Finding a Style Icon

By Cynthia Sliwa

Last week, Caroline wrote about keeping a file of clippings of jewelry styles she likes. I have also found a jewelry clippings file useful. Unfortunately, unlike Caroline’s stated propensity to seek out circular motifs, my tastes run to more eclectic and not easily defined styles, but that’s for entirely another discussion!

Here’s a variation of the clippings file idea for a customer who is overwhelmed by choices of jewelry available to her – who hasn’t yet determined what styles she prefers and what suits her.

I recommend that she be encouraged to select a style icon as close as possible to her own looks in appearance, especially in the features of her face and her other physical features, whose style she generally likes, and to keep a portfolio of photos of her icon culled from magazines and other sources. Observing what choices in jewelry the style icon is making, the customer can start developing her own eye as to what works best for someone with her features.

For most individuals it’s easiest to keep a portfolio of celebrity clippings. A variation on this for a young career woman might be to collect photos of a high-powered professional woman who is often photographed. Or perhaps photos of socialites from Town & Country will provide the inspiration.

If the style icon chosen has an appearance very different from those of the customer (for example, while her style icon is Heidi Klum, your customer bears more physical relationship to Rosie O’Donnell or petite Broadway performer Kristin Chenoweth, you can help your customer by adapting the pictured styles to suit her very different appearance. Learn how to work with your inventory to make this happen.

Today’s Jewel

Ask your customer if there is a celebrity whose style she would like to emulate. If she keeps a clippings file, ask her to bring it in and see what pieces you have in your inventory that are similar to those being worn by her style icon. If she doesn’t have such a file, encourage her to start one and keep your own eyes open for photos that give you ideas of jewelry you might recommend to your customer. Remember to adapt the styles to suit your customer’s physical features.