Your New Year Accessories Resolutions

Words: Daniël Geldenhuys | Photograph: Getty

The fresh challenges and expectations that come with a new year can be daunting. Sometimes the best policy is to start with something simple and completely within your control, like personal style. No one is suggesting a total closet overhaul. (Well, Marie Kondo is, but we'll tackle that in another post, eh?) Instead, update your look with simple accessories that breathe new life into your go-to pieces. Apart from the aesthetic benefits, it's also a practical way to build a look without resorting to layering during the scorching days of summer. Make 2019 your most fashionable year yet with these go-with-everything accessories.

The Bucket Hat

What used to be a somewhat underground style of headwear has been rendered utterly chic and universally desirable by fashion's high priestess Miuccia Prada. The current appeal of the style lies in its malleable streetwear sensibility: you can wear it with a FILA dress or a Mango one. In fact, offsetting a bucket hat with a more elegant dress (or separates) creates a modern contrast that's exciting without being over the top. The ultimate goal is to keep your look tonal, but when in doubt, wear black.

The Belt Bag

Okay, you're sick of waist bags, but consider this: they're still the easiest way to make any look (dresses or separates) feel contemporary and cinched. Also, we're suggesting a belt bag, not a waist bag. The belt bag, always in a slick minimal design, is not meant to substitute a handbag. It's designed to punctuate your look, giving it an office appropriate yet still completely fashionable undertone. Think about a summer floral dress you might not feel comfortable wearing to the office. Now think about it with this belt bag – suddenly there's a sense of formality no colleague could deny.

The Medium Sunnies

So what's new for eyewear this year? The super skinny sunnies (you know, the ones with the pointy sides) you've seen everywhere are at risk of wasting away. When they do, do we just go back to our old aviator and wayfarer lives? That definitely doesn't feel modern enough. Consider a midway solution: a pair of rectangular tortoiseshell sunnies. They're not oversized and they're not super skinny either. It's all about finding that retro future balance, and these have the perfect equilibrium.

A Very Extra Necklace

Go big or go home. Dainty neckwear has about as much style presence as a teaspoon. This piece works just as well peaking out from a half-buttoned shirt worn on a deck sipping champagne as it does over a dress at the office. There's a sense of presence that should spill over into your demeanour, creating an unstoppable new-year force.

The Unexpected Sneaker

How unexpected can a sneaker get at this point, right? Last year saw the rise of the ugly sneaker, scuba sneaker, and a million styles in between. It's because of that cacophony that something simpler feels very appealing now. The Club C chalk mule from Reebok Classic takes things back to basics, simultaneously hitting you with a curveball by being a sneaker mule. They're classic yet utterly modern in their unique design. In short, a 365-day-a-year kind of shoe.