These Googly-Eyed Accessories From Topshop Might Be The Next Big Thing

Remember when you used to glue crazy googly-eyed fuzzballs onto all of your school craft projects and binders? Now you can buy googly-eyed clutch purses thanks to Topshop. 

When I first saw these cute clutches, I thought they would be more like the size of a hand, but they are a little bit larger, meaning they are the perfect size to hold your phone and your wallet. They even have a hand strap! Yes, someone may reach out to pet your purse when you’re carrying this novelty clutch, but who could help themselves? These purses can make any casual outfit fun and well, just plain silly.  

We’ll leave it up to you to decide if you’ll invest in one of the little fur monster purses, but they are only $35, so it may be worth the test drive? 

Of course the purse does look more like something from a Halloween craft project rather than an accessory, but fashion isn’t fashion without risks. But also, how can you deny how cute it is!? 

If the clutch size isn’t for you, you can even have this faux fur googly-eyed friend as a backpack. All I have to say is #winning. 

Can you really resist these adorable pieces, especially in two different colors?! Thanks for this cute fashion statement, Topshop. 

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KYOTO GOES KAWAII: Gunjo retains individuality with dedicated handiwork

“Pochi bukuro” envelopes are usually made from paper, but Japanese accessories shop Gunjo offers colorful, cute ones consisting of pure silk.

They are perfect for fashion accessories while traveling.

“For the sewing work, we commission people who love doing needlework,” said Gunjo owner Shihoko Tsutsui.

She only offers products that she believes can really show the dedication of the artisans.

When Tsutsui opened Gunjo nine years ago, she initially struggled to find meaning in her shop because other stores were dealing in the same products.

Now, she goes to great lengths to give a piece of her “heart” to the customers through the dishes, bags and boxes that she selects or manufactures herself.herself.

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Luxe Leather: Taboo No More

A fondness for luxe leathers no longer crosses into taboo.

The Hollywood version of E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” sugar-coated the world of S&M, somewhat demystifying and destigmatizing the subculture.

Now, fashion’s predilection to use studs, spikes, lacing and corsetry is having a similar effect. What once might have telegraphed “alternative lifestyle” now merely connotes a love of luxury leather details.

At the heart of this phenomenon is Christian Louboutin, who in 2007 introduced a spiked ankle boot and then followed by adding them to the classic Pigalle pump shortly thereafter. The designer said he was drawn to the fetish aesthetic, calling it “very decorative and rich in detail.”

Louboutin went a step further when he collaborated that same year with David Lynch on a photo exhibition called “Fetish” starring burlesque poster girl Dita Von Teese in an impossibly proportioned heel that mimicked a ballet pointe shoe. Louboutin cited references to Bette Paige and pop artist Allen Jones while creating, but said he feels today’s youth might think spikes and studs are specific to his designs.

“You don’t have to be religious to appreciate the beauty of a church or be in a gang to wear a tattoo. People don’t always associate my high heels with sex or fetishism.”

Both Louboutin and jeweler Eddie Borgo credit punk rock for referencing traditional bondage gear. Borgo also uses fetish detail, and it has become part of his brand’s DNA. Cones and spikes were a result of requests from his stylist friends and of his early days learning metalsmithing and the art of wax carvings used to make the jewelry molds. At their 2008 debut, buyers said the pieces were “too dangerous — getting through a TSA checkpoint would be an issue.”

Borgo used Fabien Baron’s “Sex” book as a jumping-off point for his padlock group, which featured a thick collar necklace.

“The one bracelet was considered too aggressive when it launched,” he said. “Now, there is little or no shock value.”

His last three collections explored softer elements like pearls and roses in his otherwise strong aesthetic — a reaction to the oversaturation of tough themes.

For some, the theme is thriving for fall. Joseph Altuzarra introduced his first bag line this season with a range featuring braided straps with fringed ends that look like a whip. Jeweler Annelise Michelson’s cuffs wrapped around the wrist in a “bondagelike” manner, she said. And at her Milan presentation, Elena Ghisellini divided the room into day and night themes with evening bags in a dark, moody romantic room; its vintage decor peppered with S&M crops and even a swing. She channels a strong woman in her designs, but gives the bondage theme elegant touches like corset details on a glove leather clutch.

Sandra Choi of Jimmy Choo united themes of dance and bondage this season. “Dance didn’t feel like Jimmy Choo yet both require discipline,” she said, offering a pink velvet pump with a leather tie-up strap. Details like studs, zippers and patent might be a large part of the bondage art form, but translating them into something wearable is her job as the designer, she noted: “I don’t want to take the literal form to my customers.”

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Five chic ways to wear a Brooch

A Brooch is one of the oldest accessories used by women on their dress, bags and hair, in order to turn a normal outfit to a marvelous one.

Brooches have always been an essential part of most women’s wardrobe. Besides, it is a jewelry item designed either to be attached to a garment or hold them closed. It is typically made of metal, often silver or gold, but sometimes bronze or some other material.

Most people like to wear brooches as a fashion accessory in order to keep up with the fashion trends or just to make their outfit more appealing.

However, there are chic ways of wearing a brooch without feeling old-fashioned or too dressy.

Follow these tips:

1. Pin the scarf with and connect it in the middle with a brooch. It gives the scarf a different feel.
2. Wear feminine brooches with edgy outfits (jeans, t-shirt leather jacket) to make the look more personal.
3. Wear the colorful brooches with your soft, feminine dresses and blouses to make them stand out and make a statement
4. One most important thing is that never match up the colour of your outfit to the brooch, it makes the outfit look old fashioned
5. Women with thick hair texture can wear a brooch for a diverse look. Which of these tips would you try?

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Anime Becomes Inspiration For High Fashion Accessories!

Recently, Isetan Department Store has announced that they will be selling a new range of limited edition "Sailor Moon" products. These items are produced by a collaboration with fashion brand Samantha Vega, one of the brands owned by Japanese fashion franchise Samantha Thavasa, which is well-known for their cute bags and wallets.

The popular comic and anime series is the current inspiration for bags such as the "Moonstick Leather" bag which comes with a lovely gold moonstick charm. Another bag that the brand will produce is the "Luna Fake Leather" bag which is named after Sailor Moon's black guardian cat named Luna. It is playfully designed to create a cat face silhouette and is decorated with Luna's trademark crescent moon.

Long wallets are also being produced by Samantha Vega. These wallets, named "Sailor Guardians Long Wallet," come in lovely pastel colors and have a sailor suit theme as design. Other accessories include "Sailor Guardians Mini Multicase" and a "Sailor Moon Baby G Watch." Isetan will also collaborate with fashion brand Anna Sui for t-shirts.

MegaHouse just brought the kawaii level of "Sailor Moon" themed items to the highest level with its "1/10 Usagi Tsukino" statue. It stands at approximately 10 inches tall and depicts Usagi in her Juban Jr. High School uniform as well as with her transformation broach.

Sailor Mercury, also known as Ami Mizuno, also has a statuette in her tribute. It also features her in her school uniform along with her gentle smile and calm demeanor. However, unlike Usagi's figure, she only stands at 6 inches in height.

Anime series "Sailor Moon" is based on the Japanese manga of the same name which is written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. Its immense success allowed the story to be developed into 3 feature films, 1 TV special, 3 short films as well as a live-action TV adaptation. Plenty of companies have also developed official merchandise for the series such as trading card games, video games, collections of soundtracks and action figures.

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Making Apple’s Watch Fashionable

For Apple’s Watch to work, the company will need to harness an ecosystem of fashion and accessories designers as well as an ecosystem of app developers.

Apple is clearly making efforts to engage with the fashion world. Immediately following Monday’s special event in San Francisco, the company revealed to BoF that its forthcoming Apple Watch will be sold at custom-designed shop-in-shops at luxury department stores Selfridges, Galeries Lafayette and Isetan, as well as at speciality retailers Dover Street Market (London and Tokyo), Colette (Paris), The Corner (Berlin), 10 Corso Como (Milan) and Maxfield (Los Angeles).

But the design of Apple’s Watch needs work.

Set to ship in April, the device will surely generate significant buzz and good upfront sales. But in order to sell at the volumes required to satisfy investors, the Apple Watch will have to work as a fashion accessory as well as a tech device.

Consumers don’t expect all that much from the aesthetics of their technology devices, allowing a design-focused company like Apple to eclipse competitors with clean and elegant products like the iPhone and iPad. But with the debut of the Apple Watch, a device worn on the body, the company is venturing into the fashion and accessories market. And fashion is very different ballgame.

In fashion, consumers demand a dizzying range of aesthetic options, which they use to send complex signals about their personal style and the social tribes to which they belong. What’s more, they demand these options at a tempo that far exceeds the pace at which consumer electronics companies release new devices.

Apple understands this. Unlike its approach to the monolithic iPhone and iPad, which both come in a very small range of aesthetic options, the company has put aesthetic customisation at the core of Watch, offering consumers a choice of two different screen sizes (38mm and 42mm), sixteen different straps (made from rubber, leather and steel) and six different watch casings: stainless steel, space gray stainless steel, aluminum, space gray aluminum, gold and rose gold. (In advance of the launch, an unofficial website called Mix Your Watch has popped up, allowing people to explore all the possible combinations).

Is this enough? As currently conceived, Apple Watch offers a framework for personal expression that is far more constrictive than what consumers have come to expect in the wider fashion and accessories market.

The iPhone and iPad have been huge success stories, not only because of the superior design of Apple’s hardware, but because the company turned them into platforms, enabling an ecosystem of third-party software developers to generate an explosion of apps that run on the devices and significantly extend and enrich their capabilities, an approach Apple is set to replicate with Watch.

But for Watch to succeed as a stylistic product — as well as a tech device — Apple will need to enlist a similar ecosystem of fashion and accessories designers to develop a much wider range of aesthetic options for the product, turning Apple Watch into a legitimate platform for fashion as well as apps.

For products like the iPhone, third parties have fueled a thriving accessories market comprised of everything from protective cases to health-tracking wristbands to special camera lenses, many of which are sold at Apple Stores. But for the Apple Watch to really work as a stylistic proposition, the company will need to go one step further, giving third-party fashion and accessories designers access to the device’s core components, including the strap and the casing.

Will the company embrace third-party designs of core Apple Watch components with an official ‘Made for Watch’ programme, much like the company’s ‘Made for iPhone’ and ‘Made for iPad’ (MFi) programmes, which certify products that are specifically engineered to be compatible with other Apple devices? Will they be sold in Apple Stores? The success of Apple Watch depends on it.

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