Social Question

Hawaii_Jake's avatar

Why don't men wear pearls?

Asked by Hawaii_Jake (37734points) March 10th, 2014

They’re beautiful.

I can’t recall ever seeing a man wear a strand of pearls.

I understand that a pearl necklace needs room to lie against exposed skin in most cases, so a lower neckline than is afforded by a man’s buttoned-up shirt is necessary. However, there are times men wear shirts with the buttons undone allowing metal chains and other jewelry to be seen. So, why not pearls?

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32 Answers

KNOWITALL's avatar

I totally think you should start a new trend HJ!
There’s no reason for men not to, although I believe the innocence/ purity of pearls in an old traditional, probably from England for young debutantes.

Juels's avatar

According to my hubby (I asked), pearls don’t go with his Motorhead t-shirts. He also made a reference to a NSFW pearl necklace.

Tropical_Willie's avatar

I’ve seen a man wear a black pearl stud earring.

syz's avatar

Honestly, I’m not that fond of pearls on women. They seem so formal and pretentious.

stanleybmanly's avatar

Come to San Francisco

Aster's avatar

Maybe the same reason women don’t wear. wingtip shoes?

Hawaii_Jake's avatar

Thank you, @marinelife. I am off to the jewelry store.

Coloma's avatar

Go for it Jake….set a trend. Open up those pearly gates. lol

Winter_Pariah's avatar

In my more gay moments, I just look up those “classy” videos with men sharing sausages. sometimes they wear “pearl necklaces.”

Hypocrisy_Central's avatar

They are designed for women, so….they are women’s jewelry.

dxs's avatar

When I first read this, I thought you asked “Why don’t men wear pants?”
I’d say because pearls are commonly associated with the female gender, which is predominantly women.

Aster's avatar

@marinelife oh, those! ok; I had images of Grace Kelly running through what’s left of my brain. Now those pearls look cool ! I mean, he’d scare me to death in that getup but the pearls do look neat.
I think Jake meant white pearls?

non_omnis_moriar's avatar

Modern men don’t dress like they did throughout western history.

Pachy's avatar

Gotta be a joke in here somewhere about swine and pearls.

ibstubro's avatar

Traditionally, men don’t wear pearls because pearls are fragile. You not see men with opals, either, and it’s nearly impossible to find an emerald for a man, because emeralds are brittle.

Imadethisupwithnoforethought's avatar

Because women are attracted to personality and fitness, and can see through our feeble attempts to fool them. So if we attempt to make ourselves look pretty, we just come off try hard, so best not to.

dxs's avatar

Hah! Today I was walking by a guy vending pearls and he’s like: “Guys! Don’t forget pearls for the girls!”

kritiper's avatar

Because manly men don’t need to.

gailcalled's avatar

Wingtips for women; around for decades.

Diane Keaton wore a similar pair in Annie Hall, quite possibly with pearls.

thatturtle's avatar

@marinelife, dude looks like a lady.

ibstubro's avatar

Girly?
Real Men.
Be more handsome and man!

If I really wanted to wear pearls, I would, and in such a way that people were pretty much, “Enhh. Nice necklace. Are those real pearls?”

I think the black pearls are more acceptable for a guy because they look like ball bearings, without the weight.

Adagio's avatar

@Hypocrisy_Central _ “They are designed for women, so….they are women’s jewellery.“_ Hence the original question, non?

GloPro's avatar

@dxs “pearls are commonly associated with the female gender, which is predominantly women.” huh, you don’t say? When did the female gender become predominantly women?

Stinley's avatar

Because you would end up looking like this

Darth_Algar's avatar

Because you don’t want to look like Steven Tyler.

dxs's avatar

@GloPro What are you getting at?

KNOWITALL's avatar

@ibstubro After your pic of Beckham, I’m down with the pearls on guys. ;)

ibstubro's avatar

Funny that it came right up when I searched for pearls on guys, @KNOWITALL.

NanoNano's avatar

Didn’t pirates wear pearls? Pearl earrings perhaps?

Gone out of fashion I guess along with the blunderbuss and the scimitar.

non_omnis_moriar's avatar

Baroque Period

During the rise of Louis XIV, the Sun King, and his court at Versailles, signaled the dawn of the Classical Baroque era in art, architecture, music, and fashion.

It was defined by natural, curving silhouettes, flowing lines, gold filigree, rich colors, and overall voluptuousness.

Clothing contained an abundance of lace, pearls, ribbons, and gold embroidery, and was refreshingly free from the excessive decoration of the Renaissance. Fashion changed rapidly: the growing middle class would copy the styles of the nobles, who would in turn create new fashions to stay more “refined” than the middle class.

Unlike earlier periods, where bodices, sleeves, skirts, jackets, and breeches were made to mix and match, clothing during this period was made as separate and entire matching outfits, often made of the same fabric. This was referred to as en suite, and was the predecessor for our modern-day “suit.”

Seasonality also began to be widely used, a grateful relief from yearlong, heavy gowns and doublets as worn during the Renaissance. The most important development of this period was the rise of fashion designers after Louis XIV certified the establishment of a dress-makers guild. This profession contained both men and women. The most popular designers were well-pursued by the nobility and even the middle class.

http://historyofeuropeanfashion.wordpress.com/

NanoNano's avatar

Ah, those were the days. =)

Have you ever seen women dressed up for a Steampunk convention? Wouldn’t mind seeing that as a new fashion trend today. LOL

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