in defense of trinkets
people love to carry around a useless little thing (i'm people)
Recently, I spotted my friend wearing the Simone Rocha pearl bag in an engagement photoshoot and I was SO excited for her since I myself had been coveting this bag for a few months. The bag is about the size of a miniature pineapple, is made of pearlescent lacquered acrylic, and is one of those objects that inevitable evokes the question “but what is it for?”
This thing probably couldn’t hold an iPhone 15 pro max, never mind anything else you’d need for a day’s activities. So essentially, it’s a $700 oversized keychain — and I think that’s incredible .
If there’s something you’ll learn about me, it’s that I love a useless little trinket. I think there’s something so human and beautiful about carrying around a little object that really serves no function except maybe to be a tactile reminder of the past and run your finger over. And even better if the object is human made! A little physical token of human labor and creativity?? What do you mean you whittled that little wooden bear from a larger, rougher piece of wood?? I will cherish it forever!!
And if my twitter feed is to be believed, I’m not alone! I’m sure I could do a more intensely-researched deep dive, but there’s certainly a whole genre of religious christian iconography and personal artifacts to prove that people have been obsessed with trinkets for a long time. I mean, sacred hearts? Rosary beads?? There is something quite literally spiritual about fingering a gold cross: maybe it’s the combination of the tactile - emotional - devotional components of the act? (or verbal, somatic, material for my d&d nerds??)
By the way, I don’t think this is just a historical phenomenon. One needs simply to observe the phone-case / phone-accessory industry to see that we are just as invested in attaching representational knick-knacks to ourselves as ever. Not even menswear is immune to this phenomenon, as “carrying your keys on your jeans as a fashion statement” has totally become a visible thing in the past few years (perhaps coinciding with the rising adoption of workwear aesthetics for men? a thought for a different article, perhaps)
But, like a curmudgeonly millennial, I’ll offer that I think we are losing touch in today’s modern trinket culture. Revering inconsequential objects is not the same as it used to be! Even though oversized keychains and phone accessories are getting more popular than ever before, I can’t help but think that something is missing. And don’t get met wrong, I don’t think the issue is one of aesthetics — as a kid who grew up in Southeast Asia in the early 2000’s, I am certainly an apostle of Sanrio. There is undoubtedly something just as magical and inspiring about pre-molded plasticine and pastels as there is with ivory and pearl!
No, dear reader. As always, I think the problem is with a societal shift in ascribed value and (unsurprisingly) with capitalism. Because of mass manufacturing making it so easy to make things, and consumeristic marketing brainwashing us all to believe that we need to own things, each individual thing subsequently starts to lose relative value. When we start chasing light-speed aesthetics and ever-changing trends (and become enabled to do so by drop-shipping and social pressures), then no individual thing matters anymore!
For example, “Jane Birkin-ing” your bag was a trend that was apparently popular recently, wherein the aesthetic was that of having an ultra-customized bag, full of keychains and stuff attached to the outside. But to me, this fell kind of flat, especially because a lot of girlies would go to Amazon or Shein or whatever to order a bunch of necklaces and keychains to afix upon their bags in the hope of embodying the late great Jane. But doesn’t that kind of miss the point? Doesn’t the cool-factor of having a bunch of accessories rely on the value of the objects themselves? If the objects are devoid of any personal meaning or function, then what are they except just clutter? At that point, are they literally just dead weight?
And the gag is that none of it really mattered in the first place?? I started this post celebrating the value of useless objects. But that’s just it, isn’t it: objects are useless to us unless they’re not. And the truth is that as a species, we are a little bit defined by the fact that we can carry a limited number of things at a time. And some of our early nomad ancestors chose to carry that scrap of leather or that very perfect, smooth rock, instead of something that might serve a more utilitarian purpose (a spear? a hunk of meat?). Somehow, carrying bullshit that is sentimental feels embedded in our DNA .
So I wonder if we can continue to leave room for frivolity and sentiment and useless comfort, but can we also bring back preciousness? By acknowledging that some things matter even if they’re not useful, maybe we can get back to focusing on the things that really matter .
Anyway, those were my thoughts for today ! What do you think, do you love a little trinket? If you wanna see more beautiful useless things I’m loving, come follow me on twitter ! (also @demonwears) ‘til next time!