Las Vegas Weekly

Charming Charlie is easy too, at least when it comes to accessories

At Charming Charlie, you can get sassy goods for less. So when you lose them, it hurts less, too.

Photo: Christopher DeVargas

You know how your parents would always yell, “You’re the reason we can’t have nice things!” when you accidentally broke grandma’s expensive dinner plate because you were (allegedly!) using it as a Frisbee? Well, my whole life is a ruined Christmas holiday with my family. I can’t have nice things—at least not too nice. Why? Well, I beat my things up. Painted fingernails never last more than six hours; I have a bad habit of throwing jewelry in my purse where it’s bound to break; and I lose—ahem, misplace—things all the time. My love life could likely be tracked using a breadcrumb-like trail of forgotten earrings. So, with all this in mind, I don’t like spending an arm and a leg for expensive baubles, and I don’t like buying one-of-a-kind items I’ll feel guilty about losing. Instead, I go for the chain fashion stores, where you can buy cheap and durable earrings, necklaces and bags for casual accessorizing.

My newest favorite spot is Charming Charlie, a Texas-based fashion-accessory chain, which recently expanded into Las Vegas with its Tivoli Village storefront. The shop organizes its merchandise into colors, making pairing accessories simple, and it caters to a variety of styles. Do I want to feel like a Kentucky Derby-attending Southern belle with a big floppy hat? Or do I want the ruffled Bohemian scarf? With most accessories under $25, who’s to say I have to choose?

Silk and lace bow tie flats ($19.97)

Some people think every woman should own a little black dress, and every man should have a little black book. Me? I prefer little black shoes. They go with everything. Plus, these have bows! I’ve loved bows since I was 5, and I see no reason to stop now.

Flower mix bag ($24.97)

Eschewing the advice of What Not to Wear’s Stacy and Clinton to pay attention to what colors suit me and would be appropriate for several social environments, I go for what my gut tells me is cool. This hipster bag looks like an Andy Warhol-Jackson Pollock rejected love child. It makes me smile.

Cat-eye sunglasses ($14.97)

I know wearing these sets me up for comparisons to Gaga, but I was wearing cat-eye glasses years ago, back before anyone knew the Lady and her trampy fashion. Just ask the freshman who trash-canned me my senior year of high school.