Author Archives: Accz blog

The Best Colour-Pop Accessories of SS19

This summer, blending into the background is not an option. A new, refreshing take on the rainbow brights that surfaced last season, colour-pop styling offers something a little more considered, with accessories providing a shortcut into the trend that evokes a sense of joy and optimism.

 

1. The Hair Accessories

 

Hailed as the year of the headband, 2019 is serving us all the hair accessories that we never knew we needed until now. Colour-pop pieces in particular offer an easy way to elevate simple ponies and messy buns, as well as lending them a burst of brightness. Opt for satin-soft styles in orange or teal or go all-out with statement stripes in tropical colour palettes.

 

2. The Bags

 

Woven bags have upped their game for SS19.  Sitting alongside the natural textures that we know and love, the season’s latest arrivals come with waves of colour – think tiered tassels and all-over patterns. The good news is that every shape has a part to play in this bold fashion story, from structured basket bags and circular cross-body designs to supersized totes.

 

3. The Statement Earrings

 

Statement earrings are no stranger to colour, with high-octane hues dominating the hoops and dropped designs that we reach for on the days and nights that we want to be noticed. For SS19, clashing textures and embellishments are combining with punchy palettes, such as greens, blues and sunshine yellows, creating pieces that mix fashion with a feel-good factor.

 

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How to Wear the Tropical Trend

Straight from our all-new Fiesta collection, this season’s latest beachwear arrivals are served with palm prints, eclectic embellishments and vivacious colours for a getaway wardrobe that’s full of flavour. Ready to make your style pop? Here’s how to wear the tropical trend…

 

1. The Swimwear

 

It’s time to brighten up the beach. From bandeau bikinis in high-octane hues to plunging swimsuits with all-over prints, this summer’s swimwear is giving us so many ways to wear the tropical trend. Use vivid blocks of colour as your base to showcase eclectic jewels or if you’re opting for print, ensure it does all the talking with natural straw accessories.

 

2. The Sun Dress

 

As sizzling summer days turn into warm, starlit nights, a maxi dress becomes one of the most dependable – and impactful – pieces in your suitcase selection. Printed with tropical flowers and palm leaves on sun-soaked red, this sand-grazing style is the boldest way to take on this season’s most feel-good fashion story. Pair yours with sandals for beachside strolls.

 

3. The Beach Accessories

 

Whether you want to go subtle or all-out, beach accessories offer the easiest route into the tropical trend.   Ease yourself in with printed headbands, statement earrings and beaded bracelets to stack and style, or cause a clash with woven beach bags worn with stand-out swimsuits and sun dresses.

 

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The Monsoon Accessorize Trust: Phia Foundation

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Monsoon Accessorize Trust, we’re looking back at some of our key charity projects and finding out how they’ve changed the lives of communities and individuals across India and the UK. Next up, we’re finding out about the Phia Foundation, a public trust which aims to help end poverty in India, and how they’ve brought education to an urban slum near Delhi.

 

The Project

Located on the outskirts of Delhi, Bhowapur’s rag-picking slum is inhabited by an estimated 5,000 people, with families living in extreme poverty. The area lacks basic amenities such as housing, electricity, water, sanitation and healthcare, and children also have no access to education.

Through their partnership with Christian Aid, the Monsoon Accessorize Trust have been able to support the Phia Foundation with a grant to help set up ‘bridge schools’ – small-scale education initiatives for children aged three to 14 years. Run by trained community leaders, these centres provide pupils with basic education, as well as clean water and nutritional support (such as fresh fruit) to ensure children are fed and therefore more able to concentrate in their lessons. Children are also encouraged to explore their creativity with song, dance and art classes, and are often taken out for educational and recreational trips.

So far, 67 children have been enrolled back into mainstream education and the Phia Foundation continue to monitor their progress and support them further with extra classes. It’s hoped that the initiative will help break the cycle of poverty and transform the lives of thousands of poor children.

 

Rakhi’s Story

Twelve-year-old Rakhi lives in the Bhowapur slum with her five siblings and mother, who works as a maid in the local area. She has enrolled in the nearby municipal school in Ghazipur, thanks to her focus and hard work, as well as the efforts of her teachers at the bridge school. She enjoys her lessons and is doing well in the curriculum, having scored 85% in the annual exam.

Once she returns home, Rakhi has extra classes at the bridge school to help support her education. This has helped improve her confidence and she regularly takes part in extra-curricular activities and school-level contests such as essay-writing competitions.

In her spare time, Rakhi enjoys singing, dancing and drawing. She hopes to become a police officer when she grows up.

 

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3 Statement Earring Trends to Wear This Summer

Bigger, brighter and bolder than ever before, statement earrings are breaking the mould in SS19. Eclectic embellishments, revived textures and shoulder-grazing proportions are the ones to watch this season, elevating every look in one dramatic sweep. Join us as we explore the three statement earring trends to wear this summer PLUS find out more about our all-new Piercing Parlours (and how you could get 20% off your next in-store purchase).

 

1. Pom-Poms

 

Full of colour and joy, pom-poms are the high-fashion way to add a dose of fun to summer wardrobes. This season, these small yet mighty embellishments are made from raffia for extra texture and are displayed on barely-there hoops for a stand-out effect. Choose from sunshine-ready shades of red and yellow or dive straight in with tonal sea-blues.

2. Resin

 

Press pause on tortoiseshell. As we move into the long, sun-drenched days of summer, resin earrings are nothing short of statement-making thanks to their punchy palettes and sculptural designs.  Classic hoops are reinvented with acrylic pairs in bold blue-green hues with beads and thread-wrapped finishes, while drop earrings come with geometric shapes in marbled shades.

 

3. Tassels

 

Tassel lovers rejoice – these fringed favourites have returned for SS19 with a focus on fresh new shapes and eye-catching colours. Try the trend in a whole new way for summer with half-moon tassels in luscious green, mixed with gold-tone metal and wicker for a cool clash of textures, or stand out for all the right reasons in long-drop pairs with faceted gems and thread-wrapped beads.

 

The Piercing Parlour at Accessorize

Create the perfect curated ear in our new and exclusive Piercing Parlours, under the expertise of trained professionals. FREE with the purchase of selected earrings from £15, available in the below stores. Walk-ins only – no need to book.

PLUS, receive 20% OFF your next in-store purchase when you get a new piercing for a limited time only.

Find Your Store

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Your Guide to Healing Stone Jewellery

Crystals are having a moment in the jewellery world. Believed to harness healing powers, these treasured stones have been growing in popularity with designers, with many making them the focal point of their creations. But whether you believe in their protective properties or are simply taken by all things sparkly, we’ve put together a quick guide to healing stone jewellery, featuring coveted pieces from our Z for Accessorize collection here’s what you need to know.

 

Sodalite

 

The rich blue colour of the sodalite stone is to have a calming effect on the wearer, helping to promote inner peace and logical thinking. Add its healing energy to your day through fashion-forward pendants, bracelets and hoop earrings, all plated in gold for a eye-catching contrast.

 

Green Aventurine

 

Known for its glistening green hue, the aventurine stone is often described as the ‘stone of opportunity’. It’s thought to be the luckiest of all crystals and its positive energy is associated with prosperity and boosting feelings of gratitude and optimism. We like the way its light, apple tone sits with both gold- and rose gold-plated metals.

 

Rose Quartz

 

Coloured in a delicate shade of pink, rose quartz is strongly linked with unconditional love, forgiveness and compassion, making it the perfect stone for hopeless romantics.  Bring the stone’s soft, healing energy into the everyday with pretty gold-plated designs – maximise its effect by wearing them all at once, for a more understated look, style your favourite piece separately.

 

Clear Quartz

 

One of the most iconic crystals of the quartz family, clear quartz – otherwise known as the stone of power – is believed to amplify energy and intention, as well as protecting against negativity. From delicate chain necklaces to drop earrings, find this iconic healing stone on some of our most precious pieces, each one plated in gold for a luxe finish.

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5 Tote Bags to Wear With Everything

Looking for a stylish hold-all that can take you from the beach to the bar and everything in between? Throw a tote over your shoulder. Tote bags have risen through the style ranks in recent years to become a smart-casual staple, perfect for updating your accessory rotation and having enough room to store all your essentials (and some non-essentials too). Here you’ll find everything you need to discover how to wear a tote bag, while still exuding effortless cool – wherever the day takes you.

 

1. Cut it Out

 

Geometric cut-outs are the one this season’s note-worthy design details, as seen on our Lucy shopper bag. Ideal for adding a splash of colour to any outfit, this statement-maker’s mustard hue and resin handle hue makes it stand out for all the right reasons.

 

2. Bring the Beads

 

Beads are everywhere this season. Spliced with black and nude-hued adornments which are crafted by hand, our beaded shopper offers an easy way to incorporate this key trend into your bag collection without sacrificing practicality. Ideal for holiday wanders or chilled-out weekends, this piece pairs well with just about everything in your wardrobe.

 

3. Say it with Stripes

 

Offering a more refined take on nautical styling, the Madeline stripe shopper bag is an effortlessly cool way to wear the classic trend this season.  The brown leather-look trims lend further definition to the pale palette, making it feel chic enough for the park, the beach and weekend diary dates.

 

4. Fresh Prints

 

Scarf prints have made their mark on recent runways – and now they’re spanning across this season’s accessories too. Blending a bold, bohemian-inspired design with a soft, slouchy fabrication, this spacious style works equally as well in the city as it does at your next festival.

 

5. All White

 

For a fresh take on weekday styling, our Tracey tote bag ticks all the right boxes. Imagined in clean white, this piece is perfect for taking you seamlessly from desk to drinks – we like how it’s spacious enough for all your office essentials but small enough to not feel bulky on a night out. Smart yet versatile, it’s also well-suited to weekends and summer city breaks.

 

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Home or Away: How to Wear the Safari Trend

Here’s one for the adventure-seekers: safari styling has resurfaced for SS19, with wild animal prints, natural textures and pared-back palettes making up some of the key talking points of the ubiquitous trend. Far more refined now than in recent seasons, these warm-weather favourites are versatile enough to slot into every summer line-up, from the city to your next beach break. Join us as explore how to wear the safari trend…

 


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Safari Styling: On Holiday

 

Proving that safari styling can be subtle, this beach-ready look uses subtle elements of the trend to create something that feels cool and considered. Its all-black base comprises a simple bikini and wide-leg trousers, with carefully curated accessorises offering points of interest – a flash of yellow from the leopard-print scarf and the tactile textures of the statement earrings and beaded tote bag.

 

Safari Styling: At Home

 

Effortlessly cool, the safari trend works equally as well in the concrete jungle as it does on breezy days on the beach. We like how a khaki green backdrop provides the perfect base for our monochrome bead bag and satin leopard-print scarf which can also double up as a belt. For the rest of the accessories, simplicity is key – think classic cat-eye shades and suede sliders, both in black.

 

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The Monsoon Accessorize Trust: Christian Aid

For the last 25 years, the Monsoon Accessorize Trust has been working with charities and supporting projects that impact the most disadvantaged and vulnerable women and children in communities across Asia and the UK. For one of our initiatives, we’ve teamed up with Christian Aid to offer silk production training to local women’s groups in Herat, Afghanistan, a project which aims to empower individuals as well as helping to sustain an age-old craft.

 

The Project

 

Together with Christian Aid, a UK-based charity who aim to help end global poverty, we’ve spent the last four years working with local women’s groups to help revive and rebuild the silk cultivation industry in Afghanistan. Women are provided with silkworms and training on silk production to make their own products, which are then sold in bazaars and in a small shop in Herat International Airport. This project helps local women earn an income, become more financially independent and have a stronger voice in their communities.

 

Tabarok’s Story

 

Taborak was diagnosed with depression after losing her daughter and suffering from two strokes which left her hospitalised. Concerned for her wellbeing as well as her financial situation, doctors advised her to find work as soon as she was back to good health.

She joined the silk weaving program set up by Christian Aid and the Monsoon Accessorize Trust, and started to learn how to weave, as well as attending workshops on silk dying and designing. After completing the course, Taborak was provided with a loom and all the materials she needed to make silk garments from home.

She says, “I was very eager to learn weaving. It was enjoyable for me. I used to go earlier than the others to the weaving centre because I didn’t want to miss any of the training. Since taking part in the project, I haven’t had time to think about my past or anything else. After I learned weaving, I was given a loom and some other accessories. I spend most of my time behind the loom now.”

Tabarok sells the shawls she makes in the local bazaar, or to relatives and neighbours. Sometimes she also receives orders from local factories.

 

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Festival Outfit Inspiration with Naomi Ross

Festival season is calling, and we’re having a field day when it comes to outfit inspiration. Straight from her trip to Coachella, influencer Naomi Ross shows us how to channel California cool like the A-list attendees. Here are her key festival looks to rock this summer.

 

Country Western

In the heat of the desert, the Western trend really comes into its own. We love the look most in a monochrome palette, with a lace kimono layering drama over your favourite dress. Cinch it with a Western belt for your nod to ranger chic, and choose a fringed leather bag to carry your main-stage essentials. Looking for a more glamorous edge? Swap to a beaded clutch at sundown.

 

Naturally Boho

Where better to bring out your inner bohemian than on the festival field? Play the season’s natural textures on repeat with a straw cross-body bag, and throw on a light and airy cotton dress to keep you cool in the crowds. Finish the look with a frayed fedora hat to stay shaded under the sun: your most effortless accessory for the summer.

 

Festival Sparkle

Three days in, you might not be feeling your most glamorous, so turn the mood around with some festival-ready sparkle. If your outfit involves sequins, choose neutral accessories like a macramé bag or gold chain belt to keep things tonal. Want to glitter up for the headline act? Look no further than EcoStardust’s Bio-Glitter®, which is plant-based and completely biodegradable.

 

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How to Wear the Citrus Trend

Hailing from the Amalfi Coast, the Sorrento lemon is the pick of the bunch when it comes to summer styling, whether worn in print form on exotic escapes or artfully arranged on white-washed backdrops for Instagram. Naturally, we’re focusing on the former with the freshly-squeezed picks from our new-season collection – here’s our guide to wearing the citrus trend in SS19.

 

1. Start with White

 

How to make the citrus trend feel instantly SS19? Wear it with white. From cutwork sundresses to cool co-ords, pale palettes provide the perfect blank canvas when it comes to showcasing zesty accessories – think lemon-print headbands, beach bags and statement earrings in delicious tones of yellow.

 

2. Add a Swimsuit

 

Printed with polka dots in refreshing shades of yellow and white, this one-piece wonder is proof that the lemon trend can be referenced in more ways than one. Designed with a front cut-out and a low back detail, this sun-ready swimsuit adds a taste of the new to an otherwise classic print story.

 

3. Mix in Texture

 

Say ciao the clutch bag of our dreams. Woven from wicker, this crescent-shaped design is adorned with an appliquéd slogan and beaded lemons, nodding to the citrus trend in a subtler way. It’s finished with tasselled zip and boasts a slim-line shape – perfect for slipping into your suitcase.

 

4. Finish with Fruit

 

Whether going all-out or taking on the citrus trend in a more curated way, fruit-themed bags are a fun, playful way to elevate every warm-weather look. Be it a beaded lemon or circular style with appliquéd orange segments, each pick is set to become the day-to-dark staple of those warm summer months.

 

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A Royal Celebration: Our Top 10 London Accessories

Ready to get caught up in royal baby fever? Start the celebrations in the most stylish way with our top 10 London-themed accessories, from notebooks and organisers to tote bags and purses with quintessentially British prints. Not only are they perfect for honouring the new arrival, but these patriotic picks will also make great gift ideas for friends and family. Here are our royal-worthy favourites…

 

 

 

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Designed for Good: The Upcycled Tote Bag

As part of our sustainable collection, Designed for Good, we’ve partnered with the women at the Radico Welfare Centre in New Delhi, India to create a new range of hand-crafted tote bags, made from recycled materials. Here, we meet Lalita, one of our talented artisans, to find out more about how each bag was made, as well as how she’s benefitted from the projects run through the centre.

The Upcycled Totes

 

Hand-crafted by artisans, our upcycled tote bags combine natural jute with patterned fabric braids that would have otherwise ended up in landfill. Sturdy and spacious, these eco-friendly designs are available in navy and pink, and come with a rounded base and two handles for added practicality.

Meet the Artisan

 

Lalita is one of the artisans and beneficiaries of the Radico Welfare Centre. Keen to help support her family’s low income, Lalita enrolled in one of the centre’s charitable projects where she is learning how to sew on a training course. Along with the other women at the centre, she’s used some of her new-found skills to help make hand-crafted and upcycled tote bags exclusively for Accessorize, using waste fabric which has been braided to create beautiful, unique patterns.  Upon receiving her first set of wages, Lalita felt emotional. She told us, “I have never held an amount this big in my own hands – I can’t believe it is for real”. She now hopes to start a small business with her husband.

 

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