There are few phrases more terrifying than ‘men’s fashion’. It reminds me of yuppies in salmon-coloured jorts on their way to play padel; Hackney mullets; white polo shirts worn by blokes who bathe in Joop!; Olly Murs and the era of the trilby; the Peaky Blinders aesthetic. Men’s fashion has now brought us another monstrosity, the gentleman’s pearl necklace. And no, I’m not talking about the sexual act – get your mind out of the gutter.
Timothée Chalamet recently became the first solo man to appear on the front cover of Vogue, where he wore a pearl choker. A pearled-up Harry Styles attended the 2019 Met Gala in what can only be described as a crossover between Sir Walter Raleigh and a divorcée from Croydon. A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott and Shawn Mendes all love a pearl lavalier – or rather, their stylists do – but they didn’t invent the look.
Until a few hundred years ago, pearls were a more androgynous indication of status and prestige. They were presented as gifts to Chinese royalty as far back as 2300 bc. Polynesian warriors wore pearls as a symbol of power and for protection. Male members of ancient Rome’s ruling classes sported pearl jewellery, often sewn into garments or worn as cloak pins. Even Caligula’s horse had some pearl bling. King Charles I loved his pearl earring so much that he wore it to his execution. I understand you, Charles: I’ve been wearing the same gammy George Michael-inspired dangly earring for six years, and I too will wear it to my beheading.
The industry changed completely in the late 19th century when Kokichi Mikimoto learned how to grow cultured pearls. He spent decades convincing the Japanese that these were biologically indistinguishable from the naturally occurring variety and eventually managed to open shops in Paris, New York and Bombay. Mikimoto, along with designers like Coco Chanel and Paul Poiret, changed pearls for the modern era, marketing them exclusively at women. Chanel had a penchant for faux pearls, which are made of glass or plastic and covered with iridescent paint. I hold Chanel directly responsible for Dot Cotton’s wardrobe and the ropes of tacky plastic pearls you find at Claire’s Accessories.
By the early 19th century, men rarely wore pearls. That was until Mr Styles et al seemingly robbed a care home and shocked the world of men’s fashion. It didn’t take long for minor celebrities to catch on. In 2023, pretty much every lad on Love Island had a pearl necklace. That same year, Brooklyn Beckham wore four pearl chokers to the Met Gala.
Is the gentleman’s pearl necklace here to stay? I don’t think so. The problem with the pearl necklace is that it needs to look elegant, regardless of whether it is worn by a man or a woman. Harry Styles can pull it off because he’s Harry Styles. There has to be something feminine about the man who wears pearls. It will look out of place on the hundreds of burnt British torsos descending on the coasts of Ayia Napa, Benidorm and Majorca this summer. I can only hope that when they look back at their holiday photos, they rethink their fashion choices. After all, who would want to wear anything that the cast of Love Island deems fashionable?
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