Accessories have always had the power to make or break an outfit — this is something women have known for centuries, lest we forget the infamous Coco Chanel quote of "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off". In recent times, however, men seem to be actively rejecting her advice. On the red carpet and the silver screen, outfit finishing touches are experiencing their own main character moments. Last week, on the final stop of the Wuthering Heights press tour in Australia, Jacob Elordi sent the internet into a meltdown by flashing a gold tooth emblazoned smile alongside his Bottega Veneta suit.
![sydney, australia february 12: jacob elordi attends the wuthering heights australian premiere at state theatre on february 12, 2026 in sydney, australia. (photo by brendon thorne/getty images)](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-2261202295-698f55c96aa16.jpg?resize=980:* ""Wuthering Heights" Australian Premiere - Arrivals")
The jewellery was engraved with the initials “CH” (for Catherine and Heathcliff, duh) and set with sparkling diamonds. This was a classic case of what has become coined as ‘method dressing' — popularised by super-stylist Law Roach and his long-term client Zendaya — as Elordi’s character also sports a gold tooth in the film, signifying his new-found wealth. James Harris, co-founder of the menswear and culture podcast Throwing Fits, believes that “Unique jewellery and accessories are a reliable way to individualise your swag, but it's perilously close to becoming just another copy and paste move.”
Last June, Jonathan Bailey captured the world’s attention with his Jurassic World Rebirth character’s “slutty little glasses”, as they were quickly christened. Before that, in 2020, we had “Connell’s chain”, a silver necklace worn by Paul Mescal’s character in the TV series Normal People that went so viral it got its own Instagram account. In Hamnet, the film released earlier this year, Mescal plays William Shakespeare while wearing a silver hoop earring which got so much screen time, it felt like it was vying for the same reaction as the aforementioned chain. But why all the fuss?
Harris’s perspective is that: “It's pretty hilarious that [these items] have been hyper-sexualised as 'slutty' for hetero men to cope with the fact that they're dabbling in a type of personal adornment that, contemporarily, is typically done by women and queer people.”
This is echoed by model and content creator Brett Staniland, who says: “I personally love a slutty little accessory and I think it helps deconstruct the genders attached to certain items. I remember when wearing a pearl necklace was seen as something very feminine (you should have seen the abuse I got when I did it on Love Island)”.
Cis-men are undeniably becoming more experimental with their fashion choices, driven by a more gender-fluid approach to dressing overall. Stylist and fashion editor Chris Amfo suggests that “men should shop more from the women's accessories departments — there are silk scarves, bracelets, jewellery, sunglasses etc in so much more variety, and will look great on guys who are confident enough to wear them”.
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However, he argues: “Gold teeth, hoop earrings and wire frame glasses are nothing new! We have seen this [style of dressing] for decades in hip-hop culture, like the cult 1990’s Jean Paul Gaultier frames worn by Tupac Shakur”.
Amfo references Timothée Chalamet’s recent press tour for the film Marty Supreme, where his looks of baggy branded tracksuits, rimless glasses and Timberland boots were all clearly borrowed from hip-hop aesthetics (reaching a climax when he featured on a track with rapper EsDeeKid). In such a fast-paced, short-engagement economy, it’s no wonder that stars like Chalamet are using fashion as yet another means to guarantee eyeballs. Harris comments that celebrity new found style is "sometimes for the noble reasons of self-expression and emitting your interests and values, but often it's for a superficial look-at-me need to grab attention in a system that rewards whoever's shouting the loudest.”
So what does all of this mean for the everyday man? It may be driving women wild — personally, I don’t care to admit how many times I re-played the Wuthering Heights trailer when it first dropped just to catch a glimpse of Heathcliff’s gold tooth and hoop earring while smoking a pipe — but will we see the ‘slutty little accessory’ go mainstream?
While Staniland suggests that having constant access to new trends via social media gives men the confidence to express themselves and enjoy being “a little daring or controversial” in the manner of their favourite stars, he also thinks that “a lot of men are using fashion and interesting accessories to mask expressing their genuine personalities because they might be insecure about how uninteresting they actually are”.
As with any type of fashion, worn by anyone of any gender — it’s their confidence that makes you weak at the knees, not the [insert your choice of slutty accessory here].
Harris offers some sage advice worth remembering in our culture of constant comparison. “Professionally hot men with stylists and cosmetic surgeons on speed dial should never be your style icon; look at real people instead and synthesise your own experiences and interests into something only you can express. When guys are glazing a celebrity fit I always say it's best to take your thumb and cover up their face in the photo...do you still think it's a good fit? Or is Jacob Elordi just a perfect specimen?” We all know the answer to that last question — so perhaps it’s best to stop your boyfriend before he ends up owing thousands in dental fees.
Rebecca Jane Hill is the Senior Fashion Editor at Cosmopolitan UK. She has previously contributed to publications including Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Refinery29, The Face, Glamour and Stylist. She started her own magazine, Sister, in 2012 whilst at university. Focused around feminism, fashion and culture, it went on to produce 12 globally stocked print issues, as well as countless events and partnerships. She closed the magazine in 2023.
Rebecca has been an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion since 2018, where she teaches on the Fashion Journalism course. She is a passionate second-hand shopper and is constantly on the lookout for new design talent.
