April 15-21, 2004

cover story

Accessorize!

Makeup: Victoria DePaul for NARS Lord & Taylor, 1300 Market St. Hair: Danielle Carr for Strands Hair Salon, 25 N. Third St. Model courtesy of Reinhard Model and Talent Agency, www.reinhardagency.com Photo By: Michael T. Regan

The touches, the details. This is true in almost everything in life, and it's definitely true when it comes to fashion.

You can be decked out in head-to-toe couture, but, most of the time, it's that one small item that makes people stop you in the street and say, "Where did you get that?" It might be a bag, a belt, a bracelet, any number of accessories, but it gets you noticed.

This year's Style Issue is all about the details. We've covered the latest trends for a whole mess of accessories, from jewelry to belt buckles, from handbags to, um, male chastity belts, and everything in between.

We've also put together four different looks for our model, Lauren Rahman, using only accessories to change up her style. It just goes to show the importance of these sometimes minuscule objects: Good accessorizing can make a bland outfit interesting and a great outfit amazing, bad accessorizing can make any outfit appalling (is it any wonder the word "accessory" can also be applied to people aiding and abetting murderers?).

So take a look and see what's new for spring and decide what works for you: a necklace made from a slice of lime, a beach bag custom-made to your specifications? There are a million options out there -- accessorize wisely.

—Debra Auspitz

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