The type of earrings you choose can be just what your outfit needs to take it to the next level or to offset it with casual cool. For instance, if you’re shooting for sophisticated and polished, you might splurge for a delicate drop earring or an elegant hoop. But discreet can still be decorative, as with a classic, compact stud. In this guide, learn how the type of earring makes all the difference.
The History Of Earrings
Europe’s oldest man was found with pierced ears, and while it’s safe to say earrings have always been a symbol of expression, the meaning has changed over time. Here’s a bit of the jewelry’s journey, from Caesar to Shakespeare.
Status symbol: Starting around 3,000 BC, earrings were worn in the Middle East to indicate the wearer’s religious or political beliefs, and sometimes their social class depending on the cultural views in the area.
Talisman: Earrings became ritualistic for some. Some tribes wore them to prevent demons from entering their mind through the ears. At one point, Persian soldiers even considered earrings a powerful protection charm and they’d wear one into battle.
Fashion icon: Around 200 AD, it became an international sensation to wear gems as fashionable earpieces. In the years after, religions began banning earrings because they saw piercing as kind of a bodily blasphemy (clip-ons had a few centuries to be invented). It’s no surprise that during that same era, thieves wore them as a devil-may-care act of rebellion. Basically, when it came to this type of jewelry, you were either pious or a pirate. Though sailors would also wear earrings to pay for their burial if they washed on shore (some engraving their home port).
Earrings then came and went — between the hairstyles, hats, and high collars of the Middle Ages, for example, this jewelry placement was made irrelevant. Since earrings couldn’t be seen, brooches and lockets took their place as the popular alternative. When up-dos came back around, so did earrings. The personal expression that exploded from the free love era of the 1960’s made earrings a more permanent fixture in fashion.
These days, earrings have become less of a status symbol. Yes, some gemstones are still valued more than others. But for the most part, jewelry is no longer a power play. It’s about pure style (And sometimes romance. And cherished family heirlooms. Okay, there’s a couple other things. But you can decide what your jewelry means to you).
16 Types Of Earrings
Certain types of earrings are made to be ornate and glamorous, and some earrings are better suited when you’re searching for something comfy that will avoid snagging.
Here are the need-to-know types of earrings when you’re shopping for yourself or a loved one:
