Put a ring on him
MANILA, Philippines - Be prepared to add another vocab entry to the growing lexicon of man accessories. First there was the man bag (or “murse”), then the mandal and, lately, meggings (leggings for men; duh. Didn’t you see Galliano?). Now, mengagement rings have been added to the mix.
While guesting on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, comedian and SNL alum Fred Armisen proudly showed off his newest accessory: his engagement ring.
”Can you explain something to me?” Fallon asked. “You’re not married; you’re engaged. And yet you’re wearing a ring. I don’t understand.”
”My fiancée got a ring, and she gets to walk around and say she’s about to get married. I wanted the same thing,” Armisen says while brandishing the silver band with a flourish. “I was jealous. I wanted to get one, too.”
After proposing to Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy on the Emmy-winning show, Armisen wondered, “How come only she gets a ring?”
”So will you be keeping your maiden name?” Fallon asked Armisen mock-solemnly.
”I think we’re both gonna be changing our names,” Armisen quipped.
Is this a trend? Details magazine recently devoted a large-ish space to male engagement rings.
Gay partners have been gifting each other with life rings for years now, way before gay marriage — and Proposition 8 — was legalized.
Jeweler Candy Dizon remembers creating a pair for a gay male couple who wanted to solidify their vows with a symbol of love: a simple pair of white gold bands with emerald-cut diamonds. “So it wasn’t too girly,” Candy says.
”Men should have engagement rings,” she explains. “It symbolizes eternal faithfulness and if two people are in love — gay or straight — this symbol should be worn to show dedication to each other.”
Gay couples aren’t the only folks who want in on the trend — as Armisen and numerous other straight men have proven. Some women have taken the reins when it comes to the proposal, instead of waiting for their companion to take the leap on their own. And, in the spirit of proposing, some women have gone on to design an engagement ring to present when they make an offer of marriage.
Is this a trend that’s here to stay? Well, why not? If chicks get to wear a big shiny rock to reveal to the world that they’re taken, then it’s about time dudes get to put a ring on it, too.
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E-mail me at jackieoflash@yahoo.com.
