Wallet Chains - What are they? Where did they come from? Why why why?
We call them wallet chains, but they can be just as good for keys, your mobile on anything else. They have become a great addition to a men's casual outfit; the epitome of the men's fashion accessory, so we love them of course and we wanted to take a closer look...
We reckon these chains have their origins with the advent of pocket watches back as far back as the 19th Century. Men wore these watches clipped to the front of their trousers and looped around to the back where they would place the watch in their rear pocket. This meant the matching silver or gold chain would hang down, and could be seen by all; a nice piece of jewellery detail.
They managed to move onto the front of the popular three piece suits, and tended to be clipped onto the waistcoat and into an additional pocket specifically for the watch. This meant the chain was still on show and was an important, eye-catching status detail for the gentleman's outfit. This trend continued right up until the 1950's when wristwatches started taking over and the pocket watch fell out of favour.
So there was a precedent set to the chain hanging in a loop to the side of of the trousers which was picked up postwar by the rocker scene in the sixties. Style was important in those times and identifying yourself as from your sub-culture was paramount; the rockers had a tougher, rougher image and with silver studs de rigour, the chunky silver wallet chain also became one of those items. This transformed to the punks and became amplified, since silver chains and jewellery were even more crucual factors for them to look the part. The wallet chain eventually followed the darker side of the subculture to gothic fashion. This can explain why you find so much skull influence on wallet chains today.
The trend today has not gone unnoticed by high fashion labels like Bottega Veneta, Raf Simons and Dolce and Gabbana who have all used the wallet chain in their collections. Top jewellery designers have used it as well, credible names like Chrome Hearts, Theo Fennell and Ugo Cacciatori have incorporated the format into their designs. Even more casual brands like Energie have featured wallet chains heavily in their catwalk collections. Those origins in bikers and goths have certainly not been ignored and tieing in nicely with the Vivienne Westwood skulls you'll find plenty of designs with darker elements.
On equip, we have plenty of variety with our wallet chains. From solid silver skull wallet chains at £195, all the way to simple stainless steel chains at £12, (and plenty in-between).
