I have a huge collection of earrings which date back to when I first had my ears pierced as a teenager in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England. I wore those first basic gold stud earrings with pride feeling exceptionally glamorous and grown up. Nowadays I have all styles of earrings but I find myself coming back to stud earrings time and time again.
I am a fan of a dangling earring but since I've grown my hair again I feel they can be a bit lost in my hair and I don't always want to put my hair up. I often get headaches with updo's and have discovered it is actually a thing - medics call it a ponytail headache!
Being a mum of seven was another reason I often chose stud earrings over dangling. Babies and young children will often grab anything in reach- your hair, necklace and of course, earrings. I was always terrified one of them would rip an earring out so played it safe with studs. Of course that's why most schools and some workplaces insist that only studs are worn - safety first!
Playing safe with studs does not mean a lack of style, fun or glamour however. There is such a huge range of stud earrings from diamonds to pearls, novelty studs and even glow in the dark studs which come into their own at bars and clubs with UV lighting.
My two go-to styles are diamond studs and pearls. My diamond studs go with absolutely every outfit - even when I've thrown on loungewear because I feel not properly dressed without my earrings in. Nowadays it's easy to source good quality faux diamonds or choose lab-grown diamonds. Or maybe opt for budget-friendly white sapphires like the ones pictured below, which also go with pretty much any outfit.
Recently I've returned to wearing pearl studs which I feel effortlessly elevate my look and also go with almost any outfit. My hair is kind of ash blonde nowadays and I feel the pearls tone with the highlights in my hair.
Pearls of course come in many different shades, whether they are seed, saltwater, wild or cultured. Some jewellers even dye them. This means it should be fairly easy to find pearl stud earrings to suit your colouring.
Maybe diamond-esque and pearls are a little neutral for your personal palate? As I mentioned before stud earrings come in an almost infinite range of colour, shape and style and it can be fun to collect earrings to match outfits or bags. I was recently on a Cunard cruise to the Norwegian Fjords and one of the formal Gala nights had the theme "Red and Gold" -it was so easy to wear elegant black and choose jewellery to fit the theme. On the black and white night my trusty pearls proved perfect!
Finally, if you have multiple piercings adding studs into the line-up can be lots of fun and quite classy if you choose your set carefully. I love this arrangement (pictured below) which takes my much-loved pearls and makes them modern whilst remaining classy and elegant. I've been meaning to get seconds in my lobes and this might be the inspo to nudge me to finally do it.
Whatever your reason for wanting to wear stud earrings, it's good to remember that you can be as creative and stylish with them as bigger styles - you just need to shop around and find styles, shapes and shades which truly represent you.