Chic little things

Among the things I miss during this still-disrupted period are the small accessories that puff a bit of chic into life. Not the fierce, hard-edged sort you see on the runway, but the grace notes that lift clothing from functional to pleasurable.

In the windows today, an assortment for a late-winter lift. They may not suit you climactically or aesthetically, so I'd appreciate hearing of  your picks, too. 

Merino bib

Worn over a turtleneck or shirt, this merino bib (in historic costume language, a tabard) adds warmth without bulk, and looks simultaneously classic and modern, which to me is a cornerstone of chic. Now sold out at Arket, but next week's windows will be filled with more of these.

Making a case for lipstick

I have a pile of pleasing lipsticks in ugly cases, the gift-with-purchase kind, but right now I would like   one in an elegant case I would not mind if someone saw. Charlotte Tilbury's hydrates—and the case... perfection! Shown, JK Magic, a rose-peachy-nude; price, about $CDN 48 at Sephora. 

The CT "Hot Lips" line comes in unusual and covetable cases, and you can pop in refills. How I miss the days when the best department-store lipsticks and compacts came in this case-plus-refill format, and at a price many times lower than Hermès' refillable leather one!

Jewelled earrings

I sipped the Netflix doc, "Franca: Chaos and Creation" about the late Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani,  like a fine amaro, watching in several sittings to make it last. Sozzani was many things I am not, physically: tiny, blonde, long-haired, model-slim. The personal signature I noticed watching her expressive face: jewelled retro or antique earrings with everything from the simplest shirt to an evening gown. 

You can find the look at any price point from modest to dizzying, and if you have Great-aunt Annabelle's Victorian garnet chandeliers, now is the time to wear them! In the window, a fine jewellery example.

Photo: BestOldJewelry

Antique Georgian earrings in citrine, pearl and enamel; at about $US 1, 450, a treat but also an heirloom. From Etsy seller BestOldJewelry, whose comprehensive description is better than I have seen from many well-known jewellers.

Sunglasses

Sunnies control glare in any weather and some posit may even have a protective effect agains the coronavirus by reducing entry points for respiratory droplets. A proven effect: a sharp pair is the very keystone of chic.

I have worn budget knockoffs that held up for years and pricey ones that broke in a few months.Though there is a level of cheap that looks it,  high-street sunglasses can rival many designer models.  Which ones below cost twelves times as much as the other?

Top: Tom Ford "Andrew" sunglasses; now s/o but abut $300 on sale. (If you seek luxe brands, check The Outnet, which often has them at half-price.)

Bottom: Big tortoiseshell frames from Mango, sale price, $CDN 25.

A "Smallet"

Time was what a woman carried in her handbag was personal and prized, as cherished as her jewellery. She might have a monogrammed lighter, a slender gold pen, a mirror in a suede case.  Times change, and not only for lighters;  I have not seen coins in my wallet for a year, and carry but one moth-eaten $20 bill.  A cleaned-out wallet lightens the load—why not make it beautiful?

Photo: Lucrin of Geneva

Fuchsia leather small wallet by Lucrin of Geneva; price, about $US  95, with options for monogramming or custom stitching. Offered in an array of glorious colours and leather types.  Lucrin make larger wallets and bags, too, all delicious.

If a woman embeds small chic things into her life, does that make her chic? Possibly, provided she inhabits them naturally, and has an eye for what suits her. 

These items transmit "simple elegance with a dash of insouciance", which is as close as I can come to describing that rare butterfly, lepidopterans chicus, which alights at its pleasure, but is quite resistant to appearing on demand.