all choked up

We Asked Celebrities If the Choker Should Die

How acceptable is this trend?
How acceptable is this trend? Photo: Getty Images

The ‘90s choker is undebatably back with a vengeance (for evidence: see Gigi Hadid’s birthday party), but how acceptable is this trend? The Cut asked nine celebrity women at a Chanel Fine Jewelry dinner on Thursday night, where the label celebrated an upcoming exhibit of treasures from a New York Public Library collection.

Guests wore Chanel jewels to the elegant soiree (of course), including at least one amazing diamond choker, so we polled them: How do they feel about the ‘90s accessory’s resurgence? Opinions were divided roughly along age lines, with children of the era, like Rose Byrne and Jemima Kirke, strongly anti-choker, while those whose formative years were before or after the ‘90s (Amanda Peet, Amandla Stenberg) love them. And then there’s Allison Williams, who’s pretty sure that people who wear chokers are undead. Remember the little girl with a choker in that horror story?

Allison Williams, actress

“I read a horror story when I was younger about a girl who kept her head affixed only by a blue ribbon, and I can’t look at women with chokers on without thinking of that horror story. She always wore this blue ribbon, and she was this mysterious little girl living in a house. Then suddenly someone removed the ribbon, and her head came off. And it turned out she was a ghost, and she was dead. So whenever I see these very chic women with these ribbons, I’m like, Are they undead? What’s happening?

Leelee Sobieski, actress

“Oh, I’m wearing one! [It’s Chanel.] I feel good about it. I like the choker, I think the ladies look good in the choker.”

Jemima Kirke, artist

“I don’t want to see that come back. Unless it’s, like, an Edwardian situation with velvet and a diamond and the full look, I’m not into it. We need to put a cap on the ‘90s guys, okay? It’s enough. Not everyone relates or wants to remember it, you know? But I get it, as long as it references the right thing.”

Jill Kargman, author

“Hate. Hate. I think with any trend, if you live through it the first time, it feels dated to you no matter what. And so I see these young girls, and it’s just, like, Brenda from Bev Hills 90210 threw up on them. It’s like the cast of The Craft had their way with them. I can’t deal with it.”

Ruby Aldridge, model

“I’m all about it. Why not? Yes. It’s good. I like a choker.”

Rose Byrne, actress

“They scare me. I’m a child of the ‘90s, so it really … I can’t go there yet. It’s too scary on many levels.”

Gucci Westman, makeup artist

“I like the return of anything. Can you consider a turban with a brooch a jewelry trend? I love a turban. I don’t know if I could pull it off — it’s very sort of Jackie; it’s very chic.”

Amanda Peet, actress

“I’m really excited about the choker, I just don’t think I could pull it off because I’m too old. But if I weren’t too old, I’d be really excited.”

Amandla Stenberg, actress

“I’m a huge fan of them, I have been for most of my life. I think maybe I’m a little nostalgic, and that’s why I like them. For me, it’s like my early childhood.”

We Asked Celebrities If the Choker Should Die