Tuesday, April 22, 2008

THE DIVERSIFIED EARRING WORLD

Earrings contribute in one of the oldest forms of body décor for both sexes, typically so among the fairer sex. This article aims to walk you through the extensively varied world of these ostentatious tools of body decoration.

Earrings have two basic bifurcations – Pierced Earrings and Clip-on Earrings. These two domains are bestowed with a variety of shapes and styles.

Pierced earrings offer a wide range of styles to pick from. These varieties command an independent nomenclature for themselves. The following are the popular categories:

Simple Stud Earrings: Stud Earrings appear to be perched on the ear with a post that is not visible at the front end. Stud earrings are almost always gemstone earrings with posts passing through the earlobe. Diamond stud earrings hold the highest popularity so far as they go well with every outfit from jeans to even-gowns and also are appropriate for every occasion from boardroom meetings to evening parties. Following the diamond stud earrings are the pearl stud earrings.

Chandelier/ Dangling Earrings: As their name suggest the design displays branches that dangle at different levels. They are often given names as danglers, dangling earrings or dangles as well. Chandelier earrings are the vogue in gemstone earrings. They often combine different gem varieties and shapes to make up branches.

Hoop & Huggy Earrings: Hoop earrings are marked distinguished from Huggy earrings in that the latter always hug the earlobe. Hoop earrings are round or slightly oval, similar to rings. The variety may be seen in metal alone or with diamonds studded in the metal. The ongoing trend witnesses yellow gold hoop earrings and diamond hoop earrings, the former used for formal wear while the latter remains attached to evening occasions.

Drop Earrings: The basic design of these earrings comprises of the earring hanging in a straight line from base to end. Gold earrings in the drop pattern with a single gemstone or diamond suspended at the base are an apposite choice for a formal wear whereas bold colors and multi-stones can be selected for a casual evening occasion. In case of gemstone earrings designed in drop style, there is, usually, a larger gemstone drooping from a single smaller stone or a multi-stone setting with smaller sized gems.

Clip-on earrings as their name suggests are earrings that do not have posts passing through the earlobe, instead, they have clip-ons with spring attachment or screw-in posts. The design is such that the clip attaches to the body by pinching the earlobe. Clip-on earrings had almost completely lost popularity with the fashion trend leaning towards the pierced earrings in the 1970’s; but have made a grand comeback since the last decade.