Create your own accessories

Glue guns, sewing kits, and craft stores are the gateways to an extensive and eclectic accessories wardrobe. Instead of spending a fortune following accessories trends, determine whether you can create some options yourself. InStyle magazine features a wonderful “do it yourself” piece that helps readers create their own versions of an accessory, including the tassel belt (explained below) in their April issue.

Here are some easy options to follow current accessory trends:

1. The tassel belt: While InStyle offers a step-by-step re-creation of this popular accessory, it can be as easy as walking into a fabric store. Gucci is currently featuring a beautiful tassel belt (pictured here), retailing at Saks for $690. You can purchase a stand-alone tassel anywhere from Pier 1 Imports (New Orleans has several locations, including the Riverside shopping center on Tchoupitoulas and the Elmwood shopping center in Harahan) to Promenade Fine Fabrics on St. Charles. Your best bet, however, is to find a curtain tie-back (available at stores like Hancock Fabrics, in Metairie, or Bed Bath & Beyond in Clearview Mall), which is a beautiful tassel attached to a thick cord, which can serve as a belt over a dress or a long silky top for a chic summer look. You can also get more ambitious with your belt, adding wooden beads to a tassel and attaching it to a cord by sewing it or glue-gunning it to the end of the cording.
2. Flower hair clips: To create floral hair accessories, first choose your hair clip: do you prefer headbands, bobby pins, clips, barrettes, or some other type? If you choose barrettes, first stop by Walgreens to purchase some inexpensive plain hair barrettes (the other hair items are available as well), which retail for as little as 2 sets of six barrettes for $4.00 (Studio 35, pictured in slideshow). Next, visit Michaels Arts & Crafts in the Elmwood Shopping Center, where you can choose from an extensive array of flowers, many of which are on sale. Choose a few different ones that you like – you can always make a second barrette or clip from the same stem for a friend. Cut the flower close to the blossom. You may first want to glue-gun a leaf or two from the flower onto the barrette, and then glue the blossom onto the leaves; or, you can just glue the blossom to the barrette.
3. Cameo jewelry: Cameo jewelry never really goes out of style because it has such a traditional, antique look to it. So many women inherit cameo necklaces or rings from their relatives, and the look also brings a kind of Regency elegance to an outfit. Yet cameo jewelry can be pricey. If you want authenticity, your best bet is to peruse the antique stores of Royal Street until you find a beautiful piece with a story behind it. But if you just want the look, check out Madame Delphine’s™ line of beads and pendants at Michael’s Arts & Crafts. You can purchase an inexpensive (but antique-looking) pendant and put it on a chain you already own, or you can buy earring backs or a plain ring and make it into something different. Another option: purchase some pearl beads at Michaels and create pearl-cameo necklace for a more upscale look.

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