Features: Focus

Dec
2003

Bling Bling

Fashion Editor Gloria Nicola
Photographed by Nedjeljko Matura

From bejeweled t-shirts to glittery dog tags, bold gold jewelry and men’s earrings, it’s all about the flash and dash of bling bling. In fact, a Wisconsin high school class recently voted to add bling bling—fake crystals—to the tassels of its graduation caps. Right in step with this hot trend, a multitude of jewel-encrusted eyeglasses and accessories make their debut.

From left: BLING BLING IMF 440 from Revolution Eyewear; CAVIAR Champagne Series 6124 from Ultra Palm Optical; CHRISTIAN DIOR Punk/S from Sàfilo USA; VERSACE N86-H from Luxottica Group; BLUMARINE 90371 from Colors in Optics
 

ABOUT BLING BLING
Coined in the late 1990s by New Orleans rap family Cash Money Millionaires, the term “bling bling”—used to describe diamonds, jewelry and all forms of showy style, including gold teeth—gained national awareness with the release of a song titled “Bling Bling” by Cash Money artist BG. The term is now going mainstream as the venerable Oxford English Dictionary (OED) drafts an official entry for its latest edition.

 

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