Hoops, studs, huggies, cuffs, climbers – with so many styles of earring, how can you choose from just one to complete your look?
With ear stacks revolutionising the way we accessorise, you don’t have to. Ear stacks refers to the practice of wearing multiple earrings in each ear, in a layered or ‘stacked’ fashion. This trend is the pick ’n’ mix of jewellery, giving you full reign over curating the perfect combinations to enhance every look. You can play around with different piercings, from helixes, daiths, rooks and orbitals; evolving each look with different studs or climbers, with dangling chains or droops. Your ears become a limitless canvas for personalisation.
I have loved indulging in this trend of embellishing ourselves. It has transformed the way I look at myself. For example, I used to be insecure of my prominent Punjabi nose, but wearing a nose ring helped me to embrace it. Jewellery has really become a symbol of embracing my features and liberating myself of insecurity. My arms are decked with bangles, fingers stacked with rings and neck layered with necklaces. I’m excited to apply this to my ears and hoping to get a third lobe piercing.
But to whom do we owe this trend?
Ear stacks have long been in traditional South-Asian culture. Seeing it contemporarily has brought about an urge in me to raise appreciation of the South-Asian women who pioneered this look. Piercings, as seemingly modern as the conch, helix and tragus, have been practiced for centuries in the whole of South Asia, symbolising cultural heritage and upbringing. These cartilage piercings, paired with traditional lobe earrings, such as Jhumke (popularised in Western media by Bridgerton’s Kate Sharma), are reminiscent of this rising trend. This can be said with tribal Indian earrings, such as the Ghungroo Bugadi, Nagali and Thoriya, seen in (but not limited to) Gujarat, South and North-West India. The ear stack serves as an example of how these cultural elements have permeated modern fashion trends. South-Asian women and their cultural influences should be paid homage, as people of colour are often cast aside.
Trends such as these allow me to feel more connected to my roots and culture, so it is not to say that this is cultural appropriation. I’m drawn to fusion fashion; South-Asian meets Western, wearing elaborate Indian jewellery and bindis casually. I constantly find myself looking for ways to incorporate more Indian elements into my style.
I’m arguing that this trend is loosely inspired by the jewellery of South Asia. I, personally, would say that it is cultural appreciation and an understated compliment to my culture to partake in this trend.
So book your piercing appointments now, because ear stacks are the perfect way to express your individual style.