Why do women who collect shoes and purses like Imelda Marcos and Jackie Onassis struggle to expand their accessories beyond these mainstays? Maybe they just need some inspiration.
And spring's offerings should provide it.
"The well-dressed Cleveland woman has always known that fashion is about accessorizing with more than just matching shoes and purses," says Bonnie Chernikoff, owner of Bonnie's Goubaud in Woodmere, who has been involved with the family accessory business for 40 years.
For spring, her store carries brightly colored jelly handbags, enamel rings with interchangeable bands, stretch belts and a collection of Eric Javits hats, shoes and multicolored "canoe" bags. "Spring is really all about color," she says. "And the wonderful thing is that you can choose to dress monochromatically or add just a hint of color."
Among her picks for the season's hottest accessories, Divine Saleh, owner of Divine Boutique in Mayfield Heights, recommends oversized brooches, extra-long scarves and tiny timepieces. Silk-flower brooches and hair accessories add a color splash without overdoing it, she says. Long scarves, in a variety of fabrics and styles, double as head-wraps and belts. Finger-sized ring-watches made of jelly plastic in tasty flavors are hot sellers right now.
Neon hues — reminiscent of 1980s style — are back with a vengeance, adds Saleh. "Everyone should have something in fuchsia pink for spring," she says.
Last fall, Irenka Jakubiak, editor at Accessories magazine in New York, predicted that all shades of pink would remain popular through spring 2004. Judging by the amount of pink everything stocking the shelves at mass marketers and upscale department stores, pink is here to stay — for another season at least.
Pink's popularity has even influenced the more traditional world of eyeglasses and fine jewelry.
Simona Davis, an owner of Europtical in Rocky River, recently returned from her yearly buying trip to New York City with a forecast for colored spectacles and "a return to big-frame sunglasses for spring and summer 2004." Expect more black-and-white color combinations and combining metal and plastic for a futuristic look, Davis adds.
Pink diamonds? "Yes, big. Pink, blue and yellow diamonds are very hot right now," says Lenny Strnad, owner of Vivid Jewelers in Bay Village. He says prices for the colorful rocks are similar to or just a little higher than white diamonds.
Will pink lose its appeal by next fall? Word on the street is that all shades of that most un-hip hue — purple — will emerge as the new pink.
