Eyelet Them Alone

I’m not convinced about eyelets as a decorative device. Buttons, I can tell you immediately, I loathe, particularly when formed into jewellery (although trompe l’oeil buttons do not offend me – you know, those buttons that masquerade as functional buttons on pocket flaps and such but don’t actually do anything). As far as studs go, I’m Switzerland. I don’t hate ’em, but I don’t love ’em either.

Technically these little metal rings are called eyelets when they are used in shoes, but grommets (an unfortunate name that rhymes with something else I won’t mention) when utilised in clothing. Either way, though, I’m not sure of them. I decided to take some eyelets for a test-drive in the form of decorative yoke on a white silk tank. But the top is actually too big and shapeless on me, so now I can’t make an informed decision about the eyelets themselves.

But perhaps if the eyelets formed a kind of sculpture, like these Ferragamo high heeled sandals …

Ferragamo’s nude 110mm Sharon suede ankle sandalsWow-eee!

Tommy Hilfiger grommet steel drop earringsMichael Kors has also used grommets in interesting ways, such as this lime green handbag, and I adore this Coach Legacy duffel for its colour contrast. Over on Modcloth’s site, the dress with the oversize grommets is really striking too (it makes my tank top look kind of pathetic). The Tommy Hilfiger steel earrings are elegant in their refined simplicity, and the J.Crew belt shows a unique take on eyelets – most belts simply feature a single row of oversize rings, but this version overlaps the grommets to create a futuristic kind of armour.

Michael Kors lime green pebbled leather tote and Modcloth dressCoach Legacy Collection duffel bagJ.Crew overlap grommet belt

All of these items I have picked out have one thing in common: they are minimalist. The circular shape of the grommet lends itself to this look, and is far more appealing to me than creatively grommeted corsets, for instance (shades of medieval tavern serving wench).

However, if you want to look really, really classy for a night out on the town, you just can’t let these alone …

Eyelet eveningwear from Clubwear Central