It's a bling thing
July 18th 2009 06:55
Our fascination with bling does not seem to have diminished, despite being regularly told by the media that in the face of economic downturn, being ostentatious is like, so not cool. But rappers are still waxing lyrical about their shiny grills, sparkly watches big enough to break your arm are still being seen around town, and diamonds are still a girl’s best friend. Yes the likes of Tiffany’s have reported a slight downturn in sales, but our fascination with all things shiny is certainly proving resilient.
The whole bling thing was a talking point for my bestie and I this afternoon, and surprisingly it wasn’t post a hip-hop special on MTV. Having just been told he needs glasses (finally I can almost justify why he has a snuggie – clearly he just couldn’t see how ridiculous he looks) we went for a bit of a peruse through the local optometrist to check out frames. After losing me to the Prada section for a while, we met again over Chanel where bling is clearly still very, very in. After mocking a pair of highly fabulous frames which appeared to feature more diamonds than the jewellery store opposite, Stevie declared that there is definitely a thing as too much bling. After commending his poetry skills, I pondered – where is the bling line?
I was recently told the story of a friend of a friend who apparently despised incredibly garish jewellery. That is, until her newly wealthy husband took her to Dubai and bought her a gold necklace big enough to give a chiropractor scoliosis. Apparently she now won’t be seen without it. So when the economic slowdown results in a general call for all things showy to be shown less often, does the bling line really just come down to money? It would seem that the more cash you have, the further away the bling line becomes. Whereas for many normal folk a bit of sparkle in your ears or around your neck is designed to add to an outfit, if we take our cues from those who have more funds than they know what to do with, the amount of shiny things you don appear to just be a way to silently tell people “I have a lot more money than you. A LOT MORE.”
This even translates to the homie grills. No one can honestly say that a mouth full of metal, even if it is metal worth tens of thousands of dollars, is attractive. Teenage kids the world over beg their parents not to make them live through the mortification of braces, but if you’ve got the liquidity, a pair of baggy pants and a boom-box, suddenly you want to relive that horrific period? I’m not buying it. Surely it’s about nothing other than demonstrating how much money you have. Grills have got to be a clear message to the world that you have so much money, so much so you have trouble spending it, you even had to have a diamond encrusted mouthguard custom made for you.
Oh to not have a bling line!
The whole bling thing was a talking point for my bestie and I this afternoon, and surprisingly it wasn’t post a hip-hop special on MTV. Having just been told he needs glasses (finally I can almost justify why he has a snuggie – clearly he just couldn’t see how ridiculous he looks) we went for a bit of a peruse through the local optometrist to check out frames. After losing me to the Prada section for a while, we met again over Chanel where bling is clearly still very, very in. After mocking a pair of highly fabulous frames which appeared to feature more diamonds than the jewellery store opposite, Stevie declared that there is definitely a thing as too much bling. After commending his poetry skills, I pondered – where is the bling line?
I was recently told the story of a friend of a friend who apparently despised incredibly garish jewellery. That is, until her newly wealthy husband took her to Dubai and bought her a gold necklace big enough to give a chiropractor scoliosis. Apparently she now won’t be seen without it. So when the economic slowdown results in a general call for all things showy to be shown less often, does the bling line really just come down to money? It would seem that the more cash you have, the further away the bling line becomes. Whereas for many normal folk a bit of sparkle in your ears or around your neck is designed to add to an outfit, if we take our cues from those who have more funds than they know what to do with, the amount of shiny things you don appear to just be a way to silently tell people “I have a lot more money than you. A LOT MORE.”
This even translates to the homie grills. No one can honestly say that a mouth full of metal, even if it is metal worth tens of thousands of dollars, is attractive. Teenage kids the world over beg their parents not to make them live through the mortification of braces, but if you’ve got the liquidity, a pair of baggy pants and a boom-box, suddenly you want to relive that horrific period? I’m not buying it. Surely it’s about nothing other than demonstrating how much money you have. Grills have got to be a clear message to the world that you have so much money, so much so you have trouble spending it, you even had to have a diamond encrusted mouthguard custom made for you.
Oh to not have a bling line!
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