The Best Accessories of 2018 Are Larger Than Life

When it comes to accessories, there are those born of necessity and those born of frivolity. Fall 2018’s best extras are a delightful mix of both. In the practical column are the outdoorsy boots and backpacks that can withstand—or at least appear to be able to—the perilous world we now live in, and the enormous bags of all shapes and materials that can carry a person wherever she or he may go. As for fun, there’s a new emphasis on statement shoes, clunky dad sneakers, and ever-impractical gloves that render a touchscreen phone essentially useless.

Here are the 10 accessory trends worth trying next fall.

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Animal Print Shoes

Statement bags have long ruled the sales floors. No longer. The season’s animal-print shoes ensure that everyone will be looking at your feet when you make an entrance. At Tom Ford, leopard-print mules came in exotic colors and with crystal embellishments, while Sacai sent out models in mismatched leopard and zebra boots and pumps. For the more subdued shopper, there are Dries Van Noten’s snakeskin boots with an of-the-moment square toe and 3.1 Phillip Lim’s Chelsea boots in pony-hair zebra.

Upgrade Your Bag

Fall 2018 Accessory Trends: Enormous Bags

Before her Fall 2018 show, Victoria Beckham joked that her violet wool bag was so large it could fit all four of her children inside. She might have been exaggerating, but hers and the rest of this season’s totes and carryalls are, in all seriousness, quite supersized. At Fendi, giant weekenders came with wheels to make lugging them around even easier, while Hermès’s were printed with landscapes of the places you might go with your enormous bag in tow. Like most accessory trends, this one can be traced back to Céline’s Phoebe Philo, who sent huge bags down her final runway for Spring ’18.

Put a Scarf on It

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Scarves

Scarf dressing has emerged as a major ready-to-wear trend, but the idea of turning a silk kerchief into a seasonal must-have doesn’t end with your dress. Designers from Marine Serre to Tory Burch are rethinking the potential of the classic accessory, using them as bag straps; purse accessories; or, in the case of Off-White’s pumps, a nontraditional ankle strap.

Step In to the Clunky Sneaker

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Clunky Sneakers

Surprise! The dad sneaker trend is here to stay. The ones that left the biggest impression on the Fall 2018 runways have taken the notion of a large, thick-soled shoe to new extremes. Maison Margiela’s SMS sneaker echoes the design of security bracelets or snowboarding braces, while Gucci has outlined its take in colorful crystals. The strangest of them all? That award goes to Christopher Kane, whose Z-Coil sneakers are orthopedically posh—or is that poshly orthopedic?

Love Your Gloves

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Gloves

iPhones be damned. This season’s best gloves extend to the elbow and come in all the colors of the rainbow. Even men got in on the glove love, with Jeremy Scott turning bondage latex into kinky gauntlets. For those among you who can’t be pried away from your smartphones, look to Chanel, which offered bright pink evening styles with the fingers and thumb cut off—just as Karl Lagerfeld wears his own gloves.

Buy the Next It Bag at the Bodega

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Bodega Bags

Designers took the idea of high-low fashion to the extreme this season, reimagining shopping bags and plastic totes as luxe accessories. Michael Kors’s striped shopper came in rich leather, while Alexander Wang’s take on the Ziploc bag is studded with Swarovski crystals. At Marni, models carried folded-up garment bags, and Emilio Pucci sent out cooler bags in cartoon colors.

Ditch the Tiny Sunglasses for Good

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Big Sunglasses

Kanye West might be emailing Kim about the importance of small sunglasses, but designers from Joseph Altuzarra to Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri are proving that the best shades are larger than life. Think back to the screen sirens of the ’50s, all wrapped up in head scarves—another Fall trend—and concealed behind their black eyewear, and you have the season’s go-to look.

Go Hands-Free

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Lanyards

For men and women truly on the go, consider this season’s necklace pouchettes and belt bags a godsend. Some, such as Kenzo’s clip-on case, might be smaller than a credit card, but others, like Giambattista Valli’s leather lanyard and Marc Jacobs’s chain-strap clutch, are large enough to fit just the essentials inside. It’s a hands-free way to go about your day.

Dress for Survival

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Gorpcore

Gorpcore meets glamping in the season’s most functional accessories, from Prada’s survivalist waders to Chloé’s cord-trimmed bag. While these extras aren’t exactly fit for a trip to Yellowstone, they embody the spirit of outdoorsy dressing, or in the case of Heron Preston’s space suit, intergalactic style.

Get Ready to Two-Step

Fall 2018 Accessory Trend: Cowboy Boots

The cowboy boot, first reintroduced to the zeitgeist a year ago by Raf Simons at Calvin Klein, has become the must-have boot for fall. Whether heeled like those at Paco Rabanne or in luxurious snakeskin like the men’s pairs at Saint Laurent, this Western silhouette is having a moment from New York to Paris and beyond. Yee-haw!