“You look like a cross between Erykah Badu and Adam Ant,” a friend gushes. We’re sipping wine in her kitchen at a swarming literary-world holiday party and at first I have to pretend that I don’t know she’s referring to the madcap Miu Miu Resort 2016 earring dangling ever so casually from my lobe. It’s a fantastical, indulgent piece—replete with plastic discs, distressed ribbons, and a raccoon tail, and it has been perched atop my shoulder all evening like a little pet. Refusing to make any mention of it to ensure the results of my sartorial and social experiment aren’t skewed, I’ve instead just watched as people’s eyes linger on this “plus one” at the party. But as their unprompted reactions confirm: My OTT accessory has been subtly dominating this stop on my busy holiday-party circuit, proof that a brand-new, full-on, head-to-toe ensemble isn’t required when party-hopping this season.
You see, when there are plenty of parties to attend and not enough outfits to be bought or if you simply can’t bring yourself to wear that same tried-and-true frock, the extravagant accessory can become your best friend. It’s bold enough to encapsulate a whole lewk and might I add, it’s a conversation starter in and of itself. “Is that a raccoon?” another friend asks. I stop in my tracks, hoping not to have offended any vegans in the room, and hesitantly nod. “Brilliant!” she replies, and moves the conversation onto a buzzworthy op-ed without missing a beat.
Better still is the fact that, truth be told, you need only one of these bad boys to cement your look. The statement-making single earring may come in a pair, but worn solo, it becomes the centerpiece around which your entire outfit simply orbits. Think of party dressing as the composition of a painting—heck, I even chose to slick down my attention-grabbing curls to strategically direct eyes to my key piece.
It was a tactic that seemed to work—with male and female guests alike shyly asking to handle the precious but edgy accessory. “Can I wear it?” my best friend prodded. I had to let her down easy: “I’ve got more parties to attend in this thing!”
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