Friends Don’t Let Friends Leave The House Without Accessories

In the fashion industry, trends are only trends for some short amount of time until the next trend comes along to knock the former out of style. One specific piece of the fashion industry that can never go out of style, however, is accessories. Accessories have been a part of the fashion world since the literal beginning of time. Back in the days of the Zhou dynasty, when a young woman was reaching the age of 15, she underwent a hair pinning ritual in which she would have a Clasp placed in her hair to commemorate her coming of age. In ancient Roman times, jewelry worn by individuals eradicated a sense of status and prestige. Jewelry was crafted out of gold, glass and semiprecious stones and, when worn, everyone around you knew you were of some type of importance.

Accessories are a way for one to express his or her individuality. I remember watching an America’s Next Top Model episode where the models were all dressed in the exact same articles of clothing and their “challenge” for that specific episode was to create a uniquely beautiful completed outfit by choosing from an array of accessories spread out on the table in front of them. Tyra only gave the contestants 10 minutes to construct their ideal outfit, but the results were astonishing. Yes, every person was wearing the “same outfit,” but by the time the challenge was completed, each individual model was in a completely unique outfit that exasperated their individual styles.

No matter what articles of clothing you decide to wear, accessories are a must and the possibilities are endless! My favorite component of accessories is how just adding one extra item can change an entire outfit completely. Glamour Fashion created a pictorial of how you can change your boring, everyday outfits into eye-catching wonders and proved my theory that the right type of accessory can be used to create any look you want for any setting you need it for.

Picture this, you are in class wearing a white v-neck tee and a pair of faded wash jeans, but your boss calls you and tells you that you are needed in the office right away and there’s no time for you to go home and change. She doesn’t care if you’re less than business professional because of the time constraints, but thanks to the right accessories, you still can be. Throw on a navy blue quarter sleeved blazer, some gold chunky bracelets and earrings, a pair of white pumps, an accent belt and a long, thin gold necklace to look like you walked out of the door this morning wearing it.

But, what if you are at work in a mass text conversation with your best girlfriends deciding when to meet up for drinks later and they say, of course, immediately after you get out of work? What then? Take off the navy blazer and throw on a lighter colored cardigan on top of the white v-neck. Roll the bottom of your jeans up to your calves and put on some strappy sandals or casual boots. Throw on some chic, chunky accent jewelry or a patterned scarf and voila! You’ve managed to create three totally separate outfits in a matter of hours with a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.

In addition to accessories being helpful in your everyday life, being able to use different accessories and extra pieces on top of your current outfit could also be very beneficial if you are traveling around a foreign place and only have a suitcase or two. A few years ago, I went to Europe and visited a few countries in 3 weeks and our first stop was London, UK. We took a plane from the Dulles airport in D.C. and landed in Heathrow Airport about 6 hours later. The flight took off late at night from D.C., but because of the time difference, we ended up arriving in London at around 6 AM and couldn’t get into our hotel until 2 PM UK time. I was wearing a tee shirt and basketball shorts for comfort on the flight and I was pretty much SOL on looking cute while touring London for the first time. Having a carry-on bag with different accessories and an extra pair of pants would have been so invaluable!