Focus on Fashion

Jewelry can be valuable sentimentally and monetarily.
People carry signs of their religion, relationships, relationship status and mood through scraps of fabric, pieces of metal and shiny stones. They use their accessories for more than just tying an outfit together.
Jewelry has a sentimental value because it is like a little window into our lives. It is not like a shirt or pair of pants that come and go from our closets every few years. Jewelry can become so much more than an accessory.
 
Armbands
Armbands aren’t something you’ll wear for years, but they do show small things we wear can have a large impact on our lives.
In December 1965, three students in Iowa, in high school and junior high school, wore black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. Their schools suspended them until they stopped wearing the armbands, which they did only after the protest had been scheduled to end on Jan. 1, 1966.
Their court case, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, became a very important case that still determines the First Amendment rights students in public schools have.
This shows the power a simple piece of fabric can have.

Pins
Pins and pin buttons are other types of fashionable advertising. I consider them jewelry because they are used in a decorative fashion just like earrings or necklaces, but they are normally used to make a point.
Faces of presidential candidates have been plastered to round pieces of metal for advertising purposes; small American flags are pinned to lapels during speeches to show patriotic spirit; fraternities and sororities wear their letters with pride, and every St. Patrick’s Day, you know you’ll see a huge “Kiss me, I’m Irish” button.
These small images provide insight into a person’s interests.

Rings
Rings can be purely decorative or have a special meaning.
They’re an accessory you might wear for a most of your life.
Is the person you’re talking to wearing a band on the ring finger of his or her left hand? This person is more than likely spoken for.
I wear a spoon ring, a ring that is made from a piece of metal that resembles the shape of a spoon being bent into a circle. I wear it when I feel out of my element, such as when I meet new people. It’s small enough to where people normally don’t see me spinning it around my thumb, which, for some reason, calms my nerves.
Whether it’s purely for comfort or to signify a promise, rings are used in many different ways and many parts of life.

Necklaces
Necklaces are a very easy way to display your wealth since they rest on the center of your body, but they can also be emotional.
Among my collection of necklaces are a heart-shaped one of my mom’s, a long chain with various objects hanging on it and a cross.
These accessories are a part of my life, which I share with the world through the quiet statement of just putting them on.
That’s what accessories are for.
These little glimpses are a chance for other people to learn about you without the need to shout your stories from the rooftops.

­— samkirby@indiana.edu