Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History Necklace

"Well-behaved women seldom make history," Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wrote in an article about Puritan funeral services. Feminists embraced the sentiment and now the phrase (as well as the misquote “well-behaved women rarely make history”) can be found on a vast array of consumer goods, from coffee mugs to t-shirts, bumper stickers to compact mirrors.

Designer Jerry Hall of the TwilightShades Etsy shop](http://www.twilightshades.etsy.com/) has created a necklace out of an oblong metal disc about the size of a nickel into which the inspirational expression has been imprinted.

The metal disc is fastened to what is described on the TwilightShades shop as a “16 inch antiqued brass chain.” The designer does not mention from what material the disc is composed, but it’s certainly not antiqued brass. The chain and the disc look markedly different. The chain is brownish in color, while the disc is silver. I am a fan of mismatched, clashing looks, so I’m not bothered by the necklace having components of different materials, but more particular folks should take heed.

I was bothered when the chain turned my neck green. I was suspicious when I saw the chain in person. While it is sturdy and well-made, it looks rather cheap, like something out of a gumball machine. Sure enough, after wearing it in the heat of early summer, my neck looked dirty and more than slightly green. I wore the necklace on several other occasions, just to make sure I wasn’t imagining my new skin tone, and even had my most honest friend confirm the unnatural color of my flesh.

I don’t know if the chain will turn everyone’s skin green, or if I am an unusual case. I typically wear silver ball chains with no adverse effects. Maybe some material in the chain reacts with my body chemistry, but whatever the cause, I won’t often wear jewelry that makes me look as if I forgot to wash up before leaving the house.

The necklace does hang a bit lower than I tend to like, but doesn’t dangle so far down that I am afraid it will get caught on something and strangle me every time I lean over. Hall offers to make adjustments to this piece for people who are more comfortable with a shorter chain.

Overall, I am impressed with the construction of this necklace. I live an active life of commuting by bike, moving books at my library job, and taking photographs outside. I’ve yet to be in a situation where I feared the necklace was in danger of being ripped from my neck or the chain might slip from the connector rings.

I’m thinking of ways to enjoy this necklace without suffering from green neck syndrome. Perhaps it would look good hanging from my rearview mirror.

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