Every decade has its essential accessory, without which no trendsetter is complete. In the Sixties, Biba boots decorated the legs of the self-respecting hippy chick. Gucci loafers peeked from under every pair of Seventies flares, and no Big Bang power-dresser was complete without her
Chanel handbag. The Nineties have their own particular style iconography. This time around, it's all about understatement: the
fabric bag sans gilt chain, the loafers tassel-free, the makeup logoless.
Make no mistake, however. The label inside matters as much as ever.
Take this season's biggest must have - the Patrick Cox loafers. Cox is a thirtysomething Canadian shoe designer and winner of last year's Accessories Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards. His
signature shoe is a plain, chunky loafer, called a Wannabe which can be bought in an eclectic variety of materials. At £85 to £160, it isn't cheap, and there are plenty of imitations, indistinguishable to the uninitiated, currently tramping the high street.
Nevertheless, no-one who's anyone in the trendy set would dream of sporting anything other than genuine Patrick Cox.
There are queues twenty deep outside the small Sloane Square shop, as yet the only one in London. Although the stock is sold in other shops, obsessed customers know when new deliveries are on their way and lurk in wait to bribe the driver to siphon them off a pair.
At the door, there is a bouncer, Junior, a minor celebrity in his own right, to keep the crowds under control. He has a guest list for Patrick Cox's friends, so they won't be kept waiting along with the hoi polloi. And as a result, scenes of pandemonium in the shop have become commonplace. One famous anecdote has two women customers fighting over the last pair of Wannabes. In the reverse of the judgement of Solomon, they preferred to buy one
shoe each than leave the pair intact.
