Why earrings are used

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In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, large pendant earrings went out of fashion, in part because they were incompatible with the newly fashionable high dress and blouse collars, and with the elaborate "dog collar" necklaces worn for evening, which almost completely covered the neck.

Small single-stone and cluster earrings, either firmly mounted to the ear wire or mounted as pendants to move and catch the light, were the most commonly worn style through the early twentieth century.

The most fashionable earrings of all were diamond solitaires, which became more available after the opening of the South African diamond fields in the late s. New cutting machines and open-claw settings, both of which increased the amount of light reflected by diamonds and made solitaire earrings more appealing, were developed in the s. To prevent valuable diamond earrings from being lost, catches were added to secure the bottoms of the ear wires. Another innovation, first patented in , was the earring cover, a small hinged sphere of gold, sometimes finished in black enamel, which could be snapped over a diamond earring to protect it from loss or theft.

By the end of the century diamond ear studs also called screws , with a threaded post passing through the ear, and held securely in back by a nut screwed onto the post, were also popular. By , as earrings declined in size and importance, many women stopped wearing them altogether. Some commentators denounced ear-piercing as barbaric, and women who pierced their ears were considered "fast," or not quite respectable.

In the United States, some of the reaction against pierced ears may be credited to the desire of "native" Americans to distinguish themselves from the large numbers of immigrant women, almost all with pierced ears, who were arriving from Europe at the time. In spite of piercing's negative image, small screw earrings continued to be worn, and new screw-back fittings, which could be tightened onto unpierced earlobes, were available for those who did not wish to pierce their ears.

Around , pendant earrings were revived, but with light, articulated drops of smaller stones rather than single-stone drops; diamonds, pearls, and stones matching the color of the costume were the most popular materials. The earring revival continued into the s, aided considerably by a growing acceptance of costume jewelry.

Jewelry could now be selected for its decorative value rather than its intrinsic value, and women could afford to own many pairs of earrings to match particular costumes; the rise of costume jewelry also made ear piercing less necessary, as women were less concerned about losing inexpensive earrings.

Many women, as was still true in the early s, also had adverse reactions to the cheaper metals used in costume jewelry, which made pierced earrings seem less practical.

The fashion for the Oriental and exotic inspired by Paul Poiret and the Ballets Russes was reflected in bead necklaces and long drop earrings of Chinese amber, jade, black and red jet glass , and carved tortoiseshell.

Empire-revival fashions also inspired a revival of nineteenth-century jewelry styles and materials, including cut steel and cameos.

By the early s, earrings were again almost universally worn, and the range of exotic styles had expanded to include hoop and pendant earrings of Spanish or Gypsy inspiration, Egyptian styles inspired by the discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb in , nineteenth-century antiques, and picturesque "peasant" styles from around the world.

As reported by the New York Times in , in the s earrings could "no longer? In the early s, although there was no sudden change in style, earrings began to move closer to the head again, partly in response to smaller, close-fitting hats and the return of high, tied and ruffled collars.

Another major influence was the introduction, in , of clip fastenings for earrings, which made it possible to concentrate ornamentation over the earlobe, and compact designs following the line of the ear soon became popular.

Matching earrings, bracelets, and other jewelry made of brightly colored bakelite were another signature s look. For evening, long earrings in Art Deco style were still popular, but earrings with white stones diamonds or pastes were now the most popular, and the pendants now added volume by branching out to the sides, in a modern version of the girandole, or "chandelier," style.

In the s, compact clips or screw backs, often made with a matching brooch, were the dominant earring style. Gold, strongly colored stones, and bolder, more sculptural forms were now preferred, in keeping with the padded shoulders and highly structured coiffures of the period.

Close-to-the-ear styles, with clip or screw backs, continued to be the most popular in the s, but settings became more delicate, to harmonize with the more deliberately feminine fashions in the years following Christian Dior's "New Look" collection. An important look of the s was the matched set of choker necklace and button earrings, and these were produced in a wide variety of styles and materials, including newly developed plastics. White and colored rhinestones were popular, as were beads and faux pearls of all kinds, colors, and finishes, often looped in multiple strands around the neck, and fastened with a clasp of clustered beads matching the earrings.

Ear piercing, while still not common, began to revive in the early s; in the United States, the trend began as a fad among college girls, and Queen Elizabeth II set an example for many in England when she had her ears pierced in order to be able to wear diamond earrings she received as a wedding present in In the s, as in the s, clean-lined dresses and hairstyles, including the long, straight hair popular later in the decade, provided an ideal background for large and decorative earrings.

Earrings were again among the most important of accessories, and were often designed to stand alone, rather than as part of a matched set. In both fine and costume jewelry, abstraction was popular, and creative design, visual impact, and wit were often considered more important than the intrinsic value of jewelry. Hoop earrings were one of the signature styles of the decade, and they appeared in designs inspired by tribal jewelry, enormous space-age styles of chrome and plastic, and kinetic designs of concentric, articulated rings.

Ethnic styles, particularly from India and the Near East, were also popular, and delicate dangling earrings helped to propel handcrafted sterling silver jewelry, which had been growing in popularity since the s, into the fashion mainstream. By the early s, the new fashionable ideal was the "natural look," and large costume earrings disappeared in favor of smaller and more delicate earrings, usually of silver or gold, and almost always worn in pierced ears.

In terms of design, earrings remained fairly inconspicuous throughout the decade, though they were given new prominence by the fashion for multiple piercings in the same ear, which began as a teenage fashion around the middle of the decade, and continued into the twenty-first century to be a popular way to wear earrings.

Earrings worn in the upper part of the ear, and ear cuffs, which grip the edge of the upper ear, were fashions introduced late in the decade. The s was also when earrings for men returned to fashion after a year absence; earrings had continued to be worn by sailors, by some homosexual men, and by members of groups such as motorcycle gangs, but many more men now began to wear single earrings largely for their decorative value.

Large and flashy earrings, both real and frankly fake, returned in the s, to balance the bolder shapes and colors, padded shoulders, high-volume hairstyles, and dramatic makeup then in fashion. Chunky button earrings covering the lower half of the ear and large pendant hoops were popular styles, and common finishes were shiny gold, bright colors contrasted with black, and a variety of bronzed and iridescent metallic finishes.

Even relatively understated earrings tended toward strong shapes, worn close to the earlobe; though most women still had pierced ears, clips were popular because they kept earrings close to the head, and because they distributed the weight of heavier styles.

In the early s, silver, brushed finishes, and simple, elegant earrings began to succeed the shiny gold and jagged shapes of the s, in keeping with the monochromatic and minimalist mood of fashion.