3 Resort Accessories Trends to Carry You Into Spring

By Suzanne Singer
January 20, 2011

Mischa Barton, Jennifer Lopez

Actress Mischa Barton carrying a yellow handbag (Photo by Craig Barritt/WireImage). Jennifer Lopez wearing stacked bangle bracelets (Photo by Denise Truscello/Contributor).

Resort wear is finally getting the recognition it deserves as a full-fledged fashion season. While traditionally, casual Resort clothes was designed for folks lucky enough to escape (via yacht, of course) to exotic islands during the cold winter months, in recent years, Resort clothing collections have evolved into previews of 2011 Spring fashion trends. Though the Resort wear vibe is still warm-weather, the fashion trends are relevant enough to last through the coming seasons. Accessories, in particular—especially jewelry—are easy to get going on early. (Who says you can't pair a bright bangle bracelets with your coziest winter sweater?) Here, our three favorite women's resort wear accessory trends.

Raffia Detail Shoes

Raffia straw, a natural fiber that comes from the leaves of palm trees, takes on a luxe, Palm Beach-y feel when elevated by jewels and colorful leathers. At Yves Saint Laurent, Stefano Pilati added cheerful strappy leather to raffia platform heels. For his namesake collection, Marc Jacobs presented a bejeweled multicolored raffia mule and Sonia Rykiel showed peep-toe double platform espadrilles with one platform made from natural raffia. On eBay, online sales for "raffia" items in the Clothing, Shoes and Accessories category were 7 percent higher in December than October.

Roll over items for details

Raffia Sandals

(buy it now price, $139.99)

New Multi Color Raffia High Heel

(buy it now price, $16.49)

New Raffia Wedge Platform Sandal

(buy it now price, $42)

Vintage Raffia Sandals

(buy it now price, $90)

Vintage Raffia Flower Bud Slide Sandal

(buy it now price, $45)

New Leather and Raffia Rosette Wedges

(buy it now price, $295)

3 Resort Accessories Trends to Carry You Into Spring

Lemon-Colored Handbags

Perhaps because yellow is the color of the sun, lemon-colored handbags had a major showing for Resort wear for women. These was a boxy satchel at Versace, a slouchy yet structured work style bag at Proenza Schouler and an envelope clutch at Celine, where the citrus color made a bright impact. On eBay, online sales of women's handbags with the listing term "yellow" were up 34 percent in December over November.

New Leather Twist Lock Vintage Style Satchel

(buy it now price, $62.28)

Purse Leather Bag

(buy it now price, $499.99)

New Leather Handbag

(buy it now price, $99)

New Whipstitch Tote Handbag

(buy it now price, $118.99)

New Stitched Leather Hobo Purse

(buy it now price, $19.99)

Canary Duffle Leather Handbag

(buy it now price, $150)

Bangle Bracelets

We've already written about the bangles fashion trend for Spring 2011. Well it seems like the look got it start in the Resort season, where the motto seemed to be “go big or go home” when it came to these stackable bangle bracelets. Muccia Prada dressed her models' arms with a rainbow colored assortment of bangles reaching all the way up the arm. Similarly, at Missoni, models rocked graphic black, white and yellow bangles almost touching the elbow) while at Luca Luca, three was the magic bangle number and the palette was neutral. This fashion trend is easy to embrace: pick through the bangle bracelets you already own, then buy a few more and pile it on.