If I buy an It bag and a pair of cool ankle boots, I’m done for the season, right?

A If you think modern accessorising starts and ends with a Chloé Héloïse and some Louboutin studded bootees (the season’s sought-after buys), you are mistaken. You can add belts, gloves, shades and jewellery to the list of must-have adornments. Fashion lore now declares that all accessories, not just shoes and bags, should be statement pieces. The trick is to mix them without it looking cluttered.

The Marc Jacobs look neatly demonstrates what is going on. The clothes are simple, but the accessories pop. As well as the bold leather elbow gloves and crocodile-skin belt, Jacobs introduces the concept of the hot hat; here it is big, elegant and wide-brimmed. The idea of wearing proper hats with daywear has been defunct for decades, and by reviving it, Jacobs has given us a whole new accessories category to get excited about. (Zara has the hot-hat look on the cheap.)

I am 47 and going to a couple of rather smart black-tie dos. I have a fabulous green-and-gold full-length dress and am looking for some gold-coloured clip-on earrings with a wow factor.

A The choice of clip-on earrings isn’t as broad as for pierced ears, but look at Swarovski. It has a pair of gold-and-crystal drop earrings that are 6cm long and will have the impact you are looking for (£75; www.swarovski.com). If you prefer a solid-gold look, try Mikey, which has a variety of big, bold clip-ons (from Selfridges and Topshop). You could also try www.danglybitz.com. It specialises in jewellery for the transvestite community and has big, showy gold screw-ons (from £6).

My boyfriend has bought me a Mulberry Bayswater in Oak. I’ve always thought handbag and shoes should be the same colour, but I am not sure if that is the rule when you have one of these bags. What is your opinion?

A Matching your shoes to your handbag is one of those quaint fashion rules that belong to the era of red telephone boxes and silver-top milk. Things have relaxed a lot since then, and these days the very idea of diktats seems old-fashioned. Contemporary style icons such as the Olsen twins, Kate Moss, Kirsten Dunst and Sofia Coppola don’t do matching. The notable exception is Victoria Beckham, but her need to match bag, shoe and dress has nothing to do with modern fashion; it smacks of control freakery. I suspect you are governed by similar urges. If so, there’s no point in fighting them. Belstaff’s Trialmaster biker boots would complement the bag and come in a similar colour (£275; www.kurtgeiger.com), and Office has a tan ankle boot at £75.

E-mail your questions to wardrobe.mistress@ sunday-times.co.uk

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