Marc Jacobs on His Quarantine “Good Luck Charm”

From Harper's BAZAAR

Welcome to The Good Buy, our series where friends of Harper's Bazaar tell us about the one purchase that was really worth it.

"I talked about buying a pearl necklace for so many years. And I never did. Then last Christmas, I said, 'This is it. I’m doing it. I’m going to Mikimoto and I’m going to get my pearl necklace.' Now [the pearls] have become like a good luck charm. Since we’ve been in quarantine, it became very important to me, when I wake up in the morning, to do the things that bring me joy. Like, I don’t want to sit around in sweatpants. Fashion is such a big and important part of my life. The pearls are part of my ritual of self-care, and I can be of service to other people when I take care of myself. So it is kind of a symbol of my well-being in a way, you know, that I care.

I used to watch my grandmother Helen get ready to go out shopping when I was living with her. I remember her ritual of choosing her clothes and putting on her makeup and putting hair spray in her hair that had been set. And the last thing she did was put on the pearls. So I just always associated pearls with being a very ladylike, womanly thing. A pearl necklace on a boy or someone who identifies as male becomes this fucking with gender. And I like wearing pearls, and I like getting my nails done. And I don’t think those things belong to a gender."

This article originally appeared in the December 2020/January 2021 issue of Harper's BAZAAR, available on newsstands now.

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