TIPS FOR STACKING EARRINGS WITH MULTIPLE PIERCINGS

As a jewelry lover, one thing you can't have failed to notice over the past couple of years is the prevalence of the layering trend. A great way to showcase your jewelry collection, it's also a fun way to be creative and make your own personal style statement. You can layer jewelry on your neck, hands, wrists and ears (though preferably not all at once as that would be a severe case of overkill!)

The idea of an earring stack isn't something that you can say is a new trend. Double lobe piercings became popular during the 1970s and were particularly popular for a punky look. But as with all things in the fashion world, everything comes back around complete with an upgrade or refresh and right now, multiple ear piercings, earring sets and ear stacking are red hot.

It isn't just ear lobe piercings that are used for stacked earrings. Other types of piercings are upper cartilage piercings and tragus piercings (the fleshy piece of cartilage over the ear canal). In fact, there are at least a dozen different areas of the ear that can be pierced. You might consider a conch piercing, helix piercing, tragus piercing, anti-tragus piercing or a rook piercing but most people layer earrings in just three places: two on the lower lobe and one on the upper lobe.

There are so many different types of earrings that it's quite easy to put together what you think makes the perfect ear stack. It's a case of putting together a selection of plain gold earrings, sterling silver earrings, drop earrings, ear cuffs, hoops and dangles, gemstone earrings or stud earrings in your own way.

It never hurts to have a bit of help in any creative process so here are some tips and tricks for how to achieve the perfect earring stack.

Plan Out Your Stack

Ideally, you want your ear stack to be a cohesive ensemble but also showcase each of the different earrings. Wear too many and it can look jumbled and it's hard to discern where one earring starts and another ends. Overlapping is not a good look and you only want one pop of color for example.

Consider the size of your ears, the location of your piercings and how much space you want between earrings. Be sensible about how many different earrings can be accommodated without things getting too overcrowded and busy.

This is especially important if you need to get new piercings so you can try earring stacking. Think about where you will most likely get the most wear out of any additional piercing. Remember too that if you like the idea of layering earrings but don't want any more piercings, many jewelers have earring styles in their collections that are designed to give the effect of stacking although they are a single piece.

Select Complementary Earrings

The real fun is in picking out the various earrings you're going to put together. The goal is to combine earrings that show you've considered size, shape and style that all complement each other.

In general, it is best to stick to a single metal as your base color for a cohesive look. If you're confident, you might mix rose gold with yellow or white gold but if you choose a white metal, it is best not to mix with other white metals. This is because there is a difference in how white gold, platinum, titanium and sterling silver look and these differences are emphasized when they sit next to each other.

Complementary also refers to size. You can happily mix large and small. A pair of simple studs and plain hoops work great with a pair of dangly earrings that are your statement piece. Huggies are a great way to add detail without adding bulk and look great with a dainty stud and extravagant hoops.

Shape is the other factor of complementary. There are no rules. Any pair of earrings can work with another. You can mix chunky with delicate earrings, dangly pieces with diamond studs and understated pieces with a flamboyant pair.

Raid your earring collection and mix and match to find the combinations you like.

Choose A Focal Point

It is always sensible to pick a focal point and build your stacked earrings around this. This could take the form of a larger hoop or statement earring, and it will usually be the biggest or blingiest earring in your collection.

You can then select items like smaller studs, hoops and bar earrings to build around the focal point. Building the stack in this way helps to keep that central focus in mind.

Consider Balance And Symmetry

There is definitely a time and place in fashion for asymmetry but not in your ears. Unless you are expressly creating a distinctively quirky look, your earring stacks should be mirrored in both ears.

Doing this helps to create a balanced composition and your earring sets become an attractive, fluid element of your whole aesthetic rather than deliberately looking out of place and taking attention away from other areas of your look.

If you do want to play around with the balance and symmetry of your stacks, then you can do so with the actual shape and sizes of the earrings you choose to wear, rather than the earrings not corresponding on the left and right ears.

Mix And Match Styles

There is no rule book to dictate that you have to stick to any particular style of earring when creating a good stack.

The joy of wearing jewelry is getting to experiment and try out all of the different designs that are available, and for earring stacking that means being open to studs, huggies, hoops, cuffs, bars et al to create texture and dimension in your look.

Don't be afraid to mix colors and types of gemstones in your stacks. The more unique it looks, the better!

 A Note About Piercings

If you are going to get additional piercings to accommodate your newfound lust for earring stacking, do not get them all at once. You'll still have the flexibility of styling with each new piercing you add but by allowing sufficient time for a new piercing to heal, you reduce the risk of infection.

Adding piercings gradually also enables you to take stock after each new one. After a cooling off period so-to-speak, you may decide you have sufficient.

Building a Collection

Having an extensive choice of earrings enables you to mix and match to build earring stacks for any occasion and to work with any outfit. We invite you to browse the earrings at Global Rings Jewelry to find new pieces to add to your collection.