What’s trending
Everything currently moving in women’s accessories — where each trend came from, whether it has actually arrived, and what it costs to buy into. Including the ones on their way out.
Peaking now
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Peaking now
Burgundy is the new neutral
Deep wine has quietly taken the job black used to do — and it is easier to wear than it sounds.
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Peaking now
Top-handle bags, and why they change how you stand
Structured, compact, carried in the hand. The most formal thing you can do to an outfit without changing it.
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Peaking now
Beaded bags have stopped being just for weddings
Beadwork, embroidery and small jewelled bags — carried with denim, not just with a dress.
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Peaking now
The unstructured bag, and why it needs good leather
Buttery, frameless, meant to age. The one trend this season where the material is not negotiable.
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Peaking now
Clutches got strange, and better for it
A bag that holds a phone and a card, and exists to be looked at. The least practical thing here, deliberately.
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Peaking now
The flap bag is the safest buy of the season
The shape that has never actually been out. This year it comes puffier.
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Peaking now
Statement earrings are doing the work this season
Cascading drops, Art Deco shapes, hoops larger than you last wore. The cheapest way into the season.
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Peaking now
Pearls, but irregular and worn with denim
Uneven shapes, layered strands, no occasion required. Pearls have lost the formality.
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Peaking now
Beads, candy-coloured and deliberately mismatched
Chokers, sculptural pendants, bright resin. The most-is-more end of the jewellery box.
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Peaking now
Wearing it all at once
Heavy necklaces and statement earrings together — the combination that used to be a mistake.
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Peaking now
The cocktail ring, and why one is enough
A single oversized stone on one finger. The evening counterpart to this season’s earrings.
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Peaking now
The silk head scarf is the most 2026 thing you can do
Tied at the nape, folded as a headband, or knotted under the chin. Three completely different looks from one square of fabric.
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Peaking now
A belt with a buckle you can see across a room
Giant buckles, styled plainly over trousers and jeans. The cheapest way to give an outfit a waist.
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Peaking now
Bag charms outlasted everyone’s prediction
Written off as a passing joke two years ago. Still here, and now the cheapest way to change a bag you already own.
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Peaking now
The bow grew up
Satin, lace and velvet rather than grosgrain. The version that works past twenty-five is a material question.
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Peaking now
The bandana replaced the baseball cap
Vintage paisley, worn with good sunglasses. The bit of headwear that says you left the house on purpose.
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Peaking now
The genuinely enormous bag
Not a big bag. A comically large one, carried on purpose — and the shape most likely to wreck your shoulder.
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Peaking now
Western grew up: one element, not the whole outfit
The 2026 version is less costume and more wardrobe. One western piece against ordinary clothes is the whole method.
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Peaking now
The cowboy hat, and the crease that decides everything
Treated as a power accessory rather than fancy dress. The difference is almost entirely in the crown.
Rising
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Rising
The hobo bag came back and brought the 2000s with it
Curved, slouchy, worn high under the arm. If you owned one the first time round, you already know how to wear it.
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Rising
Fuzzy bags, and the one rule that keeps them out of novelty territory
Texture is the season and fur is the loudest version of it. Keep the shape boring.
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Rising
Animal print, and the case for anything but leopard
Zebra, python and cowhide are the fresher half of this. Leopard is the half everyone already owns.
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Rising
Zips and buckles as the whole design
Visible fastenings, oversized pulls, hardware left on the outside. Where inexpensive bags either win or lose badly.
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Rising
The brooch is the season’s surprise
Named the standout jewellery item of Fall 2026. Also the one hiding in your mother’s drawer.
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Rising
Gold with silver is now the current-looking choice
The rule about not mixing metals is gone, and matching everything is what now reads dated.
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Rising
The leather cord pendant, back from the nineties
A cord instead of a chain, with one charm, stone or medallion on it. Softer than metal and considerably cheaper.
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Rising
One wide cuff instead of five thin bangles
The wrist has gone from a stack to a single object. Quieter to wear and considerably louder to look at.
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Rising
Charms, initials and the return of jewellery that means something
Initials, birthstones and small objects that stand for something. The most-given accessory category there is.
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Rising
Shield sunglasses, and who they actually suit
Wide, wrapped, one continuous lens. The runway’s eyewear story — and a harder wear than it looks.
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Rising
Knitwear for your head and neck
Beanies and heavy knit scarves shown as fashion rather than as weather-proofing.
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Rising
Brims are getting bigger
Oversized face-framing brims on the runway, structured caps and leather buckets on the street.
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Rising
Coloured tights are a fashion decision again
Pea green, burnt orange, printed wool. The cheapest colour you can add to an autumn outfit.
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Rising
The scarf as a garment, not an afterthought
Big enough to change your silhouette rather than decorate it. Worn over the coat, not under it.
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Rising
Gloves as clothing, not as weather gear
Opera length on the runway, short leather in real life. Both are being worn as a layer rather than for the cold.
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Rising
Watches: yellow gold, smaller cases, coloured dials
The one accessory most women wear every day, and the one they think about least.
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Rising
Socks you are supposed to see
Pea green, burnt orange, nature-print wool. The two inches of ankle between shoe and hem is now doing work.
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Rising
Pink is being sold as a neutral. Is it?
Soft pink is one of the season’s key bag colours, and the neutral claim holds — but only for about half the pinks on sale.
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Rising
Two belts, worn at once
The Y2K revival’s most wearable idea: layering belts instead of choosing one.
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Rising
Turquoise and silver — and how to buy it honestly
The most beautiful thing in western dressing, and the one with real rules attached. Worth understanding before you spend anything.
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Rising
Fringe, refined
Movement is the whole point of it. Which is also why the length matters more than anything else.
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Rising
The bolo tie is a necklace now
A cord, a slide and two metal tips. Worn with a shirt rather than a western outfit, it is the sharpest thing here.
Always works
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Always works
Headbands, claw clips and the case for the cheap accessory
Consistently among Amazon’s best-selling accessories, and the category where spending more buys the least.
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Always works
What people are actually buying: aviators, rectangles and 90s cat-eye
The runway says shield frames. The shopping data says something completely different, and it is worth knowing both.
On the way out
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On the way out
Raffia: buy it now, at the price it is now
A summer trend at the end of its summer. Which makes this the sensible month to buy one.
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On the way out
What’s not: the tiny gold chain
Every source we read this month says the same thing: minimalism is over. Here is what that actually means for a wardrobe you…
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On the way out
Shells, cowries and the last of the summer jewellery
Oversized spiral pendants, cowrie strands, turquoise. Peaked in July — which is precisely why it is worth buying in August.