Men’s jewelry: bring on the bling<\/p>\n
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Sunday, February 12, 2006
\nNANINE ALEXANDER<\/p>\n
If the male is the showier sex in the animal kingdom, the human male has been camping under a camouflage tent for a long time.<\/p>\n
But quietly, gradually, men are venturing out by wearing more jewelry.<\/p>\n
The trend, like many, has gathered momentum from A-list celebrities who’ve been photographed sporting bracelets and necklaces with amulets. Matthew McConaughey, Antonio Banderas, Orlando Bloom and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have all been shown wearing bracelets. And does necklace\/bracelet savvy Johnny Depp need another mention?<\/p>\n
Jewelry industry insiders estimate a 20 percent growth in men’s jewelry purchases in the last few years. Excluding watches, the men’s jewelry category was about 10 percent of the $48 billion jewelry market last year, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n
Portland men are among those buyers, and local menswear departments have expanded their offerings beyond watches and cuff links to meet the demand. So far, nothing suggests a return of the gold chain, bare-chested disco look. Today’s styles tend to rugged-looking pieces that combine materials such as leather or horn with silver or titanium.<\/p>\n
“The Northwest is always more understated,” says Simon Chan, menswear buyer for Mario’s, who spoke by phone during a recent buying trip to New York.<\/p>\n
Cole Murik, co-owner of the Pearl District menswear store Finn, says the majority of men’s jewelry is being bought by men for themselves instead of gift purchases by significant others.<\/p>\n
Men shopping for themselves? That’s got to make at least some women happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Men’s jewelry: bring on the bling Sunday, February 12, 2006 NANINE ALEXANDER If the male is the showier sex in the animal kingdom, the human male has been camping under a camouflage tent for a long time. But quietly, gradually, men are venturing out by wearing more jewelry. The trend, like many, has gathered momentum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[411],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n