Esquire USA - 03.2020

THE SHORT STORIES PROTECT YA NECK

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFFREY WESTBROOK

I don’t want to

completely blow your mind

[extended bong rip], but have you ever really

considered the nature of the self? Are we born with

immutable characteristics that define us throughout our

days on this planet, or do we reinvent ourselves constantly—

sometimes so totally that the “you” you are now isn’t the

same you as, say, last year?

What I’m really trying to ask here is: Am I the kind of guy

who can wear a gold chain?

Sure, I’m physically capable of draping one around my neck. But

that’s not the challenge. A necklace is a necklace, but I’d never been

able to get past the idea that a string of precious-metal links is more than

that. It’s a statement. Of wealth. Or confidence. A desire to let the world

know you’ve made it. Whatever it was, I had imbued

this inanimate object with

enormous spiritual

power that required a personality—

a person—capable of matching it.

And then, not too long ago, I started to

suspect that perhaps I had been thinking way

too hard about what it means to wear a piece

of jewelry. Sitting in the Esquire offices one

morning, I noticed a colleague wearing a thin

gold chain over his black T-shirt. The vibe wasn’t

mystically powerful; it was just cool. It looked good. And it

occurred to me that maybe the only way to be the kind of guy who wears a gold

chain is to wear a gold chain.

So I tried it. I felt too visible. Too loud. I was utterly convinced of my own

ostentation. And then I walked outside—and no one gave me a second look.

Some people at the office glanced at this clearly life-altering accessory,

and then said nothing and moved on with their day.

I didn’t feel like a Gold Chain Guy, and yet here I was, a guy wearing a gold

chain. Maybe they’re one and the same, or maybe the latter begets the former.

There’s no way to know until you try. Fasten the clasp on a thin one with a

pendant (your call whether you’re channeling Steve McQueen or Tony Soprano)

and see how it sits. Or go for it with a thick Cuban link and see if you feel famous.

Are you a gold chain guy? Am I? Yes, if we choose to be. Or maybe we’re just

born that way and free will is an illusion. Here, take the bong.

Rule No.

A MAN WITH ONE

PIERCED EAR IS

RARELY AN

AMAZON PRIME

MEMBER.

857

PROP STYLING: MARGARET MACMILLAN/HELLO ARTISTS

32

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:

SANTOS DE CARTIER CHAIN

($7,450) BY CARTIER; CURB CHAIN

($1,650) BY TOM WOOD; PAD-

LOCK CHARM CHAIN ($430) BY

AMBUSH; 18 K SMALL BOX CHAIN

($3,050) BY DAVID YURMAN.

by JONATHAN EVANS

STAY GOLD, PONYBOY

Wearing a gold chain: SIMPLE ACCESSORIZING or radical

act of personal reinvention?