Are Accessories the True Indicators of Personal Style?

Working in fashion it’s hard to ignore the relentless messages around creating your personal style. We’re told that everyone should have their three words, be unique, make an effort, don’t copy and paste. It can honestly feel exhausting.

So how do we create a sense of personal style when we love the timeless nature of classic essentials? Accessories. 

Look at accessories as you would look at the decor in your home. Invest in a few key items that will be the grounding aspects to the space, like a couch or bed, and then decide what you can add to create detail and personality. Lighting, rugs, books and side tables are all accessories to a room, like jewellery, belts and bags are to our wardrobe essentials.  

Key advice we live by when decorating is to add slowly, and never from the one brand to avoid your home feeling like a showroom. The same can be said for curating your accessories. 

We love the quote from William Morris “have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful”. Let us also apply this to our wardrobe. 

Our essential accessories list:

A belt. 

Sometimes useful, mainly beautiful. 

Particularly in winter when we’re wearing trousers most days, belts are an easy way to bring an outfit together. They add contrast and texture, and draw the eye, creating a focal point and place to land. The hardest decision will be deciding on your buckle metal, brass or silver. Other options are black or brown and a textured plait or flat leather. Options are there to explore.

Jewellery and Watches

Beautiful and a little bit useful

Jewellery tends to be more personal, or so we prefer. We wear it closer to our skin and can be our constant when everything else can change. Look for jewellery that you want to wear every day. Make it part of you and your style.

Bags

Useful 

We don’t need many, just a few that can help us carry our most personal or essential items. Some of the key bags we use on rotation are:

A large tote bag - one that can double as a work bag, parenting bag (all the kid things) and a travel carry on. 

A small pouch or clutch that holds just the essentials - phone, keys, wallet, sunglasses, and can act as an everyday grab-and-go option as well as being appropriately sized for an event or dinner date. 

Sunglasses

Useful 

We’re never far away from a pair of sunglasses. An essential in Australia to protect our eyes. In our honest opinion, finding the perfect pair of sunglasses that suit your face or create the right vibe is a process of trial and error. However, once you find them, we tend to stick to them.

Shoes

Useful

In our view there are two main approaches when it comes to your shoes. To either blend in or stand out. Creating a statement when it comes to your shoes plays on the ‘wrong shoe theory’ where you pick a shoe that creates a more interesting look, which is similar to selecting a lamp or element in a room that creates contrast and a feeling of tension that some designers swear by. Opting for a shoe that blends in allows you to play on contrast and tension with another element of your outfit. 

Remember, there is nothing wrong with hitting copy and paste on an outfit you love, but by choosing to curate your accessories with a personal lens it will ultimately lead you to develop and strengthen your personal style, finding your unique balance of beauty and functionality.