Look, there's a lot of shocking stuff happening on Love Island. Contestants get raunchy under night vision cameras; Prince Harry's ex shows up; a brutal betrayal leads to a clean breakup; and important questions of geopolitics are discussed (read: When Season 4's Hayley Hughes Asked: “Does Brexit mean we won’t have any trees?”). Still, nothing prepared me for the Season 9 premiere when Anna-May Robey arrived at the villa circa 1999 wearing a stack of Italian charm bracelets.
If you're over 20, that last sentence may send you into a That's So Raven- esque flashback of the personalization stack you 've once considered the height of fashion. Back in the late '90s and early 2000s, Italian charm bracelets were a must-have accessory, right up there with butterfly clips and tattoo chokers.
The stainless steel bracelet consists of spring-loaded square links that can be swapped out for a custom look. Charms feature hearts, stars, rainbows, peace signs, monograms, team mascots, zodiac signs and more. The name only adds to the appeal. How cool is it to say your bracelet is from Italy? (Even if you buy it at Claire's.)
For twenty years, I forgot about the Italian charm bracelet—and then Liu Shuang walked into the villa. Not even a room full of sickeningly beautiful Gen Z flirting fights could distract me from her nostalgic jewelry. Anna Mae - who, I must mention, Born in 2002 - wears two Italian bracelets, one silver and one gold, in almost every episode.
Liu Shuang's IG feed shows that she has been wearing them since January 2022. Are they back? I had to learn more, so I devoted myself to TikTok. Back in July 2021, several people were showing them off. In March 2022, creator Lauren Wolfe showcased her work in a video. "Please tell me I'm not too old for this app and some of you know what these are," she said.
Some wearers dug them out of their childhood bedrooms, but many are buying new ones — This is undoubtedly the result of Gen Z’s love for all things millennial. But the man showing them off for the first time warned potential buyers. "Unless you're a completely hairless rat, these things will rip the hair off your arms," user @zzzahneee warned.
Stainless steel bracelets were first made in 1989 by jewelry designer Paolo Gensini (yes, he's Italian - you know it in the name of the bracelet) as a more affordable alternative to gold and silver. In the 1990s, American tourists brought the style back home, and by the early 2000s, they were officially a bicoastal phenomenon. Counterfeit goods proliferated and were soon available in every mall.
Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, the Beckhams, Keira Knightley, and even Oprah have reportedly worn the trend. Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra each picked out links to their bracelets backstage at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards (oh, what a moment).
Gensini's company, Nominations, still sells the bracelets (sorry, their $144.50 chunky men's version with "BOSS MAN" charms is sold out), and Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Walmart are full of ready-made bracelets and loose ones chain link. For grumpy millennials, may I recommend this amulet inscribed with "Am I too old for this crap?"
Starter Italian Charm Bracelet Amazon
I'm a sucker for Y2K retro (give me a Juicy suit any day of the week), but that's where I draw the line. I love the hair on my arms.
