Your choice of accessories and how you put them together reveal how you
perceive yourself and how you want to be perceived. If you can afford to
invest in high quality items, do. They don’t have to be the most expensive
products on the shelf, although cost and quality often go hand and hand.
What they do have to be is appropriate for the environment and reflective of
you at your best.Women’s accessories .........................................................................
Forget about fashion and follow the styles that work best for you. Although
leggings and smocked tops can look great on women at play or working in
creative industries, they’re out of place in a corporate environment. The
same goes for short skirts and low cut tops. These items draw attention to
the wearer, which is fine for a date but not the office. The sexual messages
they send out are better left outside of the office where the focus is meant to
be on the task.Excessive jewellery is also out of place at work if you want to head up the
ladder. Dangly earrings are distracting, as are a wrist full of bracelets and fin-
gers covered in ethnic rings. Stick to a few classic pieces to be seen as profes-
sional. Unless you’re a Vivienne Westwood fashionista, in which case pile it on!Chapter 11: Playing with Props 189
Not for women only
Archaeological finds in the Iranian geographi-
cal plateau have revealed that approximately
10,000 years ago both men and women were
avid wearers of make-up. Early examples of
facial cosmetics were made from colourful
stones as well as animal skin, shells, bones, and
teeth. Men and women of the Kermani tribe in
Iran used white powder made of lead or silver
as a foundation, highlighting their cheeks with
a red powder made from the hematite stone.
Both men and women wore make-up with
enthusiasm. Men applied their cosmetics with
such care that it was often difficult to tell them
apart from the women. Surena, the fifth-century
BC Iranian chieftain known for his bravery and
fearlessness, used to decorate his face for
battle with such finesse that even his enemies
were surprised.
Although well documented that men regularly
wore make-up, little proof existed that the same
was true for women until masks and statues
were discovered in Khuzestan. These masks
had eyebrows that were elongated and painted
black. The lips and cheeks had a rose tint, and
a painted line extended from below the eyes to
the eyebrow.
As personal adornment became more impor-
tant, water, which the early cave-dwellers used
for viewing themselves, was no longer a satis-
factory solution. The Iranians discovered a
material that, when melted, shaped, polished,
and formed into sheets, accurately reflected a
person’s likeness. These early mirrors were also
highly decorated, often with beautiful mytho-
logical images.