September might be the best month of all. The weather is gorgeous, the air gets crisper, and (my personal favorite) the leaves start changing. What is so intoxicating about the color changes of the leaves? Is it the novelty of the contrast? The vivid, rich hues? The earthtone punctuation sprinkled amid the vastness of the landscape?
Whatever the magic, changing leaves absolutely enchant viewers. According to travel blog Fifty Grande, Autumn’s foliage tourism industry generates several billion dollars for the U.S. economy. In that vein, research by Stephanie Spera, University of Richmond’s Assistant Professor of Geography, Environment and Sustainability, found that in 2021, Maine’s national parks and monuments added $770M to the Maine’s economic output, of which over $195M was directly attributed to fall foliage tourism.
So what have we learned from the trees, if nothing else? We have learned that changing your leaves turns some heads! We can do our own version of this by changing our earrings. There are several factors to consider when choosing the right earrings for yourself.
Type (Clips vs. Pierced vs. Cuffs, etc)
Backs
Metal Used
General Style (Hoops? Studs? Dangling?)
Size/Color/Contrast/Subtlety
Backstory
Face Shape
With that said, let’s get into how to choose the right earrings!
Types
Clip-Ons – A great option for non-pierced ears, these attach to the wearer’s earlobes by tension and are often accompanied by little rubber backings to absorb some of the pressure.
Cuffs/Wraps – Another good option for non-pierced ears, these fit snugly around the tops or sides of the ear instead of the earlobe, “hooking” over the ear’s natural ridges.
Pierced – The most commonly worn style, pierced earrings insert a tiny metal rod (called a “post”) through the earlobe in order to affix the earring to the wearer.
Cartilage – These are similar to pierced earrings, except they are designed specifically to be worn in the cartilage (as in, anywhere on the wearer’s ear instead of just the lobe). As you might expect, the posts can be a bit shorter than posts on a traditional, pierced earring.
Ear Jackets – These are unique from pierced earrings in that they are designed to be visible on both sides of your earlobe, so the lobe peeks out between the back portion of the earring and the front portion of the earring. These only require a single piercing; both sides affix to the post.
Ear Climbers – Also a single piercing, these earrings are an optical illusion that makes it look like you might have more than one piercing climbing up the side of your ear. Due to the rigid nature of the earring, only one piercing is required to support the entire climbing effect.
Backs
Clips – The best option for those without pierced ears, this type is basically a hinge that grabs the wearer’s earlobe from the bottom and clasps upwards, holding the earrings in place.
Posts – The most traditional earring backs, a single post is affixed through the wearer’s lobe, and a small back is pushed onto the back of the post, thus sandwiching the earlobe. These can get lost fairly easily when the backs pop off, so finding ones that screw on instead of pushing on might alleviate those “I’ve lost my earring and then my dog done run off” Blues.
Nap Earrings – Like the name suggests, these are best for napping because they are not going to poke the side-sleeping wearer. The flatness of the backs makes them a great choice for a lot of reasons, but they are a little bit trickier to remove; the wearer has to pull on the back to release the post.
Hinge-Backs – Most well-known for their ubiquity in hoop earrings, hinge-backs feature a post that is hinged, which snaps into a groove on the back of the earring.
Hooks – These look like question marks, and are basically an elongated, thin post that curves into a shape that stays in place due to gravity weighing down the earring on the front side and the end of the post on the back side.
Metals Used
Silver / Gold – Tried and true, using silver or gold for earrings ensures that the vast majority of wearers don’t struggle with any irritation nor sensitivities from the materials used. The general rule, though not a hard-and-fast one, is that those with warmer-toned skin tend to sport gold earrings best, and those with cooler-toned skin tend to rock the silver best.
Other Hypoallergenic – In addition to silver and gold, earrings can also be made of several other materials to alleviate irritation, most often: stainless steel surgical steel, platinum, titanium, or other precious metals. Beware of nickel, as that is a common allergy.
General Styles
Studs – The most traditional, these are small spheres that sit directly on top of the lobe.
Dangles – These long, hanging earrings have some sway in them when the wearer’s head moves.
Drops – These are aptly named because they are shaped like tear drops.
Hoops – These are shaped like a circle or ring and loop through the earlobe.
Chandeliers – Taking the name from the likeness to the light fixture, these dangle and often widen at the bottom.
Threaders – These look like there is a string that weaves through the earlobe piercing
Cluster: These are composed of grouped gemstones, beads, clay dots, etc.
Face Shape:
What is your face shape? If you’re unsure, search online for how to determine your face shape so you can decide which earrings are going to best suit your needs. As with most fashion, proportion and symmetry are the goals, as is drawing attention upwards towards the face…after all, that’s where the interesting stuff, like your dreams and ideas, comes from!
Oval – As per the usual (like with sunglasses, hats, etc), oval-shaped faces get their pick of the spectrum. Oval-shaped faces can experiment at will with different sizes, shapes, etc, because of the inherent symmetry already inherently present in their shape.
Round – Since round face shapes are already well-represented in each direction, earrings that jut out to the sides too far might make the face seem unharmonious. Instead, round face shapes would benefit from narrow earrings or studs to draw attention to the center of the face, rather than adding to the length/width of the face too far in either direction.
Heart – Since heart-shaped faces tend to be every so slightly wider at the top than at the chinline, the best earrings would be ones to fill out the empty space by the chin line – chandelier, drop earrings, or dangles, particularly those which are widest at the bottom.
Square – To create some yin – yang harmony, square face shapes, known for their strong angles, might want to adopt more organic-looking, curvy earrings in order to soften the angles a bit.
Triangle – With the stated goal of symmetry, triangle face shapes might want to opt for dangle earrings
Color/Contrast/Subtlety/Size
Keep in mind that, in many scenarios (but not all, certainly), your hair will provide a backdrop for your earrings. Sometimes, black earrings can get lost against a backdrop of black hair, gold earrings against blonde hair, etc. Small earrings also run the risk of visually disappearing against wavy hair, etc. However, sometimes that subtlety is just the ticket; you want to add a tiny, subdued amount of sparkle to your outfit via earrings, without making the earrings the focus. As with all accessories, set your intention for your jewelry before you choose it. If you want your earrings to be the focus, then by all means, go all out! If you’d rather they just lend a tiny bit of ancillary interest, studs or basic dangles or hoops might be more aligned with your goals.
The Backstory
The final consideration for your earrings is probably the answer to any questions you might receive about them – where did you get them? Why did you pick the ones you did? Earrings with a backstory are always more fun, since they start actual, no-kidding, human-to-human conversations. You can share about how you picked them out while traveling somewhere fun, or how your best friend made them as part of her new small business, or how you chose them specifically because 100% of the proceeds benefit a women’s shelter in South America, etc. And just like trees change their leaves from season to season, you can change your earrings and, by extension, your conversations from day to day… Earrings with a backstory are just like people with a backstory – far more interesting and alluring as a result!
Happy shopping!
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