SS 2025 Key Item Accessories Report: headgear, belts and ties

The number of micro-trends spawned by social media platforms, including ‘Coastal Grandmother’, ‘Eclectic Grandpa’, ‘Quiet Luxury’ and ‘Tenniscore’ seem endless and somewhat surprisingly long lasting. It also means that any retail assortment will require a wide variety of accessories for the Spring/Summer 25 season. Classic or reworked traditional styles and shapes work best. Here are the key items for sunglasses, belts, headgear and neckwear, inspired by recent runway collections.

Hats and headwear

We only need to review street style stars to see that nothing finishes off a look, like a hat or hair accessory. For SS25 there are a myriad of both in the markets. Here are the most important ones.

Western hat

Western looks will continue to be popular in 2025. For the Roberto Cavalli Resort 2025, Fausto Puglisi accessorized a variety of looks with white felt Stetson hats.

Baseball cap

Baseball caps with a rounded crown and curved bill have been replacing bucket hats as the favorite street style accessory-du jour. Expect to see them on many runways for SS25. Stella McCartney has been showing them since FW23.

Sun hat

As the world heats up exponentially a sunhat is not only stylish but also essential.Wide-brims work best but can range in shape and size. Those at the FW24 Chanel show were oversized

Oversized headscarf

For his SS24 collection, Richard Quinn showed a headscarf in black and cream matched to a dress in the same floral print.

Romantic hair accessory

With micro trends such as #balletcore and #blokettecore leading the way, pretty ribbons and other sweet hair accessories are key. In one of her final shows for Chanel, Virginie Viard used floral headpieces to complete several looks

Sunglasses

Larger sizes of plastic frames are favored for SS25. Cellulose acetate is the material most commonly used as it can be dyed well in a wide variety of colors. The other benefit is that it can be recycled.

Aviators

At Burberry SS24, designer Daniel Lee showed aviator style sunglasses with thick green plastic frames and arms with silver accents.

Bug Eyes

As seen on the streets of Paris, a show attendee wore bug-eye frames in cream-colored plastic.

Cat Eyes

Ermanno Scervino showed vintage-style cat eye frames for SS24 in tortoiseshell plastic.

Shields

At the Andreadamo SS24, Andrea Adamo accessorized looks with avant-garde looking shield sunglasses with an off-white plastic frame.

Square Shaped

For SS24, George Lux of Leonard Paris showed square frames in tortoise shell plastic with blue lenses.

Belts

Belts can be a tricky category for store buyers as their popularity with customers depends on that season’s key silhouettes. However, interest in the waist has kept the need for belts in a variety of materials and styles, paramount.

Belt bag

In his SS24 collection Antonio Marras showed how the belt bag can be both functional and stylish: in this case, fully coordinated with a ladylike outfit.

Stretch belt

At Casablanca, Charaf Tajer accessorized sporty looks with elastic stretch belts that had a nostalgic athletic aspect.

Narrow belt

At the SS24 Zimmermann show, a narrow cream-colored patent leather belt with a coated buckle popped from a utilitarian look.

Chain belt

At Patou SS24, Guillaume Henry showed a double strand gold chain belt with hanging medallions.

Fancy buckle belt

For FW24, Elie Saab showed a modern alternative to the Western belt: a narrow leather belt with a metal embellishment was used to accessorize a double denim look,

Ties and neckwear

Menswear looks for women have been popular for decades; not surprisingly a tie can be an effective accessory. On the other hand, ladylike styles can also be enhanced with scarves and other neckwear.

Waffle knit tie

For his SS24 collection Ralph Lauren used a dark waffle knit tie to create a contrast to a white cotton eyelet blouse and skirt.

Skinny scarf tie

At Tanner Fletcher SS24, a romantic floral bias-cut slip dress was accessorized with a skinny scarf tie in the same fabric.

Western style bow tie

A bow tie with slim hanging tails is also known as a ‘Kentucky Colonel’ tie. Milanese designers Plan C showed a red untied version for SS24 to accessorize a pale blue shorts suit and white shirt.

Kipper tie

Designing for the SS24 80N8 collection, Li Gong showed a traditional British tie style, the kipper. This version was rendered in a yellow printed silk.

Neckerchief

Either tied in front or in back, the neckerchief is usually of cotton or silk. At the FW24 Lacoste show, Pelagia Kolotouros accessorized a black sweatshirt and pleated skirt with a silk neck scarf in a yellow, green, blue and white conversation print.