Thursday, May 22, 2003
The influence dates from the 1950s when matched accessories were a must.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Handbags have gotten hipper, and footwear has gotten funkier.
So why shouldn't a woman double her pleasure and accessorize with a matching set?
There are plenty of options for spring and summer, whether your plans include a day at the office, a night on the town or a weekend at the beach.
"Matching bags and shoes started last spring and summer, and I think it's an influence from the '50s, when everything was very ladylike and very matchy with these suits," says Carol Jackson, manager of Footloose, Shadyside. "We're getting back into that."
That's good news to Angela Barry, who prefers to buy matching shoes and bags. It's seldom easy, she said, and she doesn't understand why retailers would sell shoes but decide not to carry a matching bag if it's available.
"That's what the accessory is supposed to do, match as much as possible," said Barry, 44, of Wilkinsburg, Pa. "It brings out everything. It's a finished look. It just always seems appropriate attire."
This season, women such as Barry may have to do less scurrying about as they seek bags that match shoes. Retail stores are keeping up with this style trend.
Littles of Pittsburgh is carrying several matching sets, including Swedish-made Born woven-fabric slides and a matching tote colored with vegetable dyes.
"It makes women feel that their outfit is put together," says Sonya Haber, accessory buyer for Littles. "They're fully accessorized. It gives you kind of a uniform look. You can have just a very plain outfit on and a bag and a shoe like that just really sets off the whole outfit. It can really make an old outfit look new again."
A noticeable trend toward more matching bags and shoes in stores actually began last fall. The look has carried over into spring "because the suit's coming back, the ladylike shoes are coming back, and the handbag to match the shoes is just part of that, too," says Alison Mayher, vice president and general manager of Saks Fifth Avenue, Downtown.
Mayher said there are more shoes and matching bags in the store's shoe department than any season since she arrived four years ago, from Stuart Weitzman to Salvatore Ferragamo.
And fall promises even more, she said.
"In the summer, there are more sandals and things," she observes. "In the fall, when you see many more pumps, that just goes with (matching) handbags."