Earrings

Earrings are a piece of jewellery attached to the ear through piercing in the earlobe or other external part of the ear. Earrings are worn by both male and female. However, with Western cultures earrings are primarily worn by women although some time before ear piercing has become popular amongst men in Asia, Europe and North America. The common locations of piercing is usually in the earlobe and there is also called "cartilage piercing" which refers to piercing in the upper part of the external ear, and it is more complex to perform than with regular earlobe piercing.

Earrings are more than just decorative jewellery for the ears, they represent flair, style and the way an individual sees itself. You don't need to have an ear pierce to wear a pair of earrings for there are also clip- on earrings. Earrings have two basic types the pierced and clip-ons, and from this a wide variety of shapes, colours and sizes are available. With pierced earrings, studs, posts with dangling object hanging off the front, and posts which hold either a round hoop or hugged-style earring are the most popular. During 1970's clip- on earrings started to lose its popularity because pierced earrings had become in style.

Earrings are thought to have originated in Asia and Middle East. Hoop and pendant earrings have found to already exist during 2000 BC and pierced earrings were found to have already used around 1500 BC in Egypt. Earrings signify social status, wealth and prosperity for only affluent women could afford earrings made of precious and semi- precious metals. As style changed and new ideas were adopted during 17th century, earrings became popular. And by the middle of 20th century, earrings of all shapes and sizes were even more popular. And even today, earrings are a very important part of trend and fashion.

There are different types of earrings available and these includes stud earrings, hoop, danglings, huggy, slave, ear thread and ear spikes. Stud earring is one of the most popular types of earrings. It is being characterised by its floating appearance on the ear or earlobe without a visible point of connection. Hoop earrings are circular or semi- circular in design and look very similar to a ring. Often, hoop earrings are made of metal tubing with a thin wire attachment penetrating the ear. Dangling earrings is another popular type of earrings; it is designed to flow from the bottom of the earlobes and are available in various lengths. Generally, they are attached to the ear by the use of thin wires which go through the earlobe and connect to themselves in a small hook at the back. Huggy type of earrings is another popular style, for setting 'hugs' your earlobe. Huggy earrings come in different shapes and sizes, often stones are channel set in this type of earrings. Unlike with the previous types of earrings slave, ear thread and ear spikes are less popular types of earrings. Slave earrings are also known as Bajoran earrings, it became highly popular after it appeared on Star Trek. This type of earrings is characterised by a stud connected by a delicate chain to an ear cuff or a cartilage pierce that is worn higher on the ear. Ear Thread or sometimes known as ear string or threader is a chain that is thin enough to slip into the ear hole, and come back out, dangles. And the last is the ear spikes, they are a type of plastic stick 1 mm in diameter and 1.5 cm long that goes into the ear piercing. It does not fall out because it is slightly bigger than the piercing.

Earrings can be worn by both men and women at any age. Ears can be pierce as early as newborn babies as most cultures follow. Fancy, jewelled earrings are often worn to compliment an evening wear and any other varieties of earrings can be worn with any fashion whether it is casual or formal, night or day. Earrings are often used to signify special events such as holidays or special events, and fine jewelled earrings are popular gift ideas for birthdays, graduations and weddings. Earrings can enhance a hair style, dangling down with flowing long hair or accentuating a short bob.