This Winter, We’re Embracing Alt Accessories – Won’t You Join Us?

We've sourced the perfect capsule collection of winter essentials, including coats and cardigans. But winter accessories are a part of seasonal dressing that we tend not to put too much thought into. After all, we're cold, and any accoutrements we acquire to address the issue are purchased out of pure utility. An oversized scarf to keep the wind off our necks. A beanie to keep our heads warm. Gloves so our fingers don't freeze and fall off.

By comparison, in the warmer seasons, accessories serve more than just a utilitarian purpose; they allow us to add some personality into our outfits. They provide ample opportunity for customisation in a culture that flocks to fast fashion drops and social media trends that spawn cults of influenced lookalikes.

Bank on your own ability to curate: we're campaigning for a return of whimsy, sass, and a sense of humour when it comes to winter dressing, and we're utilising a wardrobeful of alternative accessories to do it.

We're decorating our big ol' heads with items that keep our brains toasty, but are still, like, cute. Lucky for us, hoods, bonnets and balaclavas have been paraded down the recent runways of many a fashion capital, so there are plenty of options out there.

As for any exposed limbs, we're keeping the chill at bay with statement hosiery that borders on the kooky, and twofer leg warmers that can be used to warm our wrists if it takes our fancy.

We're just really getting wild with it this winter. Why don't you join us?

While the hoods and bonnets we're going to be sporting this winter are a far cry from the dramatic and gothic inspirations of Rodarte Fall/Winter 2023. Instead, they feed off of the same considerations of modern modesty that we saw at Asiyam's 2024 Resort Collection at AAFW. A hood or a bonnet transforms and shrouds the wearer's natural silhouette. They're protective, secretive and evolve a simple outfit into a layered conversation.

Balaclavas have been in vogue ever since COVID-19 made us reconsider how to fashionably cover our faces. But in 2023, balaclavas are branching out from their sad past as mere essential items. They've experienced a bimbofication; they're brightly coloured, undeniably fun, and a little bit silly. We're very into it.

Much to our chagrin, many of the styles synonymous with summer ask us to bare our legs. Thankfully, rather than exposing our pins to the elements (or unsuspecting strangers), the cold months grant us the grace of pantyhose. However, if you're not shy about getting your gams out, there's also a host of properly cool nude illusion hosiery on the market ATM too.

Maybe it's our childhood crush on Jennifer Beals in Flashdance or our aforementioned phobia of bare legs, but we're big fans of the leg warmer trend this winter. We think it's safe to assume that we have everyone's obsession with balletcore to thank for this one. Go the traditional route and pair a set with those Miu Miu ballet flats you saved up so hard for, or slide the tubes of fabric onto your wrists to add a bit of drama to long-sleeved basics.