Do real men wear pearls?

[JerseyPearl]

Wish we had a "like" button for photos!

 

[theseventhsphinx]

(starting young)
Tahitian on leather

Awww! What a great idea as a gift!

 

[BlackPearlDudeDC]

This thread is old as sin but I love it, its also timely.

The other day someone, a stranger made derogatory comments about a necklace I was wearing. First (and not to be militant) I couldn't give 5 flying fishballs what anyone thinks about what I wear and how I wear it. What does bother me is rudeness and disrespect and the willingness of people to express it so openly.

That being said, too much is placed on what makes a man. My pre-teen nephews are afraid to show emotion if they've hurt themselves playing, because they're told its not "macho". I would never interfere with anyone's upbringing of their child, but I told my brother false Machismo is the worse trait you can instill on a male child. A real man is aware of his emotions, strong and secure in himself, regardless what others might say. Anything else just creates some sort of underlying doubt about themselves, be it their sports abilities or physical presentation. Easy to type out these words I know, but it got me to thinking, why would a perfect stranger feel free to speak ill of someone they don't know at all. It perplexes me. People go on and on about distaste for being Politically Correct...I say whatever, how about common decency and respect?

Haha my Rant is over and here is the necklace in question:

Folk's guy's wear pearls, full stop.
"Real men" as a macho term associated with soccer is pretty odd-ball.
When you have a game in which the Men trip over and cry in the hope of a penalty, leave the macho terms out, please.
Soccers a good game, but lets keep it in perspective.
I wear pearls. Now that I'm very happyly married to a beautiful woman, I don't care what "type" of man I'm perseived to be.
So all you butch-o dudes, remember to wash your pearl when you take it off.

Rusty

 

[Marianne]

Your necklace looks quite "manly" to me, especially with the beard! Sorry you were on the receiving end of a rude jerk's comment.
As for manliness and emotions… when I saw my future son in law crying as my daughter sang at her senior vocal recital, I knew he was a keeper. 15 years later and now the dad of 4 kids he still is. ps I think he needs a pearl on leather for Christmas

 

[BlackPearlDudeDC]

Thanks! 15 years? That is a true accomplishment. 4 kids...and moms get "push" presents, what about dads? LoL. I totally bet he would Rock a leather and pearl necklace or bracelet. Guys are rocking "beads" these days, and stacking them. Even my younger brother, which surprised me wears a black only bead bracelet daily. I told him black onyx beads are only a step away from "black" pearls.

I'm working on Tahitians and heavy silver links, we'll see how I like it. Leather for me is fun, but something in my body corrodes it so fast, and the treated ones I breakout. I found something interesting, most of my male friends are actually okay with "Black" pearls, particularly the "circled" ones and the baroque shapes (not sure if it matters if they are tahitians or cfwp). It is not popular for men to wear pearls, but I never bought into the "Pearls are exclusive to women" idea. Granted I have way more Tahitians than any other type so that might say something too, I don't know. Even today men in India wear wedding pearls when they dress up, all quite interesting, I think they look regal when they do. I was watching family feud and it was Celeb night (football players). They were all wearing suits and ties, some of them wore diamond "tennis" necklaces under their ties, while I know bling is different than pearls, it does show an increasing culture shift when it comes to men and their relationship with jewelry...beyond cufflinks and watches.

Your necklace looks quite "manly" to me, especially with the beard! Sorry you were on the receiving end of a rude jerk's comment.
As for manliness and emotions… when I saw my future son in law crying as my daughter sang at her senior vocal recital, I knew he was a keeper. 15 years later and now the dad of 4 kids he still is. ps I think he needs a pearl on leather for Christmas

 

[Marianne]

Check out the ruckus photos. We had one guy totally rocking a Tahitian rope complete with tassel!

 

[Katbran]

Well to be honest I can't imagine why any guy would object to that necklace. It's not what my sons ( 29 27) would consider "girly" and while they would never wear any sort of necklace they could care less what anyone else chooses to wear. ( I missed the opportunity to capitalise on a very brief period around 14-15yrs of age when the 'surf' thing was huge - and one of them would wear a necklace. I thought that it would last forever...wrong)

Some people are just angry and rude .. hard to not let them spoil your day but imagine how miserable their life is if they have to rag on strangers about their choice of accessories. .. or anything else.

 

[BlackPearlDudeDC]

That's Purr's Guy right, I am not surprised she convinced several of the fellas to try on her tasseled rope. I've seen more and more guys wearing longer tahitian pearls with Skulls and black spinel, or gothic crosses and dragons, for example. I think it is a cross over from the "hip-hop" bling trend. Pharrel and Steven Tyler have long worn the longer strands of black pearls. There is also a designer (can't remember which house he designs for) that wears a signature strand of white natural pearls.

I have a carved wolf head in turquoise and had been pondering what to do with it. I like the idea of a bit longer necklace, the tassel "rope" is probably too long for me but I think I am getting an idea of what to do with it. (See the Menagerie thread for the Fluorite version of the wolf head)

Check out the ruckus photos. We had one guy totally rocking a Tahitian rope complete with tassel!

 

[battah]

BPDDC, I'm sorry you ran into such douchebaggery. I'm always astounded by the things people feel like they can say to others.

And re: machismo, that's been a very big topic on my mind lately. My son is turning two tomorrow (ahhhh) so he's still a baby, but my husband and I have been having a lot of conversations about how to make sure these awful gender stereotypes aren't seeping into his learning process already. I'm already surprised by how often it's coming up with our five-year-old daughter. Both of my kids enjoy wearing pearls and playing with superhero dolls, so I hope they stay that way

Also your necklace is rad.

 

[Purranha]

BPDDC - agree with the sentiment here, I'm so sorry you went through that. It is just incredulous how rude and inconsiderate people can be, in real life and even worse online. It really breaks my heart to constantly see such examples and demonstrations occurring in our lives.
You have awesome pearl/non-pearl jewelries - LUV your snake bracelet in your avatar.

Yes, the rope wearing guy is my boyfriend. Granted he doesn't wear ropes on a regular basis, it was still a lot of fun and I think it looked great. Here are some pics. And as I hashtagged - #menwithpearlsarehot

 

[Caitlin]

My hubby has been wearing strings of beads since the 1960's when I made him some "love beads" with a real, natural pearl on it from my grandfather's collection.

(The grandfather sponsored pearl dhows in the Persian Gulf right at the end of the pearl business in Bahrain from the 30's-50's, when he and my grandma lived in Bahrain as some kind of foreign consultant. I got one fairly short piece of his pearls, as my sister and I had to share my mom's 20" strand, so he was no big pearl-man, but my g-ma did get some good strands out of it, LOL, including a choker of all 7mm pearls - that one went to the "Son". I choke when I think how much it is worth and don't even know what happened to it after son and wife died........sigh...... sorry, that really is way off topic.....)

Anyway, my hubby, Reggie, has always worn necklaces after that one (which he still has). He wore one of spondylus spine trade beads at this year's ruckus. Also has a turquoise chunk necklace- almost a choker length at 18". No one has ever said mean things.

BPD, you are so attractively charismatic in that neck shot- they must have just been jealous! Your sentiment was beautiful and beautifully stated- a true SF dude!! Thanks for your post! I wish you would come to a ruckus! I think a lot of us would like to meet you! And hug you.

 

[BlackPearlDudeDC]

First Caitlin (and everyone) thank you so much for the kind words and support.

Here in SF I generally I don't take what anyone off the street says too seriously. Many of the mentally ill people here talk to themselves or scream at invisible opponents quite often (I mean this seriously) and a bit more infrequently they might even yell at you ( trust me I have many stories). This person however had a work badge for a local tech company which itself does not indicate mental stability (I am a reformed techie lol) so it was a bit perplexing. Not to get too political... the more thought on it I got upset, because the current mood here in the States seems to be one of common decency going by the wayside. I am sorry I vented here, but I am over my rant and I am back into my feelings as the young ones say. Still thank you to everyone for speaking up and supporting me, restores my confidence in the kindness of people, You all really are a special bunch (in the words of Douglas in a recent post ruckus blog post).

Speaking of Ruckus, Caitlin it would have been a pleasure almost beyond measure to be in the company of so many pearl experts, game changers and true pearl shakers. I am determined to make it to one (eventually lol). From J & K wearing torsades and ropes, to Purr's honey representing the men (now whats that hashtag again ?

Back to real men wearing pearls. Caitlin I can tell you how jealous I am of your hubby! I still dream of owning a natural pearl and I think it is awesome that first you made him something and second that he wears it proudly and continues to be himself, regardless of what is or isn't considered manly. To me that is what a real man is made of. Btw I for one, I don't mind your stories about your heritage, are you kidding? It is fascinating and not many have this experience to share and I am glad you are willing to. No doubt sharing the stories also helps you relive happy memories right? So why not!!! I'm long winded as always.

My hubby has been wearing strings of beads since the 1960's when I made him some "love beads" with a real, natural pearl on it from my grandfather's collection.

(The grandfather sponsored pearl dhows in the Persian Gulf right at the end of the pearl business in Bahrain from the 30's-50's, when he and my grandma lived in Bahrain as some kind of foreign consultant. I got one fairly short piece of his pearls, as my sister and I had to share my mom's 20" strand, so he was no big pearl-man, but my g-ma did get some good strands out of it, LOL, including a choker of all 7mm pearls - that one went to the "Son". I choke when I think how much it is worth and don't even know what happened to it after son and wife died........sigh...... sorry, that really is way off topic.....)

Anyway, my hubby, Reggie, has always worn necklaces after that one (which he still has). He wore one of spondylus spine trade beads at this year's ruckus. Also has a turquoise chunk necklace- almost a choker length at 18". No one has ever said mean things.

BPD, you are so attractively charismatic in that neck shot- they must have just been jealous! Your sentiment was beautiful and beautifully stated- a true SF dude!! Thanks for your post! I wish you would come to a ruckus! I think a lot of us would like to meet you! And hug you.

 

[BWeaves]

That necklace looks pretty manly to me. I don't get why anyone would even comment on it, except to say that they like it, which I do.

I would NEVER tell a complete stranger that they're bra didn't fit right, or that they really should look into wearing pants instead of whatever was covering their legs. Actually I wouldn't tell someone I knew well unless they asked me specifically about their outfit, and only if I was in their home and they were getting dressed and could change their clothes. And even then, I'd try to be as polite about my answer as possible.

 

[JerseyPearl]

People can be so small, and rude...to quote Michelle Obama, "when they go low, we go high."

If I were to see you on the street wearing your pearls BPDDC, I might invite you to share a cup of coffee so I could get a closer look!

 

[CortezPearls]

Hey! Men HAVE BEEN WEARING PEARLS for Centuries!!!!

This is King Phillip the 3rd of Spain...wearing "La Peregrina" (on the hat)


Here's Shah Nadir of Persia...

And the list goes on...
Pearls really feel nice against the skin and the only thing I don't like when I wear them is having them near body hair...bracelets don't look nice on me, but necklaces/pendants are OK. There are options when you want to wear pearls.

 

[Purranha]

We NEED to recreate some of these looks with the gents at the next Ruckus!

 

[BlackPearlDudeDC]

Thank you! I think people forget to turn off their "Social Media Troll" mindset...so they troll in real life too.

That necklace looks pretty manly to me. I don't get why anyone would even comment on it, except to say that they like it, which I do.

I would NEVER tell a complete stranger that they're bra didn't fit right, or that they really should look into wearing pants instead of whatever was covering their legs. Actually I wouldn't tell someone I knew well unless they asked me specifically about their outfit, and only if I was in their home and they were getting dressed and could change their clothes. And even then, I'd try to be as polite about my answer as possible.

 

[BlackPearlDudeDC]

You have no idea how much I loved that quote...I seriously thought of making a t-shirt or coffee mug with it.

People can be so small, and rude...to quote Michelle Obama, "when they go low, we go high."

If I were to see you on the street wearing your pearls BPDDC, I might invite you to share a cup of coffee so I could get a closer look!

 

[BlackPearlDudeDC]

The scary thing is in my mind I am Royalty...at least my friends all seem to think that I actually I think it LOL. But I have said forever men have worn pearls all throughout history and somehow this got lost. I don't suggest we men all go around wearing Baroda Ropes or the cache of the Iranian treasury (and if any of you did, I'd support your choice so to do), but Come on what could be more fun than wearing a gem that is completely organic? I truly don't see how one can honor natural world more, pearls do that. Here, you guys are all in the know so there is no convincing needed! I do want a revolution though...a man-pearl revolution (just kidding).

Hey! Men HAVE BEEN WEARING PEARLS for Centuries!!!!
View attachment 43997
This is King Phillip the 3rd of Spain...wearing "La Peregrina" (on the hat)

View attachment 43998
Here's Shah Nadir of Persia...

And the list goes on...
Pearls really feel nice against the skin and the only thing I don't like when I wear them is having them near body hair...bracelets don't look nice on me, but necklaces/pendants are OK. There are options when you want to wear pearls.

 

[BlackPearlDudeDC]

I bet Sheri has seen lots of these looks recreated, I just bet it.

We NEED to recreate some of these looks with the gents at the next Ruckus!