Buying the perfect diamond ring while saving $1000’s

Buying a diamond engagement ring can be a risky business! For most of us an engagement ring is the third most expensive purchase we are likely to make, after our home and car. However I can guarantee you know much more about buying a home, or a car than you do about buying a diamond ring! This lack of knowledge opens up the opportunity for dishonest people to take advantage of you.

This generally takes the form of selling you a poor quality diamond ring for a higly inflated price.



How can you avoid the pitfalls?



There are some basic precautions you can take, which will significantly reduce the risk. Some of these include:



Get Educated - Research the subject of buying diamonds, in exactly the same way you would if you were buying a car. There is no substituted for this, and if you are willing to make the effort you can have more knowledge of the subject in 2 hours, than 95% of your fellow consumers.



Buy from a reputable source - Whether you decide to make your purchase online or at a Jewelry store, make sure you have some background on the store. Visit the store and ask the salesman questions to gauge his level of knowledge. I would suggest you avoid the Jewelry districts, simply because the competition is so fierce that it breeds questionable practices and half truths amongst the occupants.



Never buy a diamond without a certificate - Without a certificate you could quite easily buy a piece of glass set into an engagement ring setting and be non the wiser, but up to $5000 poorer. However a certificate alone does not guarantee a better deal, you need to be proficient in understanding exactly what it is telling you, and how each factor that is covered affects the price and quality of the ring...



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Jewelry - What’s Today’s Fashion Statement?

The appearance of jewelry has changed dramatically over the centuries, but the fact that men and women have sought beautiful things to adorn themselves hasn’t. From centuries ago, master craftsmen have woven precious stones and beautiful metals into designs fit for kings and queens.

Expanding technology over the past couple of centuries has wrought some important changes. Most notably, jewelry has become more intricate and elaborate. Custom designs are highly prized as more of the jewelry manufacturing is done by machine.

Materials have also changed. Instead of pure gold which is not always durable, chains and other jewelry are often made of tougher materials and plated with gold. New materials have also emerged, including titanium - one of the hottest new jewelry trends on the market.

Titanium comes in several colors, is very durable and - most importantly - is considered extremely fashionable.

Fashion trends are the most important thing to shape the jewelry industry. From one decade to another, the trends have changed. Often, jewelry trends reflect the ideas, passions and goals of the times. Who can forget the terrific jewelry of the 1960s and 1970s? The “peace sign,” “flower power” and other symbols of the “hippie era” were all the rage. And many of those designs are seeing a return to popularity, along with some of the clothing fashions of the day.

The stones of jewelry have also changed over the decades though some classics remain constant. Pearls, diamonds, emeralds and rubies have remained important. A half century ago, no self-respecting socialite had a jewelry box without a string of pearls - though some were faux pearls.

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The Most Collectible Names In Vintage Costume Jewelry

Vintage costume jewelry has become a highly collectible niche in the antiques and collectibles world. Here are some of the most collectible names in vintage costume jewelry and some background on them.

Weiss Created in 1942 by a former Coro company employee named Albert Weiss, Weiss has become one of the most popular and collectible names in vintage costume jewelry collecting. Weiss is synonymous with gorgeous and elegant rhinestone pieces including brooches, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Sadly, the Weiss company went out of business in 1971, therefore their pieces are very collectible and the most beautiful pieces including figurals like birds and animals routinely sell for high prices on auction sites and in both online and offline stores.

Watch out for reproductions of Weiss jewelry, many less knowledgeable sellers on eBay will sell a reproduction as a true Weiss. Real Weiss jewelry is of exceptional quality, you can often tell a fake from a real piece by viewing the details of the piece with a loupe. Also, some Weiss fakes have a textured backing, where real Weiss is very smooth. The stamp may also be offset or a bit difficult to read. Real Weiss generally has a strong stamp with clear lettering.

Eisenberg The Eisenberg company began in 1914 as an apparel company. Then sometime in the 1930's, they created and began to market jewelry pieces. Like Weiss, Eisenberg is known for high quality craftsmanship and for using high quality materials, including sparkling Austrian crystals. Their earliest pieces were marked as "Eisenberg Original" and later on they marked their pieces simply "Eisenberg" or "Eisenberg Ice". The Eisenberg company still makes jewelry today but obviously the older pieces are the most collectible.

For a time in the 1940's, Eisenberg used sterling silver in their pieces and any pieces in sterling silver are very collectible. Their pieces in sterling silver will be marked as such. Hobe Pronounced ho-bee, Hobe has been a name synonymous with fine quality costume jewelry since the 1920's. The Hobe family actually started making jewelry in France in the late 19th century, then William Hobe founded the official company when he came to the US from France in the late 1920's. Hobe jewelry is characterized by it's excellent quality of craftsmanship, usage of gold and silver plated settings and quality stones.

During Hollywood's golden age, Hobe jewelry was a favorite of Hollywood stars and their finest pieces could be seen adorning starlets wardrobe's in many classic movies. Hobe pieces were all marked, with the name Hobe typically stamped in a stylized Art Deco style script with an elongated H or B or in block letters. The original, family run Hobe company stopped producing jewelry in the early 1990's, however a Hobe company exists that still produces jewelry marked as Hobe up to today.

Coro The name Coro actually comes from an abbreviation of the original founders last names, which were Cohn and Rosenberger. The company was founded in New York around the turn of the century and later incorporated with the name Coro. The Coro company was one of the most, if not the most, prolific producer of costume jewelry in the 20th century. At one point during the 1920's, the company was said to have employed more than 2000 workers in producing their lines of costume jewelry. The Coro company prided itself on producing costume jewelry for a wide range of customers, and as a result you could find Coro pieces available in both a local five and dime store and also find finer Coro pieces in high end department stores.

Coro's finest pieces could certainly compare in craftsmanship, design and quality to well known, highly collectible names like Weiss and Eisenberg. Due to their massive production, Coro used well over 100 styles of marks, stamps and variations of marks on their jewelry, sometimes changing their marks every year. Coro also produced jewelry under other brand names such as Vendome, which is highly collectible, CoroCraft, Cellini, Francois among many others. Highly collectible Coro pieces include their famous "jelly belly" pieces, sterling silver pieces including those marked MEXICO and their "Coro Duette" line.

Other Collectible Names While these names are some of the most collectible names in costume jewelry, they certainly aren't the only collectible names. More collectible names include Art, Lisner, Napier, Trifari, Boucher, Miriam Haskell, Carnegie, Florenza, Kramer, Sarah Coventry, Schreiner, Van Dell, Whiting & Davis, Bogoff, as well as others.

By Ricky Alberta

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Ricky Alberta writes for Always Treasured Antiques & Collectibles, offering vintage costume jewelry, porcelain, glass and glassware, jewelry boxes and men's vintage jewelry. Visit us at: http://www.alwaystreasured.com/

Vintage Costume Jewelry: Wear Today And Sell For Profit Tomorrow

Vintage costume jewelry produced between 1910-1970 is now a hot collector's item despite being relatively inexpensive when first purchased. Unlike costume or fashion jewelry produced in places like India and China made in dizzying numbers and using poor quality materials in most cases, vintage costume jewelry continues to appreciate in value as demand continues to grow for a shrinking supply. Any of the costume or fashion jewelry pieces made today will not retain value and most likely will not last long due to shabby craftsmanship and inferior materials.

Manufacturers of vintage fashion jewelry include: Coro Eisenberg Weiss Coventry Trifari Antique costume jewelry is typically viewed as any piece of jewelry not manufactured with precious metals (yet it is common for pieces to be plated with a precious metal) or gemstones while also being mass produced and sold for relatively low cost. Despite costing relatively little when first launched, authentic costume jewelry manufactured between 1920-1970 can fetch some serious money on today's market.

In many cases, there are many pieces being sold in flea markets for a measly dollar but actually worth hundreds. There are three main things that help determine the value of authentic vintage pieces: Demand Stone/Gemstone Quality Craftsmanship Despite dozens of companies producing thousands of pieces annually, they produced jewelry in varying quantities. On the one hand, you had large players such as Coro and Trifari flooded the market with thousands of copies for each design.

On the other side of the coin there was: DeMario, McClelland, and Barclays who only produced much smaller volumes hence making them both rarer and enhancing their value. Generally speaking, a Coro necklace will have a lower market value than a Barclays piece. Doing your homework is important because times occurred when even the larger companies produced some designs in small quantities making them more valuable than typical pieces from the company.

The value of vintage fashion bracelets, rings, and other pieces is the quality of the stone. Among the dozens of manufacturers, there were companies that crafted pieces consistently using high quality stones and semi-precious gemstones, such as: Eisenberg Bogoff Weiss Hollycraft Eisenberg costume pieces are renowned for having superior quality stones so that makes it difficult to find a piece by them that is not already high-priced yet it is possible to find a cheap an unsigned one.

Focus your efforts on locating pieces by Weiss, Bogoff, and Hollycraft as they tend to be under priced on the market and will certainly be better investments with greater profit potential. In addition to materials, the quality of metal and craftsmanship affect the overall value of vintage jewelry. Those companies renown for superior craftsmanship include: Eisenberg Trifari Kramer Money Danecraft While the vintage jewelry is typically more expensive than similar fashion jewelry pieces made today, the great thing about the genuine costume jewelry is that it still looks great and it's a perfect investment opportunity.

You can enjoy the jewelry today, and sell it for a profit tomorrow—it's the perfect investment!

By Jon Kreps

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Jon Kreps is a vintage jewelry expert specializing in Cameo's, Native American Jewelry, and vintage costume jewelry

Vintage Costume Jewelry: An Investment You Wear?

Collecting vintage costume jewelry for profit is a great way to enjoy wearing high quality pieces in the present while acquiring pieces that only appreciate in value making them the ideal investment: practical and profitable!

Originating in Europe at the end of the 19th century, the styles and market came to be dominated by American manufacturers like Trifari and Eisenberg from the 1920's onward. These luxurious knock-offs feature exceptional design complemented by high quality materials and craftsmanship. Almost all costume jewelry was priced under $10 prior to World War II. The Great Depression and poor sales caused some of the jewelry manufacturers to go out of business. Still, a large number managed to hang on and made it through to the glory days of the 1950's and 1960's. Sales were boosted to all-time high's in the 50's and 60's thanks to television and a boom in advertising. Today, high quality costume pieces are more popular than ever and make a great addition to the jewelry box because the right pieces will appreciate in value—after all, they aren't make any more of it!

While cheap to buy when first released, vintage fashion jewelry manufactured between 1920-1970 are the treasures in a growing market of collectors but shrinking demand. A large part of this explosion in both growth and value is not expected to shrink until the Internet has 4 billion surfers or more—in about 5 years. But with a continually shrinking inventory, vintage pieces by prized manufacturers will continue to appreciate in value for the foreseeable future. There are many pieces being sold in flea markets for a few bucks while being worth hundreds!

When hunting for vintage investment opportunities, remember that there are three main things that help determine the value of vintage costume pieces: Quality of Materials, Craftsmanship, and Rarity. Despite dozens of companies producing thousands of pieces annually, they produced jewelry in varying quantities. On the one hand, you had large players such as Florenza and Coventry launched several thousand pieces for each new line.

However, on the flip side of things were manufacturers like Barclays, McClelland, and Coventry who only produced much smaller volumes creating a smaller supply and also making pieces from them both rarer and more valuable in the eyes of true collectors. Perhaps the largest single factor determining value of costume pieces is the quality of the stones.

It is certainly true that none of the stones would be considered precious it is still true there were companies that used high quality stones and gemstones to make their jewelry, such as: Hollycraft Bogoff Eisenberg Eisenberg costume pieces are renowned for having superior quality stones so it is hard to find something by this company that is not already high-priced. However, if you search in the flea markets and even on many vintage jewelry websites, many pieces are drastically under-valued—especially the unsigned ones!

Keep your eyes out for signed pieces made by these manufacturers because they are very likely to appreciate in value in coming months and years: Eisenberg Trifari Kramer Money Danecraft.

By Sandi Kapiszka

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Sandi Kapiszka is a jewelry expert specializing in vintage costume jewelry.

What is Costume Jewellery or Fashion Jewellery exactly?

For many people, obviously this can be a very obvious and tedious question because they know what Costume Jewelleries and Fashion Jewelleries are. They can be interpreted as replacements or imitations for real Gem Jewellery, precious metals like Gold, White gold or Sterling Silver with much cheaper prices and at a fraction of costs compared to real ones and therefore the quality of costume/fashion Jewellery is far less inferior than those of real ones called Fine Jewellery, but not so these days.

One may say that the Jewellery has very long history e.g. gold from Egypt as long ago as 3000 BC and from Greece 1400 BC where they have developed to adorn their personal lifestyle as well as showing off their status and well being in the surrounding society. Then, we have Roman Days and Italian Eras, French Fashion, England and suffice to say the actual fashion came from mostly from Europe and spread through America. Thence, from the 1940s with American Hollywood influence on Europe served big changes in peoples fashion styles and trends and quickly spread back to Europe.

This is when Costume Jewellery really became popular and loved by people because of their quality and diversity. Jewellers like Swarovski, Bvlgari, Christian Dior, Chanel and Tiffany just to name few, have developed and mixed using both natural and man made materials to create fashionable personal adornments with high quality where people can easily and most importantly, afford to coordinate their clothing and life styles.

Hence, they became known as "Costume or Fashion Jewellery".

These days, there are so many manufacturers produce vast styles and qualities of Costume Jewelleries to suit individual styles and their budget. Anyone can afford to beautify and adorn themselves with ease but the problem is where can one find the suitable style to satisfy their needs and satiate their fashion out of so many Jewellery shops available these days both from shopping stores and from internet. After all, one should always remember that adorning personal fashion is important key factor of showing personal grooming and the life style being either privately or amongst social gatherings.

In my next article, I would like to write about "Your Costume Jewellery and Shopping Options", In the meantime why not visit http://www.kooz.com.au to browse through some exemplified styles of costume jewelleries.

by Robin Oh

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Robin Oh is running an internet costume jewellery and fashion accessories shopping mall named Kooz Collection with primary focus on the "customer Satisfaction".
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Tips for Taking Care of High-Quality Fashion Accessories

Let's first look at handbags. Treated well, a leather handbag can last forever. Most higher-end leather bags are not treated. This allows the bags to age gracefully with the character expected from an expensive bag, making them distinct and unique. So, here are a few tips to help you care for your special handbag.

1.Look after your bag and store it in its dust bag cover or use a natural fiber soft pillow cover. Never use a plastic bag.

2. Stuff your seasonal bags with your soft-knit scarves or gloves, but make sure to not overstuff the bag.

3. If the weather is really bad and raining, consider using a less special handbag.

4. Keep your cosmetic products and pens in pouches inside the bag to avoid any staining.

5. Handle your bag with clean hands.

6. Avoid handling the designer bag after applying beauty products, face foundations or hand creams.

7. Apply a good quality leather protector spray to clean dry leather. This can keep the leather from drying out and cracking over time. It will also reduce the tendency of the leather to stain.

8. Clean your bag if it gets dirty by simply wiping it with a soft, damp cloth.

9. Avoid using a leather cleaner that contains oils to clean natural leather (leather that is dyed rather that painted), as cleaning oils can trap moisture and dirt, and stain the leather. Ink marks, grease and oil stains are unfortunately not removable and should be left alone.

10. If the bag is stained, take it to a professional leather cleaner who will have the expertise to remove the stain.

Now on to fashion jewelry. Fine quality fashion jewelry pieces can remain with you for a long time. Jewelry of all kind, fine or fashion, should be treated gently and stored properly. Especially pearl or glass jewelry items should be stored separately to avoid scratches to its surface.

I also recommend that you protect your fashion jewelry pieces from contact with hairspray, make-up and household cleaning products. Substances in these products attack the surface of your fashion jewelry. I always accessorize with fashion jewelry after applying make-up, perfume or hairspray. Also, always remember to remove your jewelry before taking a shower/bath, swimming, exercising or sleeping.

With the frequent wear of your fashion jewelry and contact with your skin, your jewelry's surface will change over time. I recommend that you carefully rub your pieces with a soft cloth to remove any build-up. Please do not use any cleansers.

Copyright � 2007 MMC Lifestyles, LLC, dba MMC Style

by Marion Chamberlain

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MMC Style (http://www.mmcstyle.com/ ) is an Internet store for fashion accessories sourced from unique and highly-talented small design shops in Europe. Our online store offers high-quality European fashion jewelry and leather handbags to those women who want to be unique. You won't find MMC Style (http://www.mmcstyle.com/ ) fashion accessories in your department or chain stores. Is your uniqueness reflected in your personal style?
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Current Fashion Trends in Costume Jewelry and Accessories

Color Trends in Costume Jewelry

The fall fashion trends are ushering in another excellent season for costume jewelry and accessories. Rich colors and bold looks dominate the trend. Teal, amber and amethyst are the important colors with olivine and green used as neutrals. Topaz and peacock are also important and all indications are that rich color will continue into the spring season. Metals are seeing a return to gold, but silver is still stronger.

Bold Designs Dominate Fashion Jewelry

Fashion jewelry thrives when bold designs are in vogue and that is very much the case this season. The high fashion look is popular in necklaces, earrings, and bracelets with natural components contributing to the designs. Wood is continuing its second season of popularity with shell important even in the fall line. But the rising star in natural materials is gemstone, which provides the beauty of natural semiprecious stones to the costume jewelry designs. This will definitely continue and accelerate in the spring line. Also popular in neckwear are 48 inch and 60 inch ropes that are worn extended or doubled. Jet is strong in holiday jewelry and estate looks (antique designs) are becoming fashionable in bridal jewelry.

Traditional Costume Jewelry and Accessories

While costume jewelry in bold designs and rich colors forge the way for leading fashion, there is a larger market that shouldn’t be ignored in more traditional and classic looks. Theme jewelry in pendants, earrings, and charm bracelets has an appeal that goes beyond fashion alone because it identifies with what the wearer cares about. In addition, traditional rhinestone, bridal jewelry, evening bags, and formal gloves have a classic look with timeless appeal. There is a major market for these items that will always be present even as fashion changes.

Accessory Trends

Sequins and buttons are very big in all accessories, especially in handbags and evening bags. Beyond these, the looks of the larger bags introduced by leading designers are the trendy styles of the season. These are the bags the stars are carrying, which goes a long ways towards popularizing the styles. In evening bags, large sequins and buttons are very much in vogue, but traditional looks seem to be carrying the day.

Sunglasses are definitely big and bold with aviators the runaway favorite. Retro looks are also excellent and colored frames with matching lenses are very popular.

Hats and Headwear

In millinery, dress hats are an important part of the market, with ladies hats the dominant player. The looks are very traditional with a new element of pre-made bands allowing for the versatility of custom designs. Casual hats, however, account for the major share of the market and no design in 2005 is more important than the rollup cowboy hat. While the design is not popular in every region of the country, the sheer number of sales makes it the number one hat of the year. This rugged look that is typically American has risen to such popularity that it becomes an important fashion statement.

After cowboy hats, the three most fashionable designs are wide brim floppy hats, ladies fedoras, and newsboys. The entertainment field has played a major roll in popularizing these designs and the fashion looks continue into the fall season with felt, leather, wool, and leatherette used as the material for the fall version.

by: Michael Gietl

Fashion Jewelry – The Perfect Accessory

Nothing can complement an outfit like well chosen fashion jewelry. Any woman will tell you that the perfect dress is nothing without the perfect earrings or perfect necklace to enhance the neckline, color, material, etc. Fashion jewelry comes in a variety of styles and is appropriate for a host of different occasions.

Fashion jewelry by nature is versatile; it is made from a variety of materials – everything from crystal to silver – and lends itself as well to casual wear as it does to eveningwear. The affordability of fashion jewelry also allows people to purchase a number of different styles to complement different types of outfits.

The style of fashion jewelry depends quite a bit on where you find it. High-end department stores carry a range of fashion jewelry - everything from the most expensive to the most affordable. Fashion jewelry found in department stores come in all styles and colors and are made by a variety of designers.

Believe it or not, jewelry stores often carry a full line of fashion jewelry. While the merchandise may be a bit more expensive, it is often of higher, more sophisticated quality.

Antique stores are another resource for finding unusual fashion jewelry. Antique fashion jewelry can be unique and completely transform an outfit. Even better, you can easily own a piece of fashion jewelry representative of all the generations.

But if you’re looking for antique fashion jewelry you may want to consider approaching your mother, grandmother, or older aunt. Many times they will have a piece of fashion jewelry that will perfectly complement your outfit and you’ll have the added satisfaction of knowing you are wearing a family heirloom.

There are also online resources where you can find fashion jewelry at affordable prices along with the convenience of having it shipped straight to your door.

Fashion jewelry can revolutionize your wardrobe and even give new life to an older outfit. But above all, it should reflect your unique style and personality – and give you great pleasure wearing it each and every time.

By Michelle Bery

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For easy to understand, in depth information about fashion jewelry visit our ezGuide 2 Fashion.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Bery

Jewelry

Jewelry is a personal ornament, such as a necklace, ring, or bracelet, made from jewels, precious metals or other substance.

The word jewelry is derived from the word jewel, which was anglicised from the Old French "jouel" in around the 13th century.

Further tracing leads back to the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything. Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of body adornment.

Although in earlier times jewelry was created for more practical uses, such as wealth storage and pinning clothes together, in recent times it has been used almost exclusively for decoration. The first pieces of jewelry were made from natural materials, such as bone, animal teeth, shell, wood, and carved stone. Jewelry was often made for people of high importance to show their status and, in many cases, they were buried with it.

Jewelry is made out of almost every material known and has been made to adorn nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings and many more types of jewelry. While high-quality is made with

gemstones and precious metals, there ia also a growing demand for Art jewelry where design and creativity is prized above material value. In addition there is the less-costly costume jewelry is made from less-valuable materials and is mass-produced. New variations include wire sculpture (wrap) jewelry, using anything from base metal wire with rock tumbled stone to precious metals and precious gemstones.

Wearing Jewelry Like a Pro..

Wearing Jewelry Like a Pro - New Fun Ways to Wear Your Jewelry

As with everything else in life, sometimes we fall into habits in how we wear our jewelry.

We put the brooch on out left shoulder, we wear the same necklace with the same dress and the same earrings.

This article will help stimulate your thinking about how you wear jewelry. It's not exhaustive -- if you have other ideas of better ways to use jewelry, let me know.
Pins are perhaps the most versatile of jewelry. In addition to the usual shoulder or lapel, they are often worn with scarves. Try these other ways of wearing your pins to extend your jewelry vocabulary.

Pins on hats. Wearing a pin on a hat has a very long tradition As hats become popular once again we can start making use of this great old technique.

You can pin the brooch on the hatband or higher up on the crown of the hat, or use it to hold up part of the brim (If your hat has a brim). Use a whole circle of pins around the hatband for a charming effect (especially effective with animal jewelry). Make a whole menagerie for your hat. Play with your animal jewelry brooches as if your were playing jungle as a child.

Pins can also be worn on belts and handbags. Try a pin on your belt a bit off to one side. If it's a belt with a simple or self buckle, this can add just the bit of extra interest you need (especially if you have a slim waist to show off).

Putting a brooch on an old handbag can give it new life. You can also take a plain purse and dress it up for evening by the addition of a brooch or two.

Brooches can be added to hair clips to make a one of a kind hair ornament. Or string your favorite brooch on a cord. By knotting the cord and tying the brooch in the middle you can keep many pins upright and hanging correctly. You now have a whole new pendant.

Try a line of 3 or 4 brooches running down the thigh of your jeans. Or group several brooches across your bodice like a necklace.

You can even use brooches on your shoes, if they are of the right sort. This is an unusual technique that's sure to get you noticed.

Rings, of course, can be worn on chains around your neck as well as on your fingers. In the Renaissance they used to make very large rings specifically to be worn around the neck (they were too big for anyone but a giant to wear on their fingers).

You can also weave rings into your hair. Whether you have long hair or short, you can put the ring very close to your scalp and then braid it in. This is a fun technique to give a little sparkle and curiosity to an otherwise commonplace hairdo.

Of course necklaces are great woven into hair too. This is a technique that's been practiced for centuries. During the time of the Louis's, French women had elaborate wigs with necklaces already woven in. Queen Elizabethan (and other Renaissance ladies) also wore necklaces with strings of jewels woven into her elaborate hairdos.

If you have some long necklaces that unclip, try weaving them around a belt before putting it on. You can secure the ends with a small piece of tape or tie them on with a big of colored string. This can make a plain black dress upscale evening attire. A great tip for travelers.

If you have a charm bracelet or three, try adding a chain or cord to each end and wearing it as a necklace -- fun and tres chic.

The possibilities are endless... Just let your imagine take flight, and let me know if you come out with other great ways to wear jewelry.

by: Carrie Johnson

Fashion Accessories

Fashion accessories are items apart from the garment itself, which complement the whole outfit. Using them can add detail to an outfit, modifying the garment's style or the visual effects of the fabric from which the garment is made. Many accessories also have another more practical use beyond that of style and adornment.

Fashion accessories include jewelry (for example bracelets, brooches, earrings, necklaces, or rings) as well as fashion items such as gloves, handbags, hats, or scarves.

With the use of different accessories and jewelry the savvy dresser can make his or her outfit seem completely different. Trends are continuously set by adding accessories to different outfits, for example, belts and hair accessories. Accessories can and have in the past changed an entire look. From handbags to shoes to earrings and beaded necklaces to 1980's leg warmers, accessories catch the eye, and make most articles of clothing more appealing.

Some accessories can have more than one use. While they can be used to accent an outfit, handbags can also be useful carrying items. Hats are created with large or small rims to protect the face and the head from nature’s harsh conditions.