The Power of Accessories

Written By : Hannah Corbett

Clothes say a lot. But the right accessory? The tiny trinket we throw on without thinking, the detail we fidget with at red lights, the thing we panic over if it’s left at home? That, my friends, is the staple of who we are.  

Lately, I’ve been noticing something. The girl gripping her iced matcha like a clutch bag, wearing an earring stack that looks like it belongs on her body, and a baseball hat? She’s not just wearing her outfit, she’s embodying it— her identity is clear.

She’s curated her outfit, yes, but her confidence is beaming because of her accessories

So this made me wonder about how everyone talks about a staple closet.  A capsule wardrobe, filled with plain white t's and your favorite pair worn in denim blue jeans. I think what is maybe even more important than owning a bunch of basics.  Is to have staple accessories.  I’ve talked on here before about having a staple outfit that's known as your “uniform”.  An outfit that your bestfriend or mom would say you were wearing if you ever got lost. That's obviously something that comes to us with nature.   Everyone has a favorite sweatshirt, a favorite pair of jeans. But what about a favorite ring that you never take off?  A belt that completes every outfit you have.  Earrings that you sleep in and wake up ready to go.  

We often talk about personal style in terms of the big pieces. The trench coat that makes you feel important. The little black dress you’ve worn to more things than you can count. These are the pillars of a so-called “timeless wardrobe”—the staples, the classics, the pieces that hang neatly in your closet and anchor your outfits.

But I’d argue that the real essence of who we are—our actual style—lives in the smallest, most overlooked places.

It’s in the phone chain wrapped around your wrist, the bandana tied around your neck, the earrings you never take off. It's the belt you reach for instinctively, not because it’s trendy, but because it feels like you.

Accessories aren’t just adornments. They’re micro-expressions of our identity. They’re the things we wear that feel like they belong to us in a way that no sweater or jacket ever truly can. They're the last thing we put on before we walk out the door, and often, the first thing people notice. And yet, they’re rarely given the credit they deserve.

We treat accessories like extras—afterthoughts, finishing touches, something to toss on if we remember. But really, they carry the most weight. The things that make us feel a little more like ourselves when the rest of the day feels off. They're consistent and sometimes personal.

There’s something grounding about having a set of pieces that go with you everywhere. A water bottle that’s more like a sidekick. A ring you spin when you’re nervous. A pair of hoops, these aren’t just accessories—they’re artifacts. Markers of your mood and growth. They evolve with us.

Think about it. Clothes rotate. Trends shift.

We swap out coats when the season changes, tuck away certain jeans when the fit starts to feel wrong. But the accessories? They stay. They live on the dresser, in the dish by the sink, on our nightstands. They travel with us from job to job, city to city, phase to phase. We outgrow wardrobes. We rarely outgrow our staples.

In a world constantly nudging us to consume more, to buy newer and better, there’s something quietly radical about choosing to hold on to a few small things that actually matter. Accessories allow us to curate not just how we look—but how we move through the world. 

It’s not about having a different bag for every outfit or building an endless collection of statement earrings. It’s about finding those key items that feel like extensions of you. The things that, if you left the house without them, you’d feel just a little incomplete. Maybe even a little invisible.

So of course, build your wardrobe. Find your favorite denim, your perfect white tee.

But also, pay attention to the little things—the ones you wear on your worst days and best. 

And when someone asks about your style, maybe you won’t point to your coat or your boots. Maybe you’ll reach for your favorite pair of sunglasses or the ring you’ve had since high school. In that moment, you’ll realize they were never just extras.