Fashion> Hand Accessories

Image: Bracelets & rings
Image by: Dale Gillard

Text by: Tanya Munshi

All you want to know about hand accessories

Style need not be confined to just the clothes you wear or your hairdo. Accessories can help complete your dress -- some may even make or break an outfit. For example, a plain dress in black could look cheap or chic depending on the accessories you wear. Big gaudy earrings or a loud necklace would make an outfit look anything but chic.
Here we take a look at some of the hand accessories like watches, bangles, bracelets, bands and rings, and how to team them up with an outfit.

Watches
Rashi Barwal, a fashion designer, says women can easily mix and match their watches with their clothes and jewellery. "For college or a date, girls can wear pink straps that go well with casuals or choose from a variety of colours," she says.

~ For traditional outfits, women can wear ornamental gold or silver watches that look more like bracelets and bangles. These watches should be light.

~ For casual or party wear, women can try wearing square watches or zig zag ones with colourful dials ranging from pinks to purples.

~ For formal wear, ladies can wear off-white dials or black ones to go with their evening gowns. However, it's best to reserve white dials for ethnic wear, as it compliments traditional attire beautifully.

~ Choose gold watches with oval instead of round faces; oval is very in right now.

~ Overweight women should avoid wearing sleek or thin straps as this accentuates the chubbiness of their wrists. Thicker watches with broad straps will look better.

~ Thin women should wear sleek watches and slim watches. Sleek watches look best with saris.

Men
~ For a casual look, stick to military green or black watches for a macho look. Such watches also come with canvas straps, which help to absorb sweat."Chunky watches look good on young men who tend to wear loose jeans and t-shirts," says Barwal. Shadaab Razak, a Dubai-based fashion consultant, says these young men (usually college students) prefer leather, silver or copper straps to flashy gold or platinum bracelets. "These are usually inspired by the watches worn by action stars or models," says Razak.

~ "For formal wear, avoid wearing plastic straps and digital watches, as these are not in fashion right now. Keep digital watches for sports wear only," says Barwal. For formals, the three-dial watch known as the Chronograph is very in and goes well with casuals as well as formals.

~ Pair jackets or business suits with thick, heavy, square or round metallic watches that are not shiny. Metallic straps are available in different combinations of gold and silver or gold and platinum. Avoid leather straps. Gold or platinum watches in matte finish are the best.

~ For sports wear, watches should be thick and heavy looking (only in looks, mind you). Heavy watches are passe. Choose the watch according to the activity -- swimming, diving, parachute and sailing. There are watches for almost every sporting activity. For instance, a water resistant watch is ideal for swimming while one with a compass is used for sailing.

~ For dials, men can choose from black, white or silver. Men usually don't wear colourful dials.
~ Avoid shiny watches as they are outdated. Metallic watches should have a matte finish. "However, it's okay to wear pure gold watches to traditional weddings," says Barwal.

~ As straps for men usually come in broad sizes, there isn't much difference if he you are overweight or thin.

Bracelets
For a casual look, girls can wear plastic or beaded bracelets in natural, pastel or bright colours. Hand-woven thread bracelets as well as metallic ones that open from one side are also very fashionable. For the finish, light pearl and matte silver make definite style statements.
Girls can also wear plain gold or silver bracelets studded with semiprecious stones, which look good with traditional or party wear.

Men
~ Bracelets with silver or gold, matte finish. These are usually in the form of a chain and are a little thicker than a woman's bracelet. Check out Salman Khan's thick silver bracelet with a turquoise blue stone.

~ Gold or silver bracelets are usually seen on married men and more so in traditional events like a wedding.

Bangles
For a casual look, women can wear oval, polka dot or flower printed plastic bangles. These can come in square, heart, curvy or zig zag shapes in different colours. Make sure they are sleek. For a unique style statement wear a bunch of six bangles on only one hand. Pastel shades of bangles in wood, plastic or glass are very in right now.

~ Silver bangles, kadas and fancy looking glass bangles with transparent or frosted finish look really fashionable. You can try wearing a bunch of five or six in sleek pastel shades for a complete style statement. As for glass bangles, you can wear a thick one in oval or square.

Men
~ Except for traditional kadas made of gold, silver or copper, men don't usually wear bangles.

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Bands
Livestrong bands (yellow, white or red, with a social message -- for example, an anti-AIDS slogan -- embossed on it), or friendship bands are very popular with young people.
"You can choose accessories on the basis of colour and design -- red and black or grey and black are some of the colours available in this range. You will notice a lot of men wearing red, plastic friendship bands as well," says Barwal.

Men
~ Men tend to wear leather bands with rivets (metallic holes) or metallic buttons with leather thread stitched over them.

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Rings
Silver or oxidized (with a black finish) rings with semiprecious stones are very fashionable. Glass and and heavy stone rings are also popular with young women.

~ For parties, a heavy studded stone ring looks good. Check out the one sported by Priyanka Chopra in the movie Salaam-e-Ishq.

~ Rings with birthstones are decided by the astrologer, so you might have limited choice in deciding the stone.

~ Avoid wearing fancy glass rings or those embedded with heavy stones to work.

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Men
~ Rings for men usually are of heavy metal, wood, leather and skull shaped. These are alright for a casual look, but best avoided for formal dos or the office.

~ Married men should stick to plain, golden wedding bands. A solitaire can be added but it's best to stick to plain white or gold band. No garish designs, please!

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How to choose your accessories
Now that you know about the types of hand accessories available, it's time to find out how to choose the right one for you.

Razak offers some tips:
~ Pick your accessories from a reputed store. Insist on a guarantee card. Check the corners or joints for rust. Make sure the bangles or bracelet you buy is of good quality. The metal should not erode or rust. It should not leave any residue on your skin.

~ You need not spend a bomb on your hand accessories. You can avail of good imitation gold, silver or platinum accessories from Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle and Westside. Most jewellery stores also offer a range of popular imitation hand accessories to suit your budget and style.

~ Check your wrist size. If you are plump and healthy and have thick wrists, choose something slim or shiny. Not only will it add glamour to your attire but also it won�t weigh you down, as heavy jewellery often tends to do.

~ At any given time, men should wear only one item on their wrists -- either a wrist band or a bracelet, never both.

~ Take proper care of your accessories. Avoid perfume while cleaning and always use a soft, clean flannel cloth. Silver can be left overnight in water with some detergent. Clean thoroughly with a flannel cloth the next morning. Pure gold doesn't usually need much cleaning, though you can take it to a reliable jeweller for polishing, if required.

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Published in Rediff.com, on February 27, 2007.

Link: http://specials.rediff.com/getahead/2007/feb/27sld1.htm