Public figures wear them proudly. It can be seen paired with a watch, or alone on the wrist. The bracelet is in vogue among men. The jewel has even become “mainstream”, according to stylist Patricia Trépanier.
Brad Pitt may be the king. He was often seen with a layering of bracelets as much to accessorize a casual look as for a movie premiere outfit. Timothée Chalamet, a fan of jewelry, also wears it often. Prince Harry, on the other hand, has been wearing bracelets since he was a teenager. King Charles III even joined the club by showing off a bracelet in his first portrait.
“The bracelet is a way to express yourself, to show your style and your personality,” says men’s stylist Patricia Trépanier. According to her, the jewelry accompanies the trend of loosening up style and “more casual look”.
In a recent article, The Guardian newspaper even spoke of the “bro-celet”, a bracelet adopted by both bankers and tech workers, and which is intended to be a sign of a less conformist approach to the work and life.
For those who want to adopt it, Patricia Trépanier invites you to mix materials, such as leather, metal or marbles. His advice: stack a maximum of three and stick to one or two if you want to wear them on the same wrist as a watch.
Lately, stores have been offering more options for men’s bracelets, said Trépanier, who used to have trouble finding them. His clientele, often in their forties, wants to adopt the trend. “It is a questioning for many of my customers, especially since they do not have a lot of choice in accessories. »
Frédérick Robichaud and Jérémy Dumont sniffed out the deal shortly after launching their watch business. For the past three years, their company FJ – which offers a minimalist aesthetic – has offered several bracelets for men, as well as necklaces and rings. “The wristband is our second most popular product,” says Frédérick Robichaud.
“Guys don’t know where to start [when it comes to jewelry]. The bracelet is a good master key,” explains the former Double Occupation candidate and future host.
In the portrait of King Charles III, you can see a braided bracelet on the monarch’s wrist alongside a watch. The jewel, offered by the elder of the Achuar nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon, is a symbol of his involvement in the environment.
“Of course, it’s discreet, but at the same time, we advise men to roll up their sleeves to see the bracelet,” says Philippe Denis, lecturer at the ESG UQAM School of Fashion. So the message is to assume that you wear it, to assume the fact of superimposing them, of playing with styles and materials. »
According to Philippe Denis, the trend is part of a larger phenomenon of the decompartmentalization of gendered clothing. “To play with the codes and to break them, it allowed this return of the jewel for men and, in particular, of the bracelet”, he explains.
“We play with the border of what is masculine and feminine,” says the lecturer. For example, there are pearl bracelets for men that are advertised as borrowable by their better half.
The jewelry offered by FJ can be unisex, says co-founder Frédérick Robichaud, who believes the craze for men’s jewelry is just beginning. “It changes a style. It’s also a way to take care of yourself,” he said.
“When we have strong models who start wearing it, especially men whose virility we don’t question, the population will appropriate it and it will enter the collective imagination”, believes Philippe Denis. David Beckham, Ryan Reynolds, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zayn Malik and Shawn Mendes are also part of the long list of bracelet enthusiasts.
Patricia Trépanier also believes that the population is more and more accustomed to this trend that we can see “in films, series and on social networks”, she specifies.
And the bracelet is perhaps only one step in the reinvention of gender codes, believes Philippe Denis.