As accessories and the fashion culture spin out of control, the importance of the minimalist movement becomes even more strongly a design aesthetic coming into its own. Simplicity, sleek lines, and minimal accessories are about to become more important than ever, as classic aesthetics, like quiet luxury, will never go out of style. So, let’s examine how minimalism serves the art of understated elegance and learn how it slots accessories into the overall aesthetic.
Fashion That Blooms
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An eye on what’s showing up on high fashion runways should always inform your accessory choices. For example, this is the year of accessories that bloom, with roses leading the way. A good way to get in on this trend while still modeling admirable restraint is with flower barrettes. A barrette can fill many roles, from controlling your hair to creating a focal point in your hairstyle with stacking barrettes. By simply sliding on a barrette to hold your hair back, you’re as on-trend as any Milan model!
Worldly Ways
Western ways of dressing, both popularly expressed and designed for the runway, have always absorbed external cultural markers. This has been true since the first contact by the colonial powers of the 15th to the mid-20th century. Returning from their global adventures with new fabrics, new jewels, new animals, and foods—among many other spoils—the colonialists brought certain styles with them.
But cross-cultural styles are now being deconstructed in fashion, missing that “melting” step and bringing their true selves to fashion. This has created a striking tension which can also be read aesthetically as harmony.
To incorporate the understated elegance of featuring a cultural element, try one stand-out color, fabric, or bold print evocative of far-flung cultures. This is an understated way of sharing, not appropriating, a world culture. And the quiet elegance of the moment you’re creating is sublime.
The Eyes Have It
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This summer, make a statement while protecting your eyes. Bold sunglasses are the hot weather accessories, and yours can make or break whatever else you’re wearing. This year, the bigger and bolder, the better, with a heavier frame being favored by many UV-conscious fashionistas.
Keep your look sleek to maintain the focus on your big, bold shades, with an emphasis on solid, monochromatic separates. When you’re wearing the “it” shades of the moment, your clothes are playing a supporting role. Just remember that they should support the unqualified cool of your eyewear by being just as elegantly smooth.
Gilding the Lily
In the realm of gilding the lily, the context of understated elegance cautions a steady hand. Understatement is the art of discerning what transforms your overall look, focusing it on a standout element. You can mix and match jewelry for an oblique twist. Because as risky as that strategy is, when you roll the dice right, you win big. For me, the name of the game is the focus because the lily you’re gilding is you, and your choice of focus reveals just enough—a true measure of elegance.
So, carefully use gold minimalist jewelry as accents for a sleekly simple monochromatic dressing, or add a slash of gleam to a complex woven fabric. Play the jewelry you thoughtfully choose against textures and shapes to integrate your look, creating a symbiotic unity between clothing and jewelry.
Not a Bead of Sweat
Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash
Maintaining a focused, minimalistic look presents you at your very best. By creating an aesthetic flash point that doesn’t overpower, you create a well-defined balance between stylistic opulence and design purity, not even breaking a sweat in the process.
Minimalist accessories go beyond Coco Chanel’s advice to look in the mirror before going out and then, to take off one accessory. Minimalism in the service of understated elegance is an art form that calls on your thoughtful consideration of every single accessory you put on – or take off. Actress Tilda Swinton may be thought of, for our purposes, as minimalist dressing’s patron saint. And Tilda doesn’t seem like a woman given to breaking so much as a bead of sweat.
Understated, Cool, and Quiet
The biggest takeaway is to pick just one or two accessories and run with them. If gold jewelry is your go-to, add a sleek herringbone necklace and a gold ring for a subtle glimmer to your outfit. If you want the focus to be on your hair, a simple floral hair clip can liven up your ensemble while keeping you sophisticated and timeless. Find your favorite accessories, and wield them wisely.
