The Shoes, Bags & Jewellery That Stop My Basic Outfits From Feeling Boring

The secret sauce is *all* in the accessories...

Shout out to Xue, who asked the following question in this month’s Style Clinic…

“Indyx has made me realise the power of accessories in changing up an outfit’s vibe - would you be up for doing an accessories deep dive? Shoes, bags, jewellery… how do you build a collection that’s diverse enough to give you options? Especially for shoes and bags, I’ve realised mine are all the same ‘vibe’.”

My answer? This post! And it’s pretty mega. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that it’s the shoes, bags and jewellery that I wear and own that stop my pretty basic outfits from feeling well, boring. It’s where I’ve gone wrong in the past. I’ve piled basics on basics with more basics, and the whole thing just falls flat. It’s about adding texture, broadening the palette and learning how to dial up and down the volumes of different vibes and moods that’s going to add interest and add up to an outfit that you feel sings to you.

For me the first step was defining my three words à la Allison Bornstein:

• Classic - basics, comfort, timeless

• Polished - elevated, refined, tailored

• Undone - relaxed, oversized, organic

  • Animal print - a little modifier that I add in that helps to bring personality to outfits, add texture and make it feel more ‘me’.

In terms of how I incorporate these words into my outfits, my outfit bases always feel quite classic - ultimately, I love my basics. Think jeans and a T-shirt, linen trousers and a crew-neck cashmere jumper. I don’t tend to veer too much off that path. But it’s with my shoes, bags and jewellery that I can dial the other words up or down. Jeans and a t-shirt feel quite basic - albeit classic - but when you add a sculptural gold earring (polish), a woven leather bag (undone) and a leopard print flat (animal print) into the mix, it starts to feel a whole less boring, and it speaks to all three words.

• SHOES—Whereas my bags and jewellery tend to focus more on one of my three words, with shoes, I feel like I have options for each of them. Some feel quite classic and formal, others more polished and chic and then some more undone and good for dressing things down a little. I also have some fun animal print options to add texture.

• BAGS—The bags that I own tend to add an undone feel to my outfits. Although I have smooth leather options that feel more classic and polished and do wear those often, it’s the more textured non-black bags that I reach for the most, especially in the summer when I want to lean into a more relaxed vibe.

• JEWELLERY—I have a few pieces that add a bit of chill and undoneness to my outfits, but I mostly turn to my jewellery for polish. Like jeans and a T-shirt, but with a great chunky earring? That is what feels right for me.

So here are my top picks for each category and how I work them into outfits to balance out my three words…