Holidays are going to appear different this summer — and so are we. But we don’t have to cover ourselves in ugly PPE to stay safe as we jet off to Europe.
Here are the best accessories to pack in these health-conscious times.
SANITISER NECKLACES
For the ultimate high-fashion hand sanitiser statement, New York designer Sarah Coleman has created sleeves made from repurposed leather vintage designer bags
Supermarkets quickly sold out of hand sanitisers at the beginning of the pandemic. They’re now back on our shelves and can be dressed up in fancy sleeves and even made into necklaces.
Etsy has a huge selection of leather covers in different colours with keychains (etsy.com).
For the ultimate high-fashion hand sanitiser statement, New York designer Sarah Coleman has created sleeves made from repurposed leather vintage designer bags, right, including Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
You can choose to buy the sleeve only or turn it into a long gold chain necklace (from £65, plus shipping from U.S., sarahcoleman.co).
FANCY FACE MASKS
The internet is now awash with pretty face masks. You can even co-ordinate your face mask with your outfit by choosing matching prints or colours
Masks are mandatory on most flights. Surgical masks may be effective, but they’re hardly attractive and the shade of baby blue may not always go with your outfit.
Thankfully, the internet is now awash with pretty face masks, including a set of three pastel print ones by New York designer Lele Sadoughi, a favourite of Kate Middleton (£32, lelesadoughi.com) or Boden’s three-pack vibrant print masks (£20, boden.co.uk).
If you’re after something more robust, try Vista Print’s collection of funky masks with a replaceable filter system (vistaprint.co.uk, £17).
For the ultimate fashion statement, PRITCH London has collaborated with BEBOLD to produce a mask cover made with crocodile leather and silk which is worn on top of surgical masks (£290, pritchlondon.com). You can also co-ordinate your face mask with your outfit by choosing matching prints or colours.
CUTLERY
Inflight meals will be a thing of the past while coronavirus is in existence, so invest in a reusable bamboo cutlery set to eat your Pret salad with on board. These can be used at restaurants, too.
Eco Bravo’s travel set includes a fork, spoon, knife, chopsticks, straw, cleaning brush and case (£11.95, ecobrava.com).
Eco Friendly’s set of four reusable straws come with a coconut hair brush and fibre bag (£4.99, amazon.co.uk).
GAPLESS GOGGLES
Coronavirus spreads easily when droplets containing virus particles are inhaled.
But it can also enter your body if you touch your eyes after being in contact with an infected surface.
Oakley’s new Clear Collection is the perfect fashion substitute for the safety eyewear seen in most laboratories, and are PPE qualified.
Designed to mould around your face with minimal gaps, you can wear them comfortably to sleep without worrying about the potential virus particles in the air or accidentally touching your eyes (from £93, oakley.com). For a cheaper alternative, try My Accessories oversized visor sunglasses with moulded nose pads (£9.10, asos.com).
VIRUS-BUSTING GLOVES
Atsuko Kudo makes a range of ladies gloves using high quality latex
The Queen sent the internet into a tailspin when she wore gloves to an investiture for the first time since the 1950s, in March as the pandemic took hold.
Many designers are creating virus-busting gloves.
Danish brand Rhanders has created a collection of antibacterial gloves that are hypoallergenic and come in different materials and styles.
Its crochet style is 100 per cent cotton and treated with technology that stops up to 99.99 per cent of microorganisms and bacteria passing through the fabric onto hands — even after washing (from £48, rhanders.com).
Atsuko Kudo makes a range of ladies gloves using high quality latex.They are reusable and easy to clean (from £175, atsukokudo.com).
COVID BUMBAG
You’re going to need to put all these accessories somewhere, and within easy reach.
No longer the accessory of choice for clichéd tourists, these ultra-convenient bags are having a renaissance, with labels from Nike to Burberry putting out their own versions.
Hunter Boots has a collection of colourful, easy clean, water resistant bumbags (£21, hunterboots.com).
BLANKETS BAN
Don’t expect to be handed a pillow and blanket on your next long-haul flight. Take your own. The World’s Best microfleece travel blanket, in eight prints (£7.95, amazon.com).