It seems that every popular streaming show today must have at least one look or accessory which sends viewers swooning. The Bear has Jeremy Allen White’s t-shirt. Normal People had Connell’s chain. Indeed, Bridgerton and Rege Jean Page managed to make spoons a topic of conversation for a while.
Now One Day, a full series retelling of David Nicholls’ book, has added one more to our wardrobe mood board: the signet ring. Now, jewellery and accessories are not particularly a short man style issue. Unless you are trying to sport a Mr T-esque collection of neckwear, or an early-Noughties John Cena chain, you are probably not stepping into difficult territory. In fact, the only two tips I have for jewellery and accessories are:
- Avoid anything too big. As with clothes, something oversized risks making you look like a kid playing dress-up
- Wear it with confidence. People will notice and comment on accessories, so don’t shy away from them.
But back to the signet ring. Worn by One Day’s romantic lead, Dexter, the ring does what all good pieces of costume do, which is tell us something about the character. For Dexter, it couples with the rugby shirts and floppy hair to mark him out as a throwback posh boy. In the same way as Felix’s army of writsbands in Bridgerton told us that he was a care-free, good-time boy, Dexter’s ring serves to mark out his social background, in contrast to that of Ambika Mod’s working-class Emma.
Depending on your point of view, I am either a good person to give accessory advice or a terrible one. I love an accessory and wear quite a few on a daily basis. At the moment, writing this, I am wearing eight rings, five bracelets, a watch and two necklaces. The effect, I promise, is somewhat less piratical in person than it reads on screen.
I think fashion experts, and founder of Connell’s Chain fan account, Billie Bhatia got it right when she told GQ that Dexter’s signet ring, and indeed Connell’s chain, provide an important anchor for the character. Whatever happens to them on screen, they serve as a reminder of who they are and, in a TV sense, why we liked them initially.
The same, I would say, is true for any jewellery or accessory you choose. I wear rings and bracelets in any setting, whether its with jeans and a t-shirt for an evening with friends, to accompanying a three-piece suit for work. They do get comments and questions, but very rarely any negativity. And yes, I do have a signet ring as part of the ensemble. It was my 18th birthday present and I have work it pretty much every day since.
Also, for you ring fans out there, I am already marking out Ncuti Gatwa’s thumb ring as one item which his dandy Doctor will put into the internet’s collective consciousness.
Millennial get 
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