People have worn mismatched earrings forever. It’s a handy and practical thing to do when you’ve lost an earring in a matching set but rather fancy the earrings. You can wear the remaining earring in one ear, and wear whatever you like in the other. 

These days, as a nod to the oh-so-popular asymmetrical trend, you can purchase sets of mismatched earrings that match in some way. The design of each earring in the set is deliberately different, yet the pair clearly belong together. Mismatched yet matching. The collection here provides good examples of the look.

Nordstrom

Marchesa 'Drama' Crystal Ear Crawler & Stud Earring

$78.00 $46.80

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Shopbop

Rebecca Minkoff Tusk Drop & Stud Earrings

$48.00 $16.80

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Shopbop

Rebecca Minkoff Two Tone Climber Stud Mismatch Earrings

$48.00 $33.60

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Sophie Bille Brahe 14-karat gold pearl earrings

$1,460.00

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Aamaya By Priyanka Large Lime gold-plated, pearl and emerald earrings

$625.00

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Nordstrom

NEKTAR DE STAGNI 'New Classics' Spike Cultured Pearl Mismatch Earrings with Earring Jacket

$410.00

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Matchy mismatched earring sets can be delicate or chunky, large or small, studded or dangly, costume or fine, casual or dressy, and simple or complex. The visual effect is interesting, intentional and makes others do a double take, especially when the set is large and very visible.

Look at how well these celebrities pull off the trend. Twiggy’s architectural, colourful and graphic asymmetrical earring statement takes my breath away. WOW. Halle Berry’s refined, classic and delicate rendition is a more practical and pretty “everyday” option that matches her sparkly eyes. It also creates a fab juxtaposition with her spiky hair. Gwyneth Paltrow’s dressy ear bling follows the asymmetrical line of her hair and blends into her complexion. It’s interesting that she chose to wear the stud on the bare ear and the chandelier style on the side where her hair sweeps over her shoulder. 

Related to the matchy mismatched earring trend is wearing ONE statement earring with no earrings in the other ear. Jewellery designers are creating one-earring ranges precisely for this purpose. In this case, you can wear the solitary statement earring as the designer intended, or find a mate that matches from your earring capsule at home if that’s more your cup of tea. 

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Delfina Delettrez 9-karat gold, pearl and enamel earring

$550.00

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Daniela Villegas Mini Spider 18-karat gold diamond earring

$1,010.00

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Delfina Delettrez 18-karat gold pearl earring

$2,630.00

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I don’t wear earrings at all, but I enjoy keeping up to date with what’s on trend. I love the matchy mismatched earring trend because it looks intentional, modern and fresh. Wearing one statement earring in your ear looks less polished somehow, especially when you can see the bare pierced hole in the other ear. It would also invite people – like my darling Dad – to let you know that you’d lost the other earring. That said, it’s been very fashionable for men to wear one earring for decades. I guess I’m simply more accustomed to seeing men wear one earring than women. But I’m sure it will become the new normal before long, just like it’s become the new normal for men to wear a pair of earrings these days. 

Over to you. What do you think of the matchy mismatched earring trend, and would you wear the look? What do you think of wearing one statement earring and leaving the other ear earring-free?

This ensemble was inspired by a capsule collection I saw in Banana Republic last week. It combines four neutrals — cream, taupe, ink blue, and denim — with two colours — coral and blush. The result is a fresh, Summery, rich and versatile set of outfits. 

By all means create your own mix-and-match capsule around this colour palette. Use patterns and solids, or solids alone. Patterns can be represented in items such as tops, dresses, scarves, skirts or pants. For starters, think of ways to combine coral, blush, cream, taupe, denim & ink blue with the items that you have in your wardrobe. You don’t need to combine all the colours in one outfit, but you can combine three to five of them. I’ve started the ball rolling with four renditions. There is a blush bag for every rendition to represent that colour of the palette, and either topper can be worn over the four outfits. 

Jeans, Coral Top & Cream Jacket

This is the easiest outfit to pull together if you wear coral. Combine a coral top with blue jeans and a cream topper like a blazer, vest or cardigan. Finish off the outfit with taupe, cream, blush or metallic footwear that works with the style of the jeans. Remember that the blush footwear matches the blush bag. 

Taupe Dress Plus Pattern

Combine a solid or patterned taupe dress with a scarf in the colour palette of the ensemble. I’ve used a cream, coral and denim scarf to bring in some blue. Top things off with a cream, coral or blue denim jacket. Add taupe, cream or blush footwear that works with the style of the dress.

Coral Skirt & Cream Top

Choose a solid or patterned coral skirt in a style that tickles your fancy. Add a cream top that works with the skirt. Leave it at that and add blush footwear and bag. Cream or denim jacket is optional. Of course, metallic, cream and taupe footwear will work too. 

Ink Blue Pants, Blush Top & Denim Jacket 

Combine ink blue pants with a blush top and blue denim or cream jacket. Add ink blue or blush footwear to work with the bag. I’ve omitted the coral from this rendition for those who do not wear coral. You can add a coral bag if you like the colour, but don’t like to wear it close to your face. Add jewellery, eyewear and watch as desired. 

Add five more tops that can be worn with these outfits and you’ll have a complete business casual capsule in the palette. The jeans will work for casual Fridays.

After reading Angie’s recent post on big earrings, I was curious to see which other trends are making waves in the jewellery world this year:

• Luxury body jewellery is piquing the interest of consumers and global retailers.
• Six New Yorkers tell us why they got their septum rings.
• Meet Summera Shaheen who customizes watches and creates jewellery for many of the world’s professional soccer players.
• StyleCaster is impressed with these three Canadian jewellery designers.
• They also rounded up five affordable minimalist jewellery brands.
• Bold statement earrings were all over the Spring/Summer 2016 runways.
• Asymmetry and mismatched earrings have never been chicer too.
• T Magazine deputy editor Hanya Yanagihara explains the underrated pleasure of wearing jewellery made just for you.
• Nordstrom interviews designer Eddie Borgo about his edgy accessories.
• The New York Times reports that haute jewellery is hot.
• At the same time, affordably priced fine jewellery with an “easy-to-wear sensibility” is in high demand as well.
• And a practical tip: How to clasp a bracelet without the help of a second person.

Fab Links from Our Members

Skylurker found this round-up of ’90s runway shows interesting, especially since there’s currently a ’90s revival.

What if the true cost of your clothing purchases included the price(s) of the ones that didn’t work out, or the cost of returns you had to pay for? Vildy thought this is an interesting way of looking at things.

She also enjoyed this other post about sunk costs on the same thrifting blog which explains a “trap” many of us have probably fallen into once or twice: If you’ve invested money in something, you are tempted to hold on to that item because it makes you feel like your money is still worth something.

While having a pedicure last week I stumbled across a quote by Elle Macpherson in People magazine. I enjoyed the 52 year old supermodel’s thoughts on aging. She suggests that you learn to love change, and went further to say: 

“I don’t prance around in a bikini anymore, or a one-piece, or cutoff shorts, or very short dresses. It’s just not what I do. I’ll leave that to my 16- and 18-year-old stepdaughters. At this point I like to keep it simple and not adhere to any trends. That’s the secret—the beauty of a woman as she matures is not how she tries to look younger but how she adapts to her newfound maturity.”

When it comes to bikinis, my thought process is different. Regardless of your age and so called body flaws, if wearing a bikini floats your boat – I vote wear it as long as you are mindful of harmful sun exposure. 

I also believe that you cannot separate fashion from style. You don’t need to be a trendy, avant-garde, arty, creative or fashion-forward person to have a great sense of style. Not at all. But a certain amount of “trendy now” is key to a stylish appearance because a current look is always better than a dated one. And you can be stylish and enjoy fashion at any age. 

It’s Elle’s final sentence that truly resonated with me. Accepting the way we look as we age requires soul searching, discipline, and a commitment to be kind to ourselves. Staying confident and upbeat about our appearance as we grow older is ultimately what makes us shine. Aging is merely moving into a new phase of beauty. The sooner we embrace this, the sooner we can stop fighting the aging process and start celebrating the miraculous journey that is your life.