Question: I wear a watch everyday. Am I allowed to wear bracelets with my watch… is it okay if it’s the opposite arm… or do I have to take the watch off? Bracelets on both arms okay, or only one? Rings okay with bracelets? Basically, I don’t know any of the bracelet rules. Help!!

Style Me Thrifty: I love my readers and their detailed style questions. My favorite part of reading your emails is realizing that I, too, have wondered about these very same issues! It’s nice knowing we’re all in this crazy, hard-to-navigate style world together.

So let’s dive in on the watch vs. bracelet debate. My advice here comes down to two simple questions.

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The first question: what look are you trying to achieve today?

If you’re heading into the office and not looking to make any bold fashion statements, I recommend a watch with one simple bracelet either on your watch arm or the opposite arm. Yes, either arm is fine! If you wear it with your watch arm, it needs to complement the watch and be small enough in size as to not overpower the watch.

If you’re a right-hander like me and use a mouse all day long, my secret tip is to wear my bracelets and watch together on my left wrist only, like in the photo below. Sometimes fashion is about practicality!

If you’re going for more of a fashion statement, maybe on the weekend or out to dinner with girlfriends, try pairing your everyday watch with an arm full of bracelets. The watch almost becomes an additional bangle, blending in with her new friends, and the resulting look is hip, unique, and slightly bohemian. Don’t go overboard though. You’re not a teenager again with an arm full of jelly bracelets.

That brings me to my second question: what other jewelry are you wearing?

One of the greatest fashion quotes out there is from Coco Chanel: “Take one thing off before you leave the house.” I love this fashion rule and think it is very relevant for this question.

A necklace, earrings, ring, watch, and bracelets is a lot of jewelry for any given day. Pick one leading lady and give her the spotlight. If the focus is on a new colorful cocktail ring, tone down the bracelets and just go with a sleek bangle, watch, and stud earrings. Everything else you wear should play the supporting actress role.

I love how Jennifer Aniston masters this tip in the below photo. She gives the spotlight to her men’s watch and cool necklace — and keeps her earrings and rings understated.

Final tip? Don’t be afraid to experiment until you find your own personal look. There are no hard and fast rules here! Have fun mixing and matching your watches and bracelets.