Grills: The Ultimate Fashion Accessory

As a personal style blogger I focus not on blogging ‘fashion’, but on documenting my own individual dress choices. I find I don’t come across many items that are truly unique to an individual. This, I believe, is why grills (as an accessory) have moved from sub culture into popular culture with such velocity.

A ‘grill’ is a piece of metal jewellery, worn over the teeth, rather like a gum shield made of very thin metal, that are removable (don’t think Jaws from James Bond, although the look is rather similar!). Grills were first worn by Hip Hop artists in the early 1990s, but became more widely popular during the early 2000s, as Hip Hop music began to move from sub culture into the musical realm of mainstream popular culture; we see artists such as OutKast, Lil’ Jon, Nelly, and Kanye West sporting grills from time to time. Other musicians from entirely different genres have been known to wear grills, such as members of Avenge Sevenfold and the always controversial Marilyn Manson.

The adornment of one’s teeth is an ancient practice, the insertion of gems predates the entire Hip Hop Movement - Mayan priests and kings used to drill precious stones into their teeth as a symbol of wealth and power. The wearing of a grill was used in the same way, to boast wealth and symbolism of decedent living - grills were incredibly expensive to have made, as they are custom, and those who wore them commissioned their grills to be made of expensive precious metals and precious stones - it is not uncommon to see rappers wearing 24 karat gold grills encrusted with diamonds. A professionally made grill offers no health risks, as long as it is fitted properly, comfortable to the wearer, and isn’t left on for too long (bacteria can get stuck behind a grill and cause decay if left for long periods of time).

My prediction is, with the cost of having a grill made for the individual being greatly reduced, as a grill made with surgical steel or other types of less expensive, non reactive metals, and the widespread popularity of grills growing every day - we see grills worn by the likes of Rhianna, Rita Ora and Cara Delevingne, I predict grills may become more popular and commonplace amongst young people, as smaller one or two teeth grills are more subtle than a complete upper and lower set, and offer the owner what very few other fashion accessories cam - a piece of jewellery that is totally unique to the individual.

 

Paige