Eyewear and Leather: How to Mix and Match Your Accessories

Accessories may often take a backseat in planning an outfit.

Still, they’re crucial for transforming looks worldwide—as evidenced by the global market’s projected growth, which is expected to see some 2.63 billion accessory users in 2023.

When it comes to eyewear like sunglasses and leather pieces like bags and belts, finding harmony between these separate pieces in a way that won’t clash with your fit can be a struggle.

Your usual sunglasses may be more casual, and your bags and belts may be more formal—or vice versa—making it hard to pair.However, you don’t have to complete a closet overhaul to accessorize well.

Once you know which elements to consider, you can find a great combination of pieces to amp up your style.

Here’s how to mix and match your eyewear and leather accessories:

Consider color and print

Navigating colors and prints when styling an outfit can be tricky, even with accessories. However, knowing how to style them can help elevate your look.

Statement bags and purses have emerged with the Y2K trend, sporting fun hues and gaudy patterns that add a bit of fun. Sunglasses are also becoming more vibrant lately, and many brands offer shades with colored or printed frames or tinted lenses.

Oakley’s Frogskin model shows how you can sport trendy colors with a timeless style, along with many of their other lifestyle and sports performance shades. If you plan on wearing colorful or patterned accessories, you can match your eyewear and leather pieces or let only one make a statement.

Choosing versatile colors like black and brown leather for your belt or bag can allow your sunglasses to shine, and the same goes vice versa.

You can also use hues to complement prints, taking one color from the pattern for harmony without it being too much.

Dress for the occasion

Accessories are great for transforming an outfit, but they can either make or break your look, depending on the occasion. Choosing the right pieces is essential, whether going for something casual yet elevated or a dressier and polished look.

You can consider shape and size to help you figure out which sunglasses, belts, or bags work best for the vibe you’re going for. Classic and simple styles may work best for refined elegance, so sleek wire-frames or timeless cat-eye sunglasses can pair well with a skinnier belt.

Shades with trendier shapes like skinny rectangular shapes or sporty wraparound models can pair well with an equally chic bag style, like a tiny Y2K purse—Juicy Couture is one brand making a comeback in this sphere—for a laid-back look.

Consider your outfit’s whole vibe to ensure your accessories complement the look and occasion.

Pay attention to proportion

When picking accessories, finding balance in your pieces is essential so they don’t overpower the rest of your outfit or fail to contribute to the overall look. Try not to go for the same size of everything to make sure your fit is cohesive. For example, if you plan to style a statement belt like a corset belt or a wide waist belt, avoid wearing big and chunky sunglasses as they can take away focus from it.

Instead, you can go for a smaller pair of shades or wear thinner frames to avoid overpowering them. Conversely, you might be able to get away with styling smaller and daintier sunglasses with a skinny belt. Still, if you’re looking for a bolder vibe, you can choose one piece to be the focal point and style the other accessory around it for more balance and cohesion.

The same goes for bags and eyewear; with handbag trends skewing towards the smaller size, bringing out those oversized shades for a pop of glam can make any look more hip and dynamic.