Jewelry Design and Fashion: Earring Styles

These are simple, small earrings that are composed of a single fixed decoration (usually a half inch or less in diameter) and a post that comes equipped with a rubber, acrylic, or metal backing to hold the item in place.

Dangles

As you will have guessed, these are earrings that have a dangling element or charm of some type.

Drops

Drop earrings are a dangling style that involves a length of chain or wire with a decorative piece at its end. This creates the look the charm being suspended or having “dropped” from the ear.

Hoops

The moniker “hoop” applies to many different types of earrings, but generally those that are composed of either a single large loop, or a smaller ellipse of some kind from which other elements may dangle. Earrings that include a small hoop resting close around the lobe are often called huggies.

Threaders

Rather than a closure, threader earrings are those that have a fixed curved portion from which two long chains or ends dangle. The free end is meant to be threaded through the piercing until the curve rests in the fistula, allowing the earring to remain in place.

Chandeliers

Chandelier earrings are items that involve a complex hanging structure composed of a fixed element coupled with multiple dangling portions, the look being similar to that of a classical candle or bulb chandelier lamp.

Closures

Hoops, dangles, drops, and chandeliers may come with a variety of different earring backs, including post, fishhook, huggy/hinge, leverback, leverback post, and kidney wire. Each of these closures is used to its full advantage when incorporated into particular styles and designs.

For more about earrings and amazing ear modifications, check out the rest of our Ear Piercings category.