Flowered Ear Cuffs: A Revived Trend for 2019

 

 

Ear cuffs have had so many reincarnations, they might as well be accepted as a staple. Chanel offered the staggering diamond ear cuffs, left and right, below, in 2012. Elle Fanning wore one of Rodarte’s dragon ear cuffs (one is enough, two are too many) to a Met Gala celebrating punk style in 2013. At the same event, 20-year-old Cara Delavingne, above, trotted out Burberry’s studded dress, astounding décolletage and a pair of ear cuffs to grab so many photographer’s lenses, it catapulted her into stardom.

Rodarte showed the dragon ear cuff on its models on its spring 2013 runway. They were available, when you could find them, for $330 apiece. Today? Priceless. Dragons, of course, were having a “day,” with “Game of Thrones” on HBO starting in 2011, and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” coming out the same year. From Goth to Glam. Short trip.

It wasn’t long before ear cuffs had calmed down into cute and frothy, inexpensive dangles that even young ladies could wear for a weekend, after reassuring their mothers that they would not have to pierce their ears.

More demure ear cuffs consisted of a single gold band, or several, clipped onto the rim of the ear.

And who could object to that?

It was announced in 2015 that ear cuffs were “back,” usually because some star (not you, Rihanna) had worn them on the red carpet. That year it was Emma Stone and Kiera Knightly.

By 2016, everyone, including Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett (or their stylists) had taken the plunge:

 

In 2019, they are back (AGAIN!) because who can keep a jewelry trend down?

The “Jewellery Editor Newsletter” out of London (you can tell because of the spelling of Jewellery) said this year: “Trend Alert: Having successfully transitioned from niche trend to major jewel, the latest high jewellery ear cuffs are guaranteed to steal the show on the red carpet.”

Well, one advantage of an ear cuff over a regular earring is that you can load on the high-end jewelry (or jewellery).

They raved about the David Morris Cherry Blossom ear cuff, which was shown during the Paris Couture Week in July 2019. One of which is apparently so staggeringly expensive David Morris will not reveal the price to the public.

The David Morris ear cuff, with pink, yellow and white diamonds, is part of the Cherry Blossom jewelry collection, which was launched in 2014. Since there are two earrings, and they are sold individually (price disclosed only to buyers with serious intentions to buy), there is a possibility that two megastars will turn up on the red carpet wearing it. This is the nightmare of celebrity stylists, as the series of fall film festival red carpets unrolls.

For mere mortals the issue of ear cuffs is less perturbing.

There are simple flowered cuffs that can be bought at big-box stores. This one, made of an “alloy,” can be bought by wholesalers for approximately 50 cents apiece, and probably sold for $4.95. It’s not hideous, and the claim is that it doesn’t contain nickel. But certainly a shopper can do better.

Below is a nice mid-range option, and it’s hand-made too. The maker works out of Fort Lauderdale, and the cuff earrings are made of three preserved hydrangea blossoms.

They are magically delicate, and draw close inspection. We are all for anything made out of real floral materials, and anything hand made. At $26 apiece, with sterling silver settings, these, from MesGriGri, are winners to us.

Staying outside precious gems, silver vermeil handmade ear cuffs from Emmanuela, below, are $67, and we think are handsome. You don’t need to flash diamonds to be flashy.

 

So, no matter your age, you don’t need to torture your earlobes to have some bling going on. One rule for women getting older is “shorter hair, bigger earrings.”

What better answer to that than ear cuffs? – Linda Lee

Linda Lee is a former editor at The New York Times. She was the deputy editor of the House & Home section and wrote frequently for Sunday Styles. She has also written for Vogue, Real Simple and Interior Design magazines.