In the first season of Gossip Girl, Blair Waldorf sews a heart charm into the sleeve of Nate Archibald’s sweater. “I sewed it there so you would always have my heart on your sleeve,” she tells him. I’m no fashion historian (at least not officially), but I consider that to be an iconic moment in the sartorial legacy of hearts — following in the footsteps of the Queen of Hearts’ wand in Alice in Wonderland, naturally.
My love for heart-centric accessories has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day. I firmly believe the appeal of wearing a heart outside your lungs as well as in them maintains itself year-round. It’s essentially S.Y.W.A.K. — Sealing Yourself With a Kiss — and what’s not to like about that? Frankly, I’d rather drip with hearts than diamonds any day of the week.
Heart-shaped diamonds? Fine! You got me.
In all honesty, though, I think heart accessories are hot on the heels of seashell accessories in the race for “It” accoutrement, my evidence being that heart accessories seem to be more abundant than a Thanksgiving buffet as of late. Just this past weekend, for example, I stumbled across this colony at Rebecca de Ravenel’s Fall 2018 presentation:
These are just the tip of the heart accessories iceberg, however, and Man Repeller’s Market Assistant extraordinaire Elizabeth “Fancy Drew” Tamkin did the sleuthing to prove it, assembling a lineup of love letters in the form of sartorial decoration, the likes of which you’ve never seen all together in such a sizable quorum: heart-shaped sunglasses, heart-shaped earrings, heart-shaped rings, a heart scarf and even a heart watch.
The purpose of this collection? Well, first of all, to prove my theory that hearts are coming for the accessories throne, but perhaps, more importantly, to provide you with a very satisfying heart-shaped shopping roundup for your sartorial pleasure. They’re like the keys to a club and everyone’s a member because you’ve already got the real deal pumping Kool-Aid inside your chest.
Speaking of which, if you want to go a more realistic route with your accessorizing, I’m strongly advocating for someone to own this vase.
Market by Elizabeth Tamkin, Photos by Louisiana Gelpi, Louis Sherry chocolates throughout
