Neck chains, hand chains, now wallet chains?! Tell some people about wallet chains and watch the expression on their faces. It would definitely give a facial representation of “what?!!.” Now, don’t get me wrong, wallet chains are one out of the many unique accessories out there, but most people don’t just know about it.
How Did They Come About?
In actual fact, the accessory first came to light during the 50s when bikers used it as a pragmatic tool for keeping their wallets while they went round testing the limits of their cycle’s torque. But oh my! How times have changed!
Take the rock band – Linkin Park and their 2000s metal contemporaries for example. Yes, they were not the first to bring to our faces the uniqueness of wallet chains, but they arguably wore it best. On stage, in their music videos, and even in interviews, it became more like a part of their body they couldn’t just do without.
So it is safe to say that wallet chains have their history embedded in contemporary music especially rock as it is the go-to accessories when they have their wallet both on and off the stage. This trend has now became a mainstay especially in the rock industry.
Where are Wallet Chains Now?
Let’s fast track to the 21st century, more than half of the people using wallet chains are not even close to being motorcyclists by an inch. You know why? Because it became a fashion identity just the same way wearing clothes went from just for covering the body, to being more than that. And, as pant leg sizes became longer, so did the eminence of wallet chains.
If you look at the hip-hop community you must have noticed that jewellery is one of the most distinctive style of dressing among artists, and with rappers’ fondness with showering their bodies with bling-bling, it was only a matter of time before they started getting accustomed to the beauty of wallet chains. From artists like Lil Wayne, to Ty Dollar $ign, to Young Thug, and the big man Rick Ross, we see that that at some point they were rocking this beautiful piece of accessory.
Right at this moment, street-wear fashion looks like it’s going through a rock ‘n’ roll phase with ripped denims, biker jackets, band T-shirts, and even studded boots, dominating many street style magazines and reports, and runways. However, as this rock-tinged apparel gracefully finds its way into the fashion industry, many other accessories are trying to do the same thing. For this reason, many progressive labels are attaching this accessory to their products, which has made them popular among many artistes, both hip-hop and otherwise.
How do you wear a Wallet Chain?
At this point you must have realised that you don’t necessarily have to be a motorcyclist to wear a wallet chain. You might just feel that it goes with your style or what you want to wear today, or the next, or the day after that. But trust me, for whatever reason you are getting a wallet chain, you don’t want to wear it the wrong way. Its equivalent to wearing your pants inside-out and you don’t want that, do you?
Getting the chain attached to your wallet and pants is quite easy and straightforward, but can be tricky sometimes. So, to avoid any form of embarrassment, here is the right way to wear a wallet chain:
- First, what you have to do is attach one end of the chain to your wallet. Most chains come with a trigger-opening hook, so what you do is you pull the trigger back to open it and then slide the curved end of the hook through the chain hole of the wallet. But, if your chain comes with a key-ring, the same way you would add a new key to a traditional key-ring is the same way you would attach your wallet. Viola! You are almost done.
- What you have to do next is, stick the wallet in your right or left back pocket, depending on where you want to chain it to. Why you have to do this is so that you don’t have to juggle the other end of the chain and your wallet when attaching it. Whatever side of the pocket you choose is up to you, but it’s best if you go with the same side as your dominant hand.
- Make sure it blends in with what you have on so it doesn’t hang out in an awkward manner and keeps making some sort of cluster sound while you walk around. Nobody wants that so you have to make sure your wallet chain blends in the way it should whenever you have one on.
- The right color is also important so you have to choose between silver or gold and ensure that the colors you go for is just right with your overall look and taste so you don’t look tacky and go all color blocking whenever you have one on because at the end of the day, you want to make a fashion statement and not get all tacky like some crazy rock star who just wants to impress groupies.
- Finally all you have to do is, attach the loose end of the chain to the front belt loop of your pants on the same side you placed your wallet. That’s it! You are now a chain wallet wearer. Feels good, doesn’t it?
Conclusion
Since the 50s, wearing wallet chains has been a trend both amongst hip-hop stars, rock bands, and even regular people, and its prominence keeps increasing daily. One interesting thing about this piece of accessory is that, you don’t have to hook it to a wallet. You could decide to just hook it to your pants without a wallet. Fascinating right? So what are you waiting for? Go on to