Accessories: Form and Function

And the blue coat is back…

Let’s call this a bonus post, in addition to the 3 posts featuring outfits created around this coat (maximalist, minimalist and casual).

Why? Well, because, in my opinion, you should be able to create at least half a dozen outfits around one coat. Or simply wear one coat with everything you have in your wardrobe. I think that’s the way most people (except hose with unlimited budgets and wardrobes) wear their clothes: over and over again.

Besides, I really wanted to wear this coat with this particular scarf (I also wore this combo exactly a year ago…)

Yes, I planned this outfit around the coat and the scarf: everything else is there to complement this combo.

I do that a lot. Create and outfit around one or two details, I mean. Often it’s the bag, sometimes the sunglasses. Accessories, rather than the clothes. My clothes are seldom that interesting.

My accessories, on the other hand, are what I spend most of my clothing budget on. It makes sense as they’re meant to last longer and transcend fleeting trends. Besides, you’re never too fat/thin/short/tall for fabulous accessories.

You see, I don’t see accessories as something merely for decoration. Quite the contrary: most of my accessories always have a very practical purpose.

I don’t wear a scarf to ‘add colour or interest’ to an outfit. I wear a scarf to protect my neck from the cold. Which is why I like my scarves big enough and in materials that feel soft on the skin.

Similarly, I wear sunglasses to protect my (very sensitive) eyes from the bright sunlight, and my bag needs to hold all the stuff I carry with me.

For me, most accessories are functional: they must do the job they’re for, or I won’t wear them. For example, I’ve never understood why some women buy shoes they can’t walk in. Not only should I be able to walk comfortably in my shoes, I should be able to do that all day.

However, even though I am unashamedly comfort-driven, I expect my accessories to ooze style, too.  Or, rather, I expect the perfect union of form and functionality. It’s the same as with people: brains and beauty must go hand in hand, otherwise they’re useless (well, beauty without brains is useless…).

Outfit details:

Coat: Jaeger (old) / top: Vila (old) / trousers: Marks and Spencer (old) /

bag: Furla / shoes: Clarks (old) / sunglasses: Prada / scarf: Alexander McQueen (old)

What about you, do you expect your accessories to be functional?

Tiina

Linking up with:

Not Dead Yet Style, Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, High Latitude Style, The Pleated Poppy, Style Elixir, A Labour of Life, Doused in Pink, Curly Crafty Mom, Fashion Should Be Fun, Rachel the Hat, Sincerely Jenna Marie, More Pieces of Me, Color and Grace, The Wardrobe Stylist, Not Dressed As Lamb, Style Nudge, Coco et La Vie en Rose,  Living on Cloud Nine, A Well Styled Life, Elegance and Mommyhood. Posh Classy Mom, Nancy’s Fashion Style, Shelbee on the Edge Over 50 Feeling 40 A Pocketful of Polka Dots Style Splash, The Fashionista Momma, Tina’s Pink Friday, Fake Fabulous. Lazy daisy Jones, Vanity and Me, Sheela Writes, Jodie’s Touch of Style, Glass of Glam, Mummabstylish