About a year ago we talked about two trends that had been emerging – dainty jewellery and chunky jewellery. 2020 certainly hasn’t seen those trends slow.
In fact, within those trends we’ve noticed another trend emerging. And that is genderless styling.
Whether it’s bold prints on flared trousers and knitted sweater vests, or his acute attention to sartorial detailing, Harry Styles has been heading the fight for freer stylistic expression for a while now.
And it’s a fight for genderless styling as much as anything else.
Dainty jewellery for men
While in recent history jewellery has been a predominantly female convention, it hasn’t always been that way, and it’s becoming increasingly evident that it shouldn’t be that way.
Where men have worn jewellery, it’s tended to be a way to signal wealth. The ‘80s saw artists across the Hip-Hop industry doing their best Mr T impression. But new school artists like A$AP Rocky have been experimenting with feminine expression, and establishing a more refined taste in the process – with a lesser emphasis on traditionally masculine looks. Ditching the diamond encrusted dollar signs on bicycle-style chains in favour of dainty necklaces and pearl earrings.
The key transition here is that men are now using jewellery as a form of expressing themselves, rather than reflecting their wealth.
Dainty jewellery is great for adding a touch of sophistication to an outfit, and perfect for layering for a more statement look.
Styles goes subtle, wearing a crucifix pendant on a thin (likely 1mm) silver chain, similar to our plain sterling silver cross necklace.
If the crucifix isn’t quite your style, you’ll never fail to hit the note with a St Christopher:
And while we’re on pop music, another name that’s never too far from the top of the charts…Billie Eilish.
Chunky jewellery for women
She’s known to wear oversized t-shirts, chunky trainers and *yes* chunky, layered jewellery.
Eilish turned 18 years old in December of last year, and in February of this year she became the youngest artist to both write and record a theme song for James Bond, for the upcoming No Time to Die.
And it’s unsurprising that female artists like Eilish, who have only recently started receiving industry respect proportional to their talents, in festival headline slots and award nominations, are incorporating pieces of chunkier jewellery and expressing themselves a bit more.
To younger generations, Eilish has become a celebrity icon of free expression as quickly as she became a chart-topping singer of bulletproof pop songs.
Stylish Eilish (sorry!) makes bold statements, accessorizing her outfits with chunky, often layered pieces.
Our recent ‘along the lines of…‘ collection features some great chunky earrings to jump on this bold, more statement trend and get that Billie Eilish look.
Neither artist sacrifices their ‘manness’ or ‘womanness’ in this – and the principal takeaway is that both are at ease in presenting and expressing themselves in their ways.
Where in the past both men and women have been constricted by societal demands to wear ‘gender-appropriate’ clothing, it’s clear that conventions of traditional ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ are becoming more and more trivial. It’s an antiquated notion that any of us are wholly feminine or wholly masculine – and as people have started to realise this style interests have merged, and wardrobes have become more unified – more unisex.