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Harry Styles is so much more than a music icon. The 25-year-old musician has all but reinvented himself since taking an indefinite hiatus from One Direction.

In the 10 years since the start of the band that shaped a new generation, Styles has embraced fashion — and it’s largely thanks to his vast array of sweaters, bell-bottom pants, and pearls. Here’s why Styles and those pearls are having a serious moment, according to fans.

Harry Styles’ relationship with pearls is relatively new

Harry Styles
Harry Styles visits SiriusXM Studios | Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

As a massive pop star who lives his life in the spotlight, Harry Styles has made deliberate fashion choices to frame his solo career. From deep V-neck t-shirts to skinny ties and jeans, Styles once again reinvented himself in the vein of grandma sweaters and pearl necklaces.

The look, which has only been going strong since Dec. 2019, his love of pearls first appeared in May 2019 at the Met Gala. Styles donned Gucci and a single pearl earring.

After that, he moved from tank tops with large pants to floral suits and gender-fluid labels with a slew of accessories. Since his first full set of pearls was captured in Dec., Styles has rarely gone without them.

Styles embraces gender fluidity

The “Fine Line” singer admitted his fashion sense comes down to feeling comfortable with who you are and how fashion highlights that.

“What women wear. What men wear. For me it’s not a question of that. If I see a nice shirt and get told, ‘But it’s for ladies.’ I think: ‘Okaaaay? Doesn’t make me want to wear it less though.’ I think the moment you feel more comfortable with yourself, it all becomes a lot easier,” he said in an interview with The Guardian.

Styles reconciles his choices with accepting himself; it goes beyond clothing, he said.

“A part of it was having, like, a big moment of self-reflection. And self-acceptance,” he said. “I think it’s a very free, and freeing, time. I think people are asking, ‘Why not?’ a lot more. Which excites me. It’s not just clothes where lines have been blurred, it’s going across so many things. I think you can relate it to music, and how genres are blurring…”

As for how both he and his music are perceived in line with his ambiguous choices (like a pearl necklace), Styles said he doesn’t care what other people think in terms of whether he’s gay or straight.

Styles nods. “Am I sprinkling in nuggets of sexual ambiguity to try and be more interesting? No,” he said.

“I want things to look a certain way. Not because it makes me look gay, or it makes me look straight, or it makes me look bisexual, but because I think it looks cool. And more than that, I dunno, I just think sexuality’s something that’s fun. Honestly? I can’t say I’ve given it any more thought than that.”

Fans full support Styles’ pearls and say 2020 is his best year yet

Whether you’re a fan of Styles’ fashion or not, his mass of supporters don’t care.

“Am I the one person who realized @Harry_Styles has recently been wearing a pearl necklace in almost every picture????????????? Does anyone know???? I love it,” one fan tweeted.

“I was talking to my manager about men wearing pearls and I go “but harry styles wears them” as if that would be reason enough for him to ask me to grab him a set to try them on,” another said.

“Harry Styles wore a pearl necklace, so I bought a pearl necklace,” this fan added.

“I’d give anything to be just 1 of those pearls hanging around his neck,” another said.

And finally, “2020 is the year of Harry Styles with collars and pearls,” this fan echoed. Who are we to argue?

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