decorative

[ dek-er-uh-tiv, dek-ruh-, dek-uh-rey- ]

/ ˈdɛk ər ə tɪv, ˈdɛk rə-, ˈdɛk əˌreɪ- /

serving or tending to decorate.

Fine Arts. serving only to decorate, in contrast to providing a meaningful experience.

Origin of decorative

First recorded in 1785–95; decorate + -ive

dec·o·ra·tive·ly, adverb dec·o·ra·tive·ness, noun non·dec·o·ra·tive, adjective o·ver·dec·o·ra·tive, adjective

o·ver·dec·o·ra·tive·ly, adverb o·ver·dec·o·ra·tive·ness, noun un·dec·o·ra·tive, adjective

Decorative yes, but a daily handbag that will sweep through the closets of women worldwide?

Handbags: The More You Pay, The Smaller They Shrink |Elizabeth Landers |December 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Decorative value is largely incidental to artistic merit as defined by critics.

Sneer and Clothing in Miami: Inside The $3 Billion Woodstock of Contemporary Art |Jay Michaelson |December 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Having been taught Modernism, a school of thought that scoffs at the decorative, materials became his primary means of expression.

Frank Gehry Is Architecture’s Mad Genius |Sarah Moroz |October 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Undergarments did enjoy a brief moment of exposure in the 18th century, with the ruling class indulging in decorative corsets.

What Lies Beneath: How Lingerie Got Sexy |Raquel Laneri |June 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

What such tours show most surreally is that both mother and baby share a silent, symbolic, decorative role.

Calm Down, Prince George Is Just a Baby |Tim Teeman |April 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A jelly with a flower in the top, or of two colors, will make a decorative piece for the table.

The Century Cook Book |Mary Ronald
Not a bit of worldly conceit, not a decorative adjunct of any kind, adorns the composition, but it is a perfect achievement.

Franz Hals |Edgcumbe Staley
The constant use of the column for decorative purposes is a marked characteristic.

Architecture |Thomas Roger Smith
The ceiling, decorated with scenes from Old Testament history, is painted with all the masters force and decorative science.

Venice and its Story |Thomas Okey
The Jacobean period was a decorative one, but not one of the highest level of the art of bookbinding.

English Heraldic Book-stamps |Cyril Davenport

decorative

/ (ˈdɛkərətɪv, ˈdɛkrətɪv) /

serving to decorate or adorn; ornamental

decoratively, adverb decorativeness, noun