These Customisable Fashion Pieces Will Make Your Style More Individual
Welcome to Who What Wear UK’s first-ever Wellness Week. With that back-to-school feeling in the air, we thought what better time to hit reset on the health and happiness of yourself and your wardrobe. From uplifting outfits to savvy ways to update your look to the psychology of our purchasing habits to the pyjamas that will help you get some extra z’s, check back all week for a daily boost of style success.
If you’re terrible at remembering names, you’ll be relieved at the latest trend sweeping Instagram. Personalised merch has gone massive, from T-shirts sewn with “Lily” or “Rachael” at the pocket to phone cases bearing their owner’s initials.
Personalisation has also gone way past simple initials, so there’s plenty to choose from. Anya Hindmarch launched her Build a Bag service earlier this year where shoppers can choose a leather bucket bag and then change its colour, add or subtract handles and decorate with tasselled key fobs, colourful ruffs or zany stickers all from the comfort of their laptops (from £895, anyahindmarch.com).
Loquet London, founded by Laura Bailey and Sheherazade Goldsmith, specialises in heart locket necklaces and rings that you can fill with tiny charms that mean something to you. Bailey’s carries “L” and “T” charms for her children’s names, while Goldsmith’s has the birthstones of hers (from £390 for an “empty” locket and chain, loquetlondon.com). Keep scrolling for 10 of the best brands for personalisation. Who said shopping couldn’t boost your emotional well-being?
London-based handbag label DeMellier offers a complimentary personalisation service for most of its crossbody and shoulder bags that are handmade in Spain. You can get tiny gold initials stamped onto the strap or even a favourite word.
You can customise your bag on the website too. What could be easier?
Not only can you build your own bag, but you can customise an existing one with Hindmarch’s mad-cap collection of leather stickers (you can’t go wrong with a winky face or that fried egg). Items like the loose pockets can also be embossed with a handwritten message or even a doodle (from £135).
This definitely looks good enough to eat, but we suggest sticking to the Haribo.
All the cool girls, Adwoa, Alexa, Poppy and, of course, VB, have initial-stamped phone cases courtesy of Charlotte Stockdale’s luxury tech label Chaos London.
Amazingly, you can also create your phone case in real time, so we did one for Who What Wear. What do you think?
Baia makes buttery-soft bucket bags that you can customise by choosing gold or silver hardware and delicate embossed or foil monogramming for an extra £25 (from £300).
So classic and chic.
Cressida Jamieson marries her love of flowers and embroidery on her T-shirts, which feature hand-stitched blossoms and loopy letters spelling out names. You can commission something personal via her Instagram feed, @cressidajamieson; prices start from £60.
All-black wheelie cases look the same after a 14-hour flight, so why not single yours out the easy way with a monogrammed luggage tag? Not Another Bill, the ingenious gift service that sends you something special every month and also has an online store, sells alphabet leather tags that you can personalise with your initials.
You’ll never lose your luggage again (we hope).
An engraved pinky ring might sound slightly too Eton for your liking, but you’ll instantly be swayed by Dinny Hall’s elegant Lotus shape in sterling silver or 22-karat gold.
You can inquire about engraving on the website’s live chat, or speak to someone in store.
A monogrammed phone case is the easiest way to dip your toe into the trend. HB London, who specialise in bespoke luggage (hello, never losing your suitcase again), phone cases and soon candles, have marbled covers for a wide range of devices from £34.
We have a thing for flamingos right now.
It’s known for its sleek satchels, but Cambridge Satchel Company has diversified into crossbody bags made out of the same durable leather. All its bags can be embossed with initials and a symbol (like hearts, stars or lightning bolts).
Making that back-to-school moment feel so much better.
The best thing about investing in one of Loquet’s heart pendants is that you can slowly build up a collection of charms over time.
Start with a classic, a birthstone from £30 or a teeny tiny dog for £175, 10% of the proceeds go to the Wild Heart Foundation for animal welfare projects around the world.
Next up! The biggest A/W 17 fashion trends you need to know about.