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34. Accessory Closet
Which comes first the suit or the stilettos?
What about the current "it" bag or a smart pair
of glasses? A great accessory can be the cen
terpiece of a great outfit. If the shopper can take
that approach, why can't the designer? Great
accessories that straddle the line between func
tion and art are worthy of a designer's attention.
Studying the microcosms of style may generate
ideas that a designer can expand upon, and pos
sibly build a collection around.
Hats are not a must for today's fashionable
woman the way they were in the 1950s and
1960s, but they have not gone away. Milliners
are regularly required to rise to the challenge of
empowering their customers with the confidence
to don these artful expressions of fashion. Ap
parel designers can take a cue from the craft and
artistry behind their work.
Shoes have become one of the most important
fashion accessories, because unless the option
of going barefoot is on the table, a pair of shoes
is technically a necessity. According to Answers.
com, on average, women between the ages of
twenty-five and fifty own from forty to sixty pairs
of shoes. As a fashion category, shoes rule!
74 Fashion Design Essentials
Clockwise: Fashionable
eyewear; Shaunt Sarian
bag; Zack Lo shoes
PHOTO: SIMPLYNATE PHOTOGRAPHY
