DON'T OVER-BOW IT
Okay, I don’t want to give you the impression that it’s a bow free-for-all. Yes, you can have bows on a suit or skirt or shirt or purse or hat or shoes; but, let‘s be strategic with placement.

As with most distinctive styles, you don’t want an overload of bows or you could end up looking like an overgrown five year old. Unless you really know what you’re doing, I would play it safe and only have bows on ONE piece of your outfit – don’t over-bow it. A little bow on shoes is sweet, too big a bow will overwhelm your feet. You can go big or small with bows on your bag.

Again, a small bow on a ladylike clutch is sweet while a big floppy bow on a leather handbag is campy and fun. A bow on each shoulder of a feminine blouse or dress is gentle without being too Pollyanna.

BOW CONFIDENCE
The three biggest ways to wear bows are (and they are very big, so feel confident about jumping on this fashion bandwagon):

1. As a built-in closure for blazers, capelets, shrugs, and even some coats
2. As a belt, especially for pants. Slide a velvet or satin ribbon through the belt loops of jeans, trousers, or dress pants. Finish it up with a pretty bow and long tails
3. THE hippest way to finish off an outfit this season is to tie a velvet or satin ribbon around the waist of your outfit. Again, don’t forget to (usually) keep the tails long.

OH SO VERSATILE
Flipping through beauty & fashion magazines, I noticed that this accessory is appropriate for a larger variey of outfits than you might think: cinch up a baggy shirt worn with a blazer and jeans, throw on a pencil skirt and fitted blouse and finish it by overlapping a blazer’s fronts and tie a ribbon around your waist to keep it closed, keep closed a see-through cardigan over a camisole with tweed trousers, over a buttoned-up wool cardigan and full skirt, with shortened tails around the waist of a form-fitting cocktails dress (fitted or full skirted) and much more.

It’s a simple matter of buying a bunch of different colors and widths of satin and/or velvet ribbons and trying them on with various outfits.

1. When leaving the tails long, don’t leave them so long that they get tangled between you're legs when walking.
2. Be sure to tie a very tidy, even bow.

CHIC AND CHEAP
I’m sure many retailers are happy to sell you finished ribbons (The Gap, Jacob, Banana Republic, Old Navy, H&M, etc.), but I recommend going to your local fabric store and checking out their vast selection. Just be sure to buy them long enough and to finish the edges with a quick needle and thread job.