The Occasional Woman — Winter Accessories!

Dear Readers,

I hope you are all awash in the fun and food that was Thanksgiving! (How many different ways do you know to use leftover turkey?) Now that Thanksgiving is behind us perhaps you will be attending some kinda festive function soon? This is helpful to try to banish the Winter Blues. And do you know what else helps to keep the cheer in crappy-ass weather? SCARVES, that’s what! 

Yes, the topic of this week’s rant is ACCESSORIES. You have now assessed your winter needs and desires, clothes-wise, and are about launch the Good Ship You into the world; but you somehow feel . . . incomplete. What is missing? Accessories, that’s what! Time to perfect your look!  

Accessorizing is one of the best ways to amp up the volume on your winter outfits. Say you have a swell black coat; it fits perfectly, the hem is the exact length for your boots, and the sleeve-hem daringly floats over the knobby wrist bone. Now what? A bracelet is perfect here — something rather sparkling, yet only a bit gaudy. Maybe it’s a kind of chunky gold cuff, or a delicate gemstone bracelet — think birthstone — amethyst, emerald, ruby or a reasonable facsimile of one of these stones. Or a gold (or silver) chain, perhaps with some colorful beads or charms on it.

A “statement” necklace.

Necklaces don’t always have to match other jewelry;  you can now combine silver and gold, although I personally don’t like to. A “statement necklace” is very chic now, and by that, I’m not talking about a chain that says “BITCH” on it. No, the statement necklace is generally bigger than some slender chain, and heavier. It can have gemstones in it, or an etched design, or both — it is more attention-getting and in this way makes a “statement.”

As you nestle your face into a fur or velvet collar, do consider a scarf! A good scarf serves several purposes; to keep your neck warm, to draw attention to your well-made up face, to hide a creppy or distracting knobbiness in the throat region and — keeps your coat-collar clean! Getting a scarf dry-cleaned is a HELL of a lot cheaper than getting the whole dang coat cleaned! And scarves are a darn sight less costly than a coat, and a different neck decoration can change the whole look of a coat, making people assume you have a LOT of coats. And another thing — always remove your scarf carefully, so that it doesn’t snag your jewelry or hair!.

Not to be forgotten as a necessary part of winter is gloves. If you are out sledding, obviously you will want to wear some big, thick gloves, with padding and water-resistant tendencies. But when you are going out to a posh event? Noooo, let’s think 1930s-‘50s classy! Leopard print, stretch-velvet, red leather, purple mohair, gloves with tiny buttons on the wrist . . . you know, something like Kate Hepburn would have worn in The Philadelphia Story. When removing buttoned gloves, you can make what used to be called “a riveting show of unbuttoning the glove, one at a time.” Like a classy hand-striptease.

I would love it if scarves and gloves complemented each other. Not identical or “matchy-matchy,” but co-existing in harmony, like a red scarf and orange gloves, or black gloves and a scarlet neckpiece.

Ideally, winter clothes and accessories are meant to keep you from frostbite, but also to announce to the world “Hey! It may only be 20 degrees out in here, but I’m not just warm, I am CLASSY!

Tags: accessories, crossdressing, fashion, featured, gloves, opinion, scarves, statement necklace, style

Category: Style, Transgender Fashion