We’ve added accoutrements to our outfits for centuries, from buckles to buttons, but they aren’t just important for fashion’s sake. Cordula van Wyhe and Susan Vincent reveal what six accessories can tell us about historical attitudes to gender, empire and more…
Accessories are often small and they can be highly decorative, but they have a practical function too. These outfit add-ons work with the entire body from top to toe. Some, like buckles, have been with us unchanged for thousands of years. Others, like the phone case, appeared almost yesterday. Some were elite must-haves, but many were carried, manipulated, admired and enjoyed by the masses.
Since categorising accessories is tricky – is the belt that holds up your jeans an accessory? What about your sunglasses, or your jewellery? – we will define the dress accessory as something that a person carries or wears, which supplements their garments.
