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Pierced Ears?

Mac

Veteran

When I was a teen, I very much wanted to pierce my ears but my strict parents wouldn't allow it. Then I grew up and just forgot about it. A few years ago, I decided to get my ears pierced on a whim - got home an my partner hated it; he liked my unpierced ears so I immediately let them grow in.

Part of me likes being one of those rare people who doesn't have pierced ears. I almost never wear clip-on earrings, in part because they often pinch and also because there's not much of a selection available; pretty much everyone in North America seems to have pierced ears. But now I'm thinking about having them repierced. As I get older, I feel like it's harder to get away with looking good with "the natural look;" I need to up my game and make more of an effort to be polished. I don't especially like necklaces and earrings are definitely a way to draw attention to the face and add visual interest.

Do you have pierced ears? Do you wear earrings every day? What role do earrings play in your style? Any other thoughts?

General

62 replies

Latest reply was from Mac

Frances

Funny--I think we must have had the same parents, Mac. My ears still have their same single piercing from when I finally wore my parents down as a teenager, and my style today could not function without earrings. It's either earrings or a necklace every day, and my outfit is not complete without one or the other. I go through a couple pairs of gold hoops every year!

Dusty

(website)

I don't have pierced ears at the moment. My mom also wouldn't let me get my ears pierced as a teenager but I got it done while I was in college (at 20, I think). I couldn't wait to change out the piercing studs for something cute. As soon as I hit the 6 week mark (the lower end of the range they gave for switching) I tried to switch, but one of the holes closed up in the time it took to take the stud out and try to put the new one in. I let them close up all the way and tried again a year later. This time I left the studs in for a really long time before I changed them out. I wore earrings every day and DH bought me some pretty princess cut diamond studs. I lost one when my son was tiny and the piercing studs were bothering me, so I stopped wearing earrings for awhile and the holes closed up again (of course, as soon as they'd closed up, I found the earring, stuck behind the label on my shampoo bottle). I will eventually get them pierced again, but I'm waiting until the kids are a bit older (and smart enough to not try to yank them out of my ears). Next time, though, I'm going to a professional piercer (the kind that does body piercings, too) instead of the mall. The piercing gun just pushes skin aside but a piercer uses a hollow needle and actually removes a little piece of the ear so it shouldn't close up so easily. Plus, piercers use a new needle for every person, but piercing guns aren't very sanitary - they're reused and hard to get clean.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Mac, I LOVE earrings! I feel they add an instant lift to my outfit. I also prefer statement earrings as I think anything small and delicate is lost on my big frame.
I wear earrings or necklace almost every day and would not have it any other way!
BTW, my mom had her ears pierced when she was a child and stopped wearing earrings when she grew up until she was in her late thirties. Then she started to wear them again ( magically they did not grow in) and I never see her without them - she is 66 now!

Cookie

I have pierced ears and wear earrings every day. They are my favorite type of jewelry. I have a pair of 1 inch gold hoops that I have owned forever and they are my "go to" choice but you can not go wrong with diamond studs. They are classic and add a bit of sparkle to any outfit. My great-grandma did not get her ears pierced until she was 80 (she lived to be 100) and she loved it! It was so much fun to buy her earrings. I think you should do it.

Sihaya

Veteran

I have pierced ears. Love wearing earrings. I alternate between earrings and necklaces based on the outfit and my mood and love having that flexibility.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Mine are pierced multiple times (some still open, some have closed) up and down my ears. I never wear any earrings anymore. As I've aged, I have become more sensitive to both the metals and the weight, and I just find the feeling unbearable.

Beth

Veteran

I was allowed to get my ears pierced on my 12th birthday. At 17, at the height of the Madonna years, I went back (without permission, of course) and got an additional hole in one ear and two more in the other. When my mother noticed, she was appalled, and I remember telling her that the holes would grow back together. Yeah, right. Even though I only used those holes for a few weeks, they never did close up. I'm sorry they're still so visible.

I love necklaces and bracelets far more than earrings and my earring wardrobe is quite limited. I tend to wear earrings just to add a little flash that ties into my other jewelry.

My earring wardrobe took a major hit last summer. I was wearing my diamond studs while I was sitting on the grass by the barn, enjoying the sunshine. Before I knew it, a chicken had hopped on my knee, pulled the earring out of my ear and in a flash, swallowed it. :O I kept that hen in a cage for three days, hoping the earring would work it's way through (That was fun. Not.) but it never did.

She comes from a breed called the Dominique. We say she's really a "diamonique." "D

Sparky

Veteran

I got my ears pierced as a young teenager, and earrings have always been a part of my style. In the 80s it was big, dangly, statement earrings. I'm surprised my earlobes didn't stretch out. Nowadays I prefer smaller earrings, and tend to wear my diamond studs, sterling silver or gold hoops, or something similar. I don't wear earrings every day but close to it.

And I completely understand what you mean about not getting away as easily with the "natural look" as you get older. I'm often telling my husband that the older I get, the more high maintenance I get!

BethW, that story is just hysterical!

crazyone

Veteran

I've had my ears pierced since I was three years old (it would probably have been even earlier had I actually lived in India rather than being a child of Indian parents in the USA), and have worn earrings almost every day since then. Actually, it's only since college that I haven't worn them every day, since growing up I wore Indian gold earrings every day. Now that I've gotten more into costume jewelry, I wear those far less and have days where I don't wear them at all since I'm swapping them out all the time.

Kristine

Veteran

I couldn't wait to get my ears pierced when I was a teenager. I went through a phase where I barely wore earrings, but I now I wear them a few times a week. I like to wear my hair back or up with a pair of small chandelier earrings. It's a very simple chic look. I find that I like to wear one "statement" accessory and nothing else.

marianna

Veteran

My mom loves earrings and promptly took me to get my ears pierced when I was 3 years old. I have consistently worn earrings for the past 20 years. As a teenager I loved huge statement earrings but now I prefer a more delicate earring with a statement necklace. Occasionally I will only wear a statement necklace, when I feel that adding earrings would be too much. I do wear earrings almost daily though. I have a small pair from Anthro that I currently throw on with casual outfits.

biscuitsmom

Veteran

My mom wouldnt let me get my ears pierced until I was 16, so a few days after I turned 14 I decided I'd do it anyway and got some self-piercers where you tighten them every day until the hole is made...she didnt notice them for awhile and when she did she ripped them from my ears leaving a bloody mess and deep scars I have to this day....she felt bad when she saw all the blood, though. Anyway, the day I turned 16 I got them pierced at the mall but anytime I wear earrings the scars show some....and with my hair in a bob you cant really see my ears anyway so I rarely wear them- they've stayed open for 33 yrs now.....

AJ

Veteran

My mom had my ears pierced while I was still an infant. I enjoy having that opportunity to add to my outfit in that way. I actually feel "off" when I'm not wearing any earrings. Just like a great bag can add to a tee and shorts outfit, I feel earrings can do the same when it's just too hot to bother with other accessories. Actually this is the first summer that I focused on earrings instead of a necklace and I"m luving it, especially since these TX summers make my neck all sweaty. Sweat + Fashion Necklaces = Colored Necks : )

My daughter got her ears pierced when she was 5 yrs old. I wouldn't do it that young again. We had some problems with it and her tears and pain were just breaking my heart! It turned out fine in the end, but I would recommend to wait until pre-teen or teen years when they're old enough to brave all the discomforts.

Tanya

Veteran

I have had my ears pierced when I was 11 or so, but soon afterward went to seaside vacation and salty water made them heal/close and form some scar tissue inside. I have been wanting to re-pierce them for a quite a few years now, but never mustered enough courage - the existence of that tissue really scares me and I am hoping to find some dermatologist/nurse who would do it.

Katja

(website)

Thanks for this thread - you've reminded me that I need to go poke some things into my ears to keep my holes open.

I had my ears pierced as an adult (my brother in law dared me to, and took me to the jewelers), but it turned out that I was pretty sensitive to metals, so I only wear earrings for special events - kind of like some of you with 2-hour shoes. But I do try to wear them at least every couple of months or so to keep the holes open.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You'll have to wait till Monday's afternoon post to hear my full comment

I had a Eurasian mother - it's cultural to have ears pierced young. I was five. I wore little gold or silver studs and tiny pearls most of the time.

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

I had my ears pierced when I was 13 I think, although I used to have to take them out a lot due to playing sport. I now wear earrings on a daily basis. I favour neat little studs or very short dangly ones. I like them to compliment my outfits, but don't ever wear statement earrings.

My Mum only got her ears re-pierced when she was 45 - after her years of young children pulling them out were over!

bj1111

Veteran

came home from the hospital with jade earrings that i didn't take off for 12 years. now i wear earring when i remember. most frequently small whit gold hoops with tiny channel set diamond on the front.

like chewy, i've become more sensitive to earring weight.

i really appreciated my mother's choice to have my ears pierced as an infant as w would not have had the courage to get them pierced as an adult.

medusa

Veteran

I have pierced ears and I like wearing earrings. I don't think it's a big deal either way - if you have holes but don't wear earrings it's not that noticeable, but if you don't want the holes then it's not like you're losing that much.

I also always wished that I had multiple holes, so for my 33rd birthday I had two more holes put in each ear. One of the things I want to play with is how to wear multiple earrings but still look good, even it my age. I hadn't bothered for a while because my hair was over my ears. Now that my hair is short again I'm going to be doing it more!

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

It's interesting. Before YLF, I wore earrings absolutely every day. My piercings weren't exactly a hard-fought victory, since my Mom was totally in favour and actually took me to get it done when I was 13 or so, but my dad hated the idea and it became sort of a friendly rivalry at our place. As a result I adored wearing earrings and never felt complete without them.
But I always included necklaces too, and now that I've discovered pearls and other statement pieces through YLF, earrings are more likely to stay in the case. I do still wear them and even have a silver and pearl pair, but they're not in daily rotation any more.
Mac, I say go for it! It's obviously something you keep coming back to, and there's no time like the present!

Maya

Veteran

Like Angie, it was cultural for me. I had my ears pierced when I was too young to even remember. I was told I cried so bitterly that my brother started crying too. That made me sort of resent it, knowing that they did it without my permission at such a young age. I ended up taking them out when I was still very young (they were gold studs).

After that I had a kind of on-again, off-again relationship with earrings. My holes never close up. I usually just get a thin film of some sort. I don't know if it's a thin flap of skin or dirt (sorry for being gross), but I just push the earring through and "repierce" my ears in a manner of speaking, if I've gone a long time without wearing anything. It isn't painful at all and takes about 2 seconds.

I have come to like them. Sometimes my hair lends itself better to earrings than others. I like how long earrings look against my long neck when I have longer hair. Now that my hair is longer I have started wearing them again and it's a nice change when I'm giving my necklaces a rest. With short hair I prefer studs, short earrings, or nothing at all. I just appreciate the fact that I have options now. My wrists are generally too small for most bracelets and my fingers too small for most rings, so necklaces and earrings are my default options.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I don't think we've heard from any Latinas here, but in Mexico they pierce baby girls ears in the hospital when they are born- and rare is the mother who refuses. They come home with their first pair of earrings.

Kate

Veteran

My parents let me get my ears pierced when I was 13, and when I was 16 I went back and got a second hole for each ear. For most of high school after that I wore 4 round silver studs (the studs in the 2nd holes were slightly smaller). Since college I've stopped using the 2nd holes as much, though I do stick an earring in them briefly every couple of days to keep them from closing up. I'm not sure why I keep the second holes around, I guess I'm not sure they would close up even if I let them, and they are barely noticeable. As for the first holes, I wear earrings almost every day, and even if I'm wearing a big necklace I'll have studs in my ears rather than going earring-less.

Louise

Veteran

I had my 1st holes done at 15 and then had a second lot done at about 18. I never wear any in the 2nd hole anymore, I have quite small lobes and unless i wear 2 teeny pairs they clash together. I have just managed to get an earring through the 2nd on the left but not the right though my ear was a bit sore from this morning trying to get my 1st stud through. I'm wearing earrings less and less lately. I don't have a huge collection just a few pairs of studs and a couple of dangly ones. I suppose having long hair they don't show x

April

Veteran

I too had to wait until I was 16, and wore big earrings throughout the 80s.

Now I'm much more likely to wear a necklace, but I don't like leaving the holes naked so when I'm wearing a necklace I wear small pearl studs just to look a little more "finished."

Incidentally, I find that almost all pearl studs are too big. I do not have tiny earlobes, but the way a spherical pearl juts out from the earlobe makes the average size look wrong to me. I buy the smallest size pearl available (I think they're 6 mm) and that works for me.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I begged and begged and begged to have my ears pierced at the age of 10, finally my parent relented and my younger Sister was allowed to have hers pierced as well. My Sister went first and fainted so (like any sane 10 year old) I ran out of the door. I finally plucked up the courage to pierce at the age of 22 but developed a bad ear infection and let the holes heal. I have no inclination to re-pierce but it is through fear of infection rather than a dislike of earrings.

I feel polished when my hair is styled and I'm wearing mascara and lipstick. I have never equated any item jewellery with looking polished but I'm not sure why.

marianne

I am in the minority as I never had my ears pierced. Neither had my mom or my grandmothers. For my grandmothers it was probably partially a budget issue, and for my mom it was too much fuss. She is also averse to any body "mutilations" (her words).
I was considering doing it in my late teens and my mom's friend gave me 2 pairs of earrings, but then I decided against it. Although I am not interested it it anymore, I know what you mean, Mac - I feel that as I get older and my coloring fades, I need to be adding on more jewelry, colors, texture to make up for that.

taylor

Veteran

I had my ears pierced in Jr. High. 1968/69 I had to really beg. My dad thought for sure some mean girl would rip them out of my head in a fit of anger!!

Anyway, I wear earrings everyday without fail I can only wear fine jewelry in my ear all gold white/yellow solid sterling or stainless because of a nickle allergy.

I have double piercings in each ear, sometimes I will put an dangle pearl in the first and a pearl stud in the second, or something similar.

I love earrings, particulary with my short hair:)

yublocka

(website)

Veteran

BethW that is the funniest story ever!!!

My Mum made me wait until about 10 to get my ears done. I remember it hurting bitterly. My first pair of gold studs were shaped like a star.

Since then I also got another set of holes, but can't remember how long I actually wore earrings in them for or why I stopped. The holes have long closed over, but on my left ear I can still feel where the tunnel was if I play with my ear.

I've also had my nose pierced (over 10 years ago), and still wear a small silver stud everyday. I got my tragus pierced about 5 years ago now too and have a small silver hoop through that. Sometimes I wonder if/when I should be taking these piercings out. So far they still feel "me" though, so I figure no need to remove them until that changes!

Does anyone else have non ear piercings here?

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