I saw an image the other day when browsing through the latest spring fashions on Net-a-Porter that stood out and stuck with me, or at least part of it has.
To be honest, I don’t even remember what the model was wearing. But I do remember she had a huge stud earring in her ear—a big black and gold one that was sculptural and gorgeous.
It got me to thinking about my beloved collection of tiny studs—which I certainly don’t believe will ever be rendered obsolete—and how the mix and match earring trend may have finally found a proper challenger.
Because once we’re out of quarantine (the summer sounds rather hopeful, doesn’t it?), you’d better believe we’ll be going big. I’m going to buy myself the prettiest, busiest sundress I can find, and some mega earrings to go with it. Maybe even an obnoxiously large sun hat. Bring on the maximalism—we’re here to make some statements.
Why extra-large stud earrings and not simply super-huge hoops, or extra-dangly chandeliers? Because there’s something more casually elegant about the former, and we’ve done the others more recently, pre-pandemic. This feels fresh, though it’s most certainly recycled, and it feels good.
One of my favorite scenes from early Hollywood films and television is a common one, but it’s one that plays in my head often for its effortless elegance. A woman goes to answer the phone or make a phone call, but before she does, she seamlessly pulls off her large clip-on earring and puts it in a bowl on the table before bringing the receiver to her ear. I don’t know why this has always stuck with me. Today, we’d probably just pop in our EarPods and our earrings would be none the wiser, with nothing to bump against them or irritate us. But it’s just one of those hallmarks of the women of yesteryear that I continue to idolize more so than our current celebrities, and I’m just feeling like, “I’ve got to get myself a pair of clip-ons, maybe a rotary phone. Just to experience that once.” My obsession with Hollywood nostalgia is far-reaching and undying (though let’s leave its signature misogyny in the past).
So this summer, hop to it: the bigger the stud earring, the better. Forget, just for a small moment (not forever!), the teensiest studs and such, as we break out of our shells and homes, either to be together once again or, at least, to feel the sun.
Top: Cosmos Atoll earrings with sapphire and paraiba tourmaline, price on request; Vram
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