Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with accessories

Brown dress, what colour accessories?

elkerette — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:26:06 -0800

I have an awesome brown dress to wear to a fancy office holiday party, but don't know what to do next in terms of shoes, tights (?) and accessories. Mefi Fashion Police to the rescue! I am the owner of a great little brown cocktail dress. The colour can best be desrcribed as a medium chocolate-brown that leans ever so slightly to the warm end. My fiddling around with Microsoft Paint can best approximate the colour using the Red-Green-Blue scale as R: 100, G: 65 and B: 10. It has deep curved-v neck, three quarter sleeves, and comes down to about 2.5 centimeters above my knee.

I have worn this dress before, but always in the summer. Then, I went bare-legged, wore light black dress sandles and accessorized with a cream, oversized chunky graduated-bead necklace. It looked awesome, IMHO.

However, now that it is December in Toronto, I have some issues with revitalizing the look for winter.

Question 1:

Can I wear opaque black tights and *very* cute black kitten-heeled shoes with this dress? The rule generally is no black with brown, right? Does this mean I should go bare-legged with a different coloured shoe?

Question 2:

If I can't wear black shoes, what colour should I wear?

Question 3:

If I can wear the black tights and black shoes with this dress, can I still wear my cream coloured necklace and earrings? If I wear a different coloured shoe, can I wear the accessories?

Thank you mefites!

My wife doesn't like the cord on her earbuds...

judomadonna — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:24:09 -0800

...so can anyone recommend a pair of earbuds with a cord that looks like a capital y (Y), not a lowercase y (y)?

If I had a hammer...

Pomo — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:36:44 -0800

Where can I buy a hammered-silver, round mirror for a Christmas gift? I know this is rather specific, but I have Googled, EBayed, and Etsied my heart out and checked every home decor store in town.

The mirror should be fairly large (to fill the space above a mantel), round, and of course by "silver" I mean silver-coloured not the actual metal. I want that hammered look as shown on this
piece of jewelry, only in a mirror frame.

Ideally, I'd rather not spend more than $200, and would need to source it in British Columbia, Washington State, or online.

Let's play dress up!

mostlybecky — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:45:25 -0800

Help me (a female with basically no female friends to ask) accessorize this red cocktail dress! (hair & jewelry) I'm headed to a midday fall wedding in a week and after some fruitless, perfectionist dressing shopping here (in Boston), I settled on wearing my recently-found "back-up dress." 2 pics. Chiffon, ruched bust and middle, satin empire waist, layered, fishtail. I am 5'11. I have a subdued gold pashmina, gold strappy sandals on the way, and a gold clutch. I just need to figure out jewelry, makeup, and hair! I have medium length wavy hair with tapered side-swept bangs (can be pinned back), but - and maybe it's because I've looked at the dress pictures too many times - I really like the headband idea, perhaps a gold one with blown out hair? Very mod; to much Mad Men for me. (I'd like to keep my hair down rather then up and slicked to the side.) All curly? However I don't want to look costumey. I want to look tasteful yet fabulous.
Pendant? (I have a 1" gold heart with silver scrolls in it with matching non-dangly earrings very similar to this but bigger) or a larger design? Wide collar style? Choker? Some gold bangle bracelets? I basically have none of these things, so it's hard for me to experiment. Please, I'm pretty much a helpless tomboy, but I'd love your ideas, links to pictures, suggestions for shapes, to give me an idea of what I could hunt for locally to dress this outfit up. I'd like to look nice... I have very few friends, all of which will be there.

Note: I will be dancing my ass off, probably. Poofy bangs and/or complicated hair may not make it past 30 min.

Help me find these awesome 1960s-style shades!

ishotjr — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:28:13 -0800

Can anyone ID the sunglasses Betty Draper wears in the Mad Men episode that aired on Sept. 27 or suggest similar ones? Photo link inside. I don't actually watch Mad Men (yet), but I read the blog Project Rungay and one of the shows they recap is Mad Men. The picture at the top of this blog entry shows the sunglasses I'm looking for. I know it's very likely that they're vintage. If anyone either knows the brand of the sunglasses or knows of some similar ones available today, it'd be very helpful in my fashion quest.

Wherefore art thou, sunglasses?

Juliet Banana — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:36:49 -0800

I broke my boyfriend's sunglasses while wrestling (no, really). I'm looking for another pair; shape is more important than color. They were purchased at Rag-o-Rama, which is basically the same as Buffalo Exchange or maybe Plato's Closet for hipsters. We no longer live anywhere near Rag, and I'll be sneaking off to sleuth out the local (Lakeview Chicago) resale shops, but I KNOW I've seen glasses like this online.

I've already checked every embarrassing store I can think of that sells cheap accessories for teenagers...Fred Flare, Delia*s, Pac Sun, Wet Seal, Hot Topic, F21, Target...if you can think of stores that sell cheap trendy sunglasses but are too lazy to check their stock, just mention the name.

These are pretty close, but seem too small. These are better, but his only other pair of sunglasses (which he doesn't like as much as the ones I broke, of course) are pink.

They're not Wayfarers. A replacement doesn't have to be exact, but he likes the fact they're larger and rounder than Wayfs, not too girly, and are brightly colored with dark (not mirrored, not clear) lenses. It seems like I saw this style everywhere UNTIL I HAD TO FIND IT, so if you know how to describe the frames, plz do tell kthx.

Best office ever?

1f2frfbf — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:44:44 -0800

What office accessories can you not live without? I have finally become important enough to have my own office, now I need to accessorize it. I'm an all-purpose creative type (video, graphic design, etc) in a very conservative field (health care). My computer stuff, a chair and a desk will be provided, but I have a blank slate as far as anything else. I'm already planning on getting a giant white board, but what else will I need/want? I'm looking for anything from the useful to the fun.

Keep in mind: 1) I'll paying for it myself, and 2) I can't do anything too crazy.

(sort of previ ously)

So I wanna buy a watch

like_neon — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:52:43 -0800

I want to buy a watch. I don't know where to start. So I want a watch. I am pretty sure I want it to be metal with a square face but that's about all I know. I'd like it to be classy rather than trendy. Other related questions were either out of my budget or possibly talking about men's watches and I'm not sure if that makes a difference (I'm a woman).

The budget is about 300 British pounds (or let's say $500).

What brands would be good? Where would I find them? (what should I avoid?)
When I try them on what am I supposed to be looking for?

This is in the UK but I can even wait til Christmas to try to buy in the States. No rush, just want something good quality and lasting.

Looking for Moleskine notebook accessories.

bamassippi — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:21:01 -0800

Looking for Moleskine notebook accessories. Looking for Moleskine accessories (from the cheap to the luxurious) for my 5" x 8" Moleskine. I write all the time and

- carrying cases
- pens
- pen holders
etc.

iPhone Running Setup Gear

ewiley28 — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:02:05 -0800

I'm looking for advice on the right way to get set up for running with an iPhone in terms of gear/accessories. Specifically, I'm looking for explicit product recommendations for cases and earpieces. I think I'd like a case that I can wrap around my arm and definitely want a water resistant case. I don't care about being able to advance songs or anything -- it's fine if the list just plays through. I'm thinking corded earphones are the best option because this allows flexibility for listening to music and if I can get one with the iPhone button, ability to deal with calls. What's the best setup to run with the iPhone, thinking calls, music, security and the like??

Help a fat girl wear belts!

timetoevolve — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:52:55 -0800

Plus-size ladies, how do you wear your belts? I am a big girl who has never worn belts, but I am interested in trying out the look. For an example, I think this is a super-cute look, but I'm not sure if/how it would work on me.

Considerations:

-I am on the tall side (5'9"), very long-waisted, and comparatively short-legged. The ideal belt placement I'd like to attain would make my sausage legs look longer without making me look like Grandpa Simpson.
-I am of pretty equal proportion on top and bottom, and quite busty (DD creeping toward E).
-I am, at least in Lane Bryant-sized clothing, anywhere from a 24 to a 28.
-I read and like fatshionista, but sometimes the advice is a little too young/gothy for my style aesthetic. (I do buy some accessories from Torrid, however.)

Savvy accessorizers, please help me navigate the jungle of belts!

Help an editor get organized with plugs and accessories

captainscared — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:43:27 -0800

I am a Final Cut editor working on a first-class Mac Pro. But since I work at a shop with three other editors, I always seem to be hunting for various cords and cables (headphone splitters, rca to quarter-inch connectors, DV deck firewire cables, etc). I'd like to create something like a first-aid bag for myself, complete with all the accessories I seem to lose time searching for - like a CF card reader. My question is what would you put in the bag and what kind of small, manageable bag would you use. Links welcomed. Thanks.

Girly girl shopping for manly things...

EmpressCallipygos — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:01:04 -0800

Gifts-for-men filter: don't worry, I know generally what I want to get, I'm just looking for specific item suggestions/brand names for a) a person who needs gloves, and b) a person who occasionally likes cigars. For Christmas this year, I'm being cute and going with "I'm knitting you something and buying you something to go with it" -- I make the tea cozy for Mom and buy the teapot to match, etc. I'm going to try to buy the things for my father and brother this weekend, and have a GENERAL idea what to get for them both, but don't know enough of the specifics about what I had in mind for each of them. So to that end:

1. My brother is moving back east to Massachusetts after a few years in Los Angeles, so I've made him a hat and would like to get him gloves for the "now that you need cold weather stuff again..." factor. But I don't want to get just basic gloves -- I want the Cadillac of gloves (or, as good as I can get for $20). Something he can shovel the driveway with and also use for the occasional ski trip or playing in the yard with my niece. Since I make my own gloves, I don't know firsthand -- what is the height of glove technology? Down insultation? Polartec? Leather? What are the best kind of gloves I can get for $20? (Bonus points if they come in Navy Blue.)

2. In his dotage, my father has decided to treat himself to the occasional cigar (like, maybe, one a month -- yes, he knows the health risks, but the guy's pretty damn near indestructible). I'm already making him a pair of fingerless gloves (so he can light his cigar on the back porch without freezing his hands), but is there some cigar-related gadgety thing I can get to go with that? A lighter? A cutter? Again, working with a $20 limit here.

Thanks.

Where to find desk and office pretties?

alpha_betty — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:35:47 -0800

Where to find pretty and unusual desk and office accessories? I'm about to start a new job with a new desk and a new area to decorate. My old job did not allow for much personalization, so I'm pretty much starting from scratch. I want to accessorize my desk with pretty, colorful and professional items (e.g. pencil cup, business card holder, etc.) that coordinate, but have run into a wall when it comes to where to buy these items. I'd like to find something more unusual than the typical black, leather, or wire mesh things you see in most offices. Aside from SeeJaneWork and Red Stamp, what are some online shops where I might find what I'm looking for?

Teacher needs cheap iPod speaker with remote for classroom, recommendations?

unclezeb — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:34:28 -0800

Ipod speaker filter: 4th grade teacher has ipod to play tunes in her classroom, but needs speakers. What do you suggest for (1) less than $75, (2) with remote, (3) loud enough to fill a classroom with 30 students, and (4) works with a 5th gen 80gb ipod? Ms. Unclezeb teaches in Richmond's "Iron-Triangle" and loves giving her students good music options with positive messages (while not sucking) and other tunes to help them focus during exams. She's been interested in an ipod for a while and I've ordered her one that will be able to hold her music collection for years to come.

But I need the help of the hivemind to figure out how to get the music from the ipod to her students!

Requirements:
(1) Hopefully less than $75 - I can bargain hunt to get lower prices, but spending less than $75 is the goal.
(2) With a remote - she'll need to be able to stop, skip, etc while moving around the room, so a remote is a must. Also, it can then be placed high up enough that kids won't be tempted to make the ipod their own.
(3) Loud - it would have to be able to fill a room that has tall ceilings (over 11' tall) and is about 25' x 18'. Not concerned about power at all ends of the sound spectrum, but limited distortion would be nice.
(4) Must work with her ipod classic that's in the mail (I believe this is a 5.5th generation model, please correct me if I'm wrong).

Optional but desirable:
(5) Operational under battery power (but must be able to plug-in in the classroom)
(6) Bigger isn't bad - less of a temptation to students if it's too big to fit in a backpack.

Under consideration thus far:
JBL OnStage II
Intempo IDS-01
iLive ISPK2806BLK
iLive IBCD3817DT Portable Boombox with iPod Docking Station
iLive iHM8816DT Home Music System with DVD/CD
iH9 White Alarm Clock
Satechi (Black) Dock Station Stereo Round Speaker

Tell me what you recommend (or which of my ideas are terrible) if you have a minute, thanks for helping with her surprise gift!

How to power a Canon EOS from the grid?

lord_yo — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:09:45 -0800

Where can I find a AC power adapter (not battery charger!) for the Canon EOS / Digital Rebel series? I've built an intervalometer to shoot time-lapse series with my Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi in the US); it works great, but my camera battery goes dead a long way before my memory card is full. Now I'm looking for a way to power the camera via an AC adapter. USB via the digital plug doesn't seem to work, as it blocks the camera's OS.

Are there any AC adapters for the EOS series? Not a battery charger - but a device to plug the camera into the power grid?

DIY solutions are fine too - I just don't want to solder anything into my camera.

Difference between a bag and a purse?

TheOnlyCoolTim — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:06:36 -0800

What is the difference between a purse and a bag? It is 11 PM on Friday and I need to know this. My friend has a bag which I say is a purse. When I saw it I thought at first it was some girl's purse. Men can carry purses, and purses are subsets of bags, but let's have a logical definition.

My theory is that a purse is accessed while being carried/worn, while backpacks and messenger bags, for example, are generally removed before opening.

Cool accessories for a dude

mpls2 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:35:54 -0800

I'm looking for cool accessories. I'm a 29 y/o guy. I'm looking for fashion accessories that are interesting and unique, but not very outlandish. A little outlandish is okay. Or websites that sell such things.

Thanks!

A Fatal Attraction to Cuteness

Metroid Baby — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:07:28 -0800

My favorite styles of clothing and accessories tend to be whimsical, cute, and generally suited to children or teenagers... but I’m in my late twenties. I obviously need to outgrow this eventually, but I’m not sure when or how. I love wearing things that are fun. I love cute. I love bright colors. I love Hello Kitty, neon eyeshadow, Claire’s Accessories, and dinosaur shoelaces. I even love Hot Topic. If there were no dress codes, I’d wear lobster-print pajama pants or deliberately mismatched flip-flops everywhere I went. This is not to say I can’t dress myself appropriately: I do have suits, and various Ann Taylor separates for work, but I don’t really like wearing them. I generally have the good sense not to do a full tilt boogie Harajuku Rainbow Brite Punky Brewster rollerskating in drag in space ensemble, but I like putting on a clump of plastic bracelets or a smidge of glitter eyeliner if I go out.

I have always known, in the back of my head, that the day will come when I can no longer pull off. I fear that day may be coming faster than I’m ready for, or that it may already be here. As much as I love Betsey Johnson’s spirit, I’m probably not going to be able to pull off her look at 35, never mind 65.

When is the time to put the cute stuff away and start dressing one’s age? Is it a numerical age, a change in one’s life (such as becoming a parent or getting a promotion), or the point when you start to notice wrinkles? Or is it one of those "I know it when I see it" things? Was it in fact five years ago, and no one told me? I very much doubt I’m going to wake up one morning, look at my closet of glitter and pink, and say, "Gee, I’m just too old for this and I don’t feel like wearing it anymore."

And how can I let the kiddie fashion go without tears? I have eclectic tastes and a good eye for style, so I know I’ll probably find things to wear that are both appealing and age-appropriate, but sometimes that plastic jewelry really does seem like the only thing standing between me and a slow slide into corporate casual, mom-jeans, three-shades-of-beige sartorial senility. And I can’t just decide to stop liking Hello Kitty… or can I?

(Please, please, please do not suggest that I watch "What Not to Wear" – even though I admit they sometimes have okay advice, overall I hate that show, I frequently disagree with their taste and half the time I’ve seen it they’re trying to get some poor soul to wear a blazer and heels to the supermarket.)

Help with black tie event accessories for the style impaired

pitseleh — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:45:13 -0800

I have to attend a black tie gala on Saturday. Help with accessories, please! I have a form-fitting, knee length, black cocktail dress to wear, but from what I've heard about last year's event, I'm concerned the dress may not be formal enough. It's sleeveless, with one-inch straps on the shoulders and a somewhat low neckline. It has ruching on the front and back, but otherwise is very simple. You can see a picture of it here.

I have two questions: (1) What kind of shoes and jewelry should I wear to dress it up, while keeping it fun? (2) What can I do to keep warm, since it's supposed to be far below freezing that night? If it helps, I'm 29 and the event is a law firm party.

Bike accessories, without going overboard?

c0nsumer — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:58:42 -0800

After seven years without a bike, and a year of wanting to ride every few days, I finally gave in and bought a bike. I have a helmet, but now I need some suggestions as far as accessories go. I picked up a 2008 Specialized Rockhopper Disc about a week ago and I'm trying to figure out which other bits would be useful with it, without going overboard.

I live in Southeast Michigan, with pretty good access to loads of converted railways (Rails-to-Trails type stuff), dirt trails, paved paths, and bikeable sidewalks (suburban, barely used by pedestrians). Most of my riding will probably be on dirt, gravel, and rough pavement, with no in-road stuff (riding in roads scares me, as I've had too many local friends hit by inattentive drivers). I can see myself easily doing 25 - 50 miles in a go once the weather turns nicer. (For now I'm sticking with 5 - 10 miles, just because I'm getting familiar with riding again, and the cold isn't that comfortable.)

Thus far I have a helmet, water bottle, and cage for holding the bottle and a mount for my GPS (an old Garmin eTrex Legend) is en route. I plan on getting a bell (Incredibell), and I'd like to get a bike computer, but I would like some suggestions as to which one to get. Wireless sounds nice, and I figure that basic things like time, odometer(s), speed, average speed, and maybe ambient temperature would be good. I don't think I have a need for cadence.

I plan on getting Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance, and while I've got plenty of tools here at home, I figure some small tools to take with would be a good thing. The CrankBrothers multi-17 tool has been recommended to me, along with some manner of plastic tire tool.

I imagine a small bag for my ID, phone, some money, the tools, and such is needed, but what sort do you suggest? What about a pump, rear lights (blinking red) or anything else?

While I don't want to say that cost isn't an issue, for small accessories I'd rather get the nicer tool or item up front, especially if the

Also, do you have any recommendations for online shops for these sort of accessories? The bike was purchased at a nice local shop, but for these sort of accessories I imagine there would be a much wider selection available online.

Anyone able to help identify an elusive women's scarf subspecies?

CKmtl — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 14:20:20 -0800

What would a women's square wool or fleece scarf be called? One of my relatives has been hinting at wanting one. However, I haven't been able to find anything online using those search terms. And when I've asked at stores/boutiques, they look at me like I've been hitting the crackpipe. She has one that she's had for quite a while (but it's not very warm). So it's not like she's imagining some winter accessory that never existed.

What I'm looking for is roughly the size of a square silk scarf, but made of a warmer material. The potential gift recipient wants something that could be folded diagonally in half, with the hypotenuse of the resultant triangle wrapped around her neck like a short scarf, and the rest of the triangle covering her upper back under her coat.

It's definately not a pashmina, although several stores have suggested them.

BackpackingFilter: What items are must-takes for South East Asia (or generally)?

UbuRoivas — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:13:57 -0800

BackpackingFilter: What items are must-takes for South East Asia (or generally)? First up: I am *not* talking about "backpacking" in the sense that Americans often seem to use it (hiking or trekking in the wilderness), but in the sense of travelling about independently, relatively lightly & cheaply as a tourist, mostly town to town.

OK, I've done this kind of travel at least a dozen times before (anything from four weeks to nine months at a time, normally in developing countries) and every time my list of things to take is refined just that little bit more. I'm now down to a pretty-much settled list of handy / indispensable items, but I wonder if there's anything I am missing that's just too good to leave home without.

I am thinking of the nifty kinds of things that make travelling life simpler or more comfortable on a day-to-day basis, things that can save me grief in emergencies, things that are adaptable to multiple uses, that are generally light & don't take up much space - that kind of idea.

To give a few examples, here are some of my standard items:
* swiss army knife - enough said
* keyring with mini compass & tiny LED torch (for finding way around town / to toilet during a blackout)
* shiny emergency survival blanket (for unexpectedly chilly overnight transport or in case of extremely disgusting but unavoidable mattresses)
* light cotton sarong (to wear to the shower, cover nose & mouth against dust or particularly stinky toilets, use as a makeshift curtain or sunshade & 1001 other uses)
* 1.5L aluminium bottle (to decant bottled water into & avoid the bottle leaking & soaking everything in my daypack)
* gaffer tape (2002 uses)
* sturdy ziplock bag (to avoid leaving essentials like passport, tickets & currency lying around when going for a shower)

Anybody have any handy suggestions, along the lines above?

SLR camera accessories?

gnutron — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:52:25 -0800

GiftFilter: My wife just treated herself to a nice SLR digital camera. I'd like to gift her some accessories or books to help her realize the camera's true potential. The camera in question is a Canon EOS Rebel XTI. It came with a telephoto lens, camera bag and UV filter. As far as accessories go, I was considering a gorillapod, a macro lens or other type of lens, or some interesting and informative books. Please recommend some cool stuff to enhance her photographing experiences!

Help me accessorize this dress for a 3pm fall wedding in CT

RobotHeart — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 08:36:01 -0800

Help me accessorize this dress for a 3pm fall wedding in CT. I have about 10 days to obtain what I need. I got this dress in chocolate. I would have preferred the grape, but it wasn't available. I technically bought it for the wedding, but don't think it's exactly ideal. Nevertheless I bought it -- it'll work for other occasions, and it's one of few dresses that fit properly on my weird little body. (I am 5'3", short-waisted, full in the tummy and also a bit heavy in general, heavy-busted with a pacemaker scar I'm not ashamed of but would prefer not be my primary accessory for the evening. My body can make certain perfectly awesome things look frumpy/matronly. FYI -- I am 23.)

One of the reasons I am not sure it's ideal is that this wedding will be populated, I would guess, mostly by people about 25-35, who are educated but far from stuffy. It's possible the majority of the women will show up in slightly more casual attire, maybe in punchier colors and/or the occasional print.

I'm looking for advice regarding shoes, jewelry, and some kind of sweater etc, nudging me towards slightly more casual. (Oh! And Spanx. I know nothing about them except that I need them to make the awkward transition between my hips and my ass less lumpy.) I'm too klutzy for slitettos and would prefer to keep the majority of my toes covered if I can, because I dislike them, but I understand that's not always stylistically possible :)

I have to be able to obtain these items within about 10 days. You can leave pictures and links along the lines of "this is the kind of thing you'll want to look for when shopping," but bonus points if you can tell me a place to find a particular item on Cleveland (OH)'s east side suburbs. I'm on the Cuyahoga/Lake Cty line, and I'm willing to go as far east as Mentor, and as far south as Solon.