Items like earrings, buttons, combs, rings, eyeglasses, tend to be called “essentials”, according to the newsletters I receive daily in my inbox. What I see in them is that they blur the lines between object, prosthesis, and adornment. Whether viewed in isolation or within a specific context, they can operate under the same rules and codes as garments: they can tell a story, hold a memory, or, more often than not, actively shape desire, want, and craving. The topic of “accessories”, therefore, explores how these additions function as narrators of the self: the self you want to be, wish to become, or simply what you will never have.
