So, the festive season is over…sniff. But don’t put away all your pretty jewels just yet, I know winter weddings and parties are still on the horizon for some of you and here are a few accessory ideas for starting off the new decade in style!
This time of year, big and bright dangly earrings are a must! It’s such a simple accessory to find (especially during the January sales) and add an instant touch of glam to any plain outfit. Here I paired said statement pieces with a plain roll neck jumper from Marks and Spencer (similar here).
The only precaution I would throw out there, before you buy, is to try and judge the weight of these pieces by hand (not a possibility online I know). You don’t want to end up weighing your ear down, no one likes that feeling and I’ve had to put back many beauties for that very reason.
T.K. MAXX DANGLE EARRINGS
What better way to start the 2020s than with a throwback to the 1920s? These earrings have the symmetry and decadence of the art deco style but also the softness of the art nouveau style (i.e. it looks like a leaf or flower). A perfect blend, for a gorgeous result! And although they might look heavy, they are as light as a feather. I can’t link the originals from T.K. Maxx but I found some almost identical pairs by Claire’s here and here and some alternative one-stranded pairs here and here.
PRIMARK DANGLE EARRINGS
This second pair of dangle earrings from Primark (identical here and similar here and here) have more of a minimalistic elegance to them. The crystal fringing and differentiated lengths give just enough interest to the eye without being overwhelming. Plus, with any slight movement these crystals will catch the light and sparkle, what’s not to love?
YOURS DANGLE EARRINGS
Again, another pair of dangly earrings that wouldn’t look amiss in the 1920s. From Yours here, the darker more pewter tone of the metal gives the crystals a slight smoky glass effect. Just putting them on makes you feel like you’ve just walked into a speakeasy to enjoy some jazz and a cocktail.
ZARA ORGANZA BOW CLIP
Moving on to hair accessories, you may have noticed I was sporting a ponytail in all the photos above, making sure the statement earrings were the centre piece of the look. But those statement earrings aren’t as noticeable from the back of the head, so that ponytail you’re wearing can easily be decorated with a mahusive organza bow like the one I bought from Zara (similar here)!
I’ve also shown an alternative clipped back hairstyle below still using the big organza bow. I did a small twist of the hair before clipping it in, which gave the very simple hairstyle a little something extra, because why not?
Although with this looser hairstyle, statement earrings would work, they might get a bit hidden/tangled in the loose strands. So, with this look I would personally stick to smaller sparkly earrings, like the short silver chainmail ones seen below. I bought these in Six which I can’t link (still patiently waiting for an online store which you can browse) but Claire’s has some with diamantes and Mango has a pretty pair too, although I’m not sure how big they are. Either way, chainmail is a very popular earring style and you’re bound to come across some at some point in an accessories store, just keep an eye out!
ZARA LEATHER BOW CLIP
Again, I just did a simple clipped back hairstyle without a twist this time, and used a smaller leather bow to secure it (also from Zara but no longer available). Leather trousers have always been a fashionista’s go-to come autumn/winter, but this year the leather trend has extended to shirts too! This hair clip is an easy way to dip your toes into this trend or even a great complimentary piece if you have already fully dived in!
As you can see my nails in these photos I thought I’d mention I was wearing Essie’s Getting Groovy from their Winter Collection 2016, it’s a very silvered out gold which matched my sequined skirt (see below), perfectly!
ZARA PEARL HEADBAND
As if Zara wasn’t already knocking it out of the park with their hair clips they also have gorgeous headbands to boot, including this elegant pearl one (identical one from H&M here) which I had to of course pair with matching pearl earrings.
These pearl earrings where from Six too and they put a twist on the classic pearl earring by having the pendant bit coming/being attached at the back of the ear. Apparently, it’s called a through & through earring (you learn something new every day!). I know Dior started this craze not too long ago of the through & through pearl earring. But don’t worry, if like me, you don’t have the budget for those I found some near identical ones (the pearls are a tiny bit smaller), to my much cheaper ones on Asos here.
The pearl headband was the perfect finishing touch to my flipped ponytail hairstyle. Again, a very easy hairstyle; you basically put your hair into a ponytail, loosen it a bit, divide the hair above the elastic into two and grab the rest of the ponytail and flip it through the divided part. I found a tutorial video to help you, in case you’re like me and find a visual aid easier to understand than a written one.
Looking for pearl hair clips instead? Check out my Pearl Clips blog post for more ideas about those.
SIX STAR HEADBAND
Both the star headband and star earrings are from Six. Again, it’s getting frustrating that I can’t give you specific links for this store (you can’t browse their selection online). The best accessory dupes I could find for this very art deco looking star (with more than five points) were from Asos in this earrings set here, ring set here or Bijou Brigitte’s earrings and necklace set here or star drop earrings here. Finally, this stunning star hair chain or star hair clip from Accessorize would have worked equally as well in the hairstyle I’m sporting below.
I did find a gorgeous but slightly more statement star headband here or more minimalistic floral headbands from Claire’s here and here which have a similar effect albeit not celestial themed.
The hairstyle for this headband is working off of the flipped ponytail stage described above. I did an additional flip with all the rest of my hair and Kirby gripped (Bobby pinned) the Hell out of it!
While I have a good photo of my makeup up above, I thought I would mention quickly what I’m wearing. I kept it pretty simple because I didn’t want to detract from the already eye-catching accessories.
I stuck to a simple but sparkly gold eyeshadow from the 5 Couleurs Dior Palette in 566 Versailles which was limited edition but they have a very similar colour story in their Dior Backstage Custom Eye Palette in 001 Universal Neutral. And paired it with a slight winged eyeliner as usual with my trusted Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner in Black.
On my cheeks I wearing the Milani Baked Blush in Berry Amore. Which sidenote; the hype for these blushes is real! This one is very much up there with my all-time favourite Clinique Cheek Pop Blush in 03 Berry Pop.
And finally on my lips I’m wearing my go-to lip liner N°7 Precision Lips Pencil in Nude with M&S Limited Collection satin lipstick in Chiffon (which they don’t seem to sell anymore which is a shame).
ELEGANTPARK SHOE CLIPS
Finally, to finish off this accessory post, you didn’t think I would let you get away without mentioning shoes, did you? I think Carrie Bradshaw “The Original Influencer” from Sex and the City can be credited with starting the Manolo Blahnik shoe obsession and somehow it has seeped into my subconscious.
If I was a gazillionaire then you bet my first pair of luxury shoes would be the black velvet pumps from Manolo Blahnik. But I’m not, and I hardly see myself ever spending that amount of money (€950…gasp!) on one single pair of shoes and I’m a shoeaholic! But I already owned a pair of black velvet pumps that cost me a whooping €10 (now that I can get behind!) and although they didn’t feature in my Velvet Shoes post they where bought at the same Belgian Outlet Center Shoes & Fashion (The Outlet Center at Mont-Saint-Guibert).
Combined with my recent discovery that shoe clips were a thing and a term I could now search for, I knew I could make my very own Manolo Blahniks. Having exhausted all my usual accessories haunts I turned to the great big world of Amazon (right?! Surprised me too) and found exactly what I was looking for; a simple embellished rectangle buckle in these ElegantPark Shoe Clips.
Voilà like magic it worked out a treat! I wore my new dupes for our family Christmas lunch paired with this gorgeous sequined H&M skirt (see more than just the hem here) that I saw Erika from Retro Flame wear in one of her videos and rushed out the next day to go find (what can I say…I was influenced!).
Hope you’re having a great start to the 20s!
What’s been your favourite accessory so far?
Have you ever recreated designer shoes? I’m very tempted to paint some red soles with nail polish (or maybe just paint) à la Louboutin, who’s with me?
xxxemma