Spring's Best Guilt-Free Accessories

Originally posted in The CLOSET

Call them the 'icing on the cake' or the 'cherry on top' or the 'Justin Bieber to your Selena' but you have to admit, no outfit is ever as good without amazing accessories.  Take your typical jeans and a tee:  on their own - total Dullsville. But add a great pair of wedges, some aviator shades and a beautiful bag and you're suddenly Jennifer Aniston (without the private cars and Hollywood mansions, mind you). 

Every season, designers send certain extras down the runway that resonate with the fashionable set, making lobes, wrists and necks feel suddenly empty without them.  This spring, the new It zone is the ear.  Yes, that's right, the oversized earring is back, bringing to mind ancient Egyptian goddesses with their lobe-defying  danglers.  The new earrings highlight the face and are a huge departure from the minimalist earrings we've seen for so many seasons.  If you're not the big earring type, go for statement necklaces and stacked bangles to colour your world.  Speaking of colour, accessories followed clothing trends with pretty pastel pumps and sweet minaudieres looking positively ladylike.  For the more daring among you, go for bold, bright neons to add a little party rock to your look.  For metallics, both silver and gold are totally on-trend.  Keep your silver accents sleek with clean lines and simple silhouettes, or go for the gold with 1920's-inspired deco gold and black extras. As for print, earthy tribal extras, kitschy Hawaiian prints and fun florals will be your new spring go-to's. 

I love the power of killer accessories but want to know the part I like best of all?  They always fit.  Yay! 

Found: Two Classic Keepers

The Leighton Leather Tote ($185) from Banana Republic and the Wedge Pump ($74.95) from Gap

It's often the simple things that are the hardest to find:  the perfect pair of jeans, a flattering black bather, a great white tee.  Though I often tell people to ignore that annoying practical voice in your head in favour of bright colour and feel-good finds, these two classic keepers will instantly elevate your wardrobe just a little.  The clean lines of this black leather bag will carry you through season after season, regardless of the It-bag du jour, while this classic wedge pump gives you height, elongates your legs and looks exactly like the YSL Wedge Pump for literally 1/10 of the price.  Yay!  I wore the black versions from Gap on my last CityLine appearance and everyone keeps asking me where I got my shoes.  YSL, of course ;)

A Classic Cable-Knit Goes Badass

This new cable-knit sweater from Gap is just so pretty!  I love the strategic navy stripes that give a traditional knit a little badass edge.  The menswear-inspired lambswool fisherman's sweater ($64.95) also comes in jewel-toned and neutral stripes. 

Shop your stripes now at gapcanada.ca or at Gap stores nationwide. 

Written in the Stars

Isabeli Fontana at Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2011; Ditzy Star Socks, Gap, $7.16

Socks:  "Enough with the staring.  Just put me on! You know you want me."

Isabeli:  "I do, I DO!  But Stefano and Domenico would be horrified.  You're from Gap."

Socks:  "It'll be our little secret, querida Isabeli"

Isabeli:  "You tempt me so.  Stefano and Domenico did everything in stars this season - star earrings, star dresses, star blouses, star pumps - but no socks!  WTF?  What were they thinking?!

Socks:  "I know.  And this is why you must put me on imediatamente or your entire cosmos will be misaligned.  You don't want to screw with the cosmos, Isabeli!" 

Isabeli:  "Ohhh.  So that's why my horoscope was so off today..."