Accessorising the past
Categorising accessories is tricky. Is the belt that holds up your jeans an accessory? What about your sunglasses, or your jewellery? We define the dress accessory as something that a person carries or wears, which supplements their garments. Accessories are often small and they can be highly decorative, but they have a practical function too.
These add-ons to our outfits 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.
Accessories are the Cinderella of dress history, too often forgotten while their fancier sisters go to the ball. But in their own time these objects did influential things, and they connect with much broader ideas.
