MY MIDLIFE EAR PIERCING
Noticed a trend for multiple ear piercings among fashionable women old enough to know better? GH Fashion Editor Wendy Rigg, we’re looking at you!
Men approaching midlife have traditionally opted for a pair of leather trousers or a motorbike… or so the cliché goes. Well, ear piercing may be the lady version, but it’s much prettier. And it’s a trend that’s seen grown women stampede into department stores all over the country, not least to London’s Liberty, where New York-based Maria Tash has a salon.
Tash’s signature styles are delicate, diamondstudded and very beautiful. Think tiny stars and dangly trinket-y things so dainty they look best when you have more than one, and designed to fit into parts of the ear you didn’t even know existed. (I had to choose between my conch or my helix. Who knew I had either?)
And looking around the Good Housekeeping offices, I am not alone. There are quite a few fine examples of ear decoration, including Editorial Director Lindsay Nicholson, who says, ‘I wouldn’t dream of having a tattoo, but a discreet little diamond in the upper ear adds sparkle to the (older) face. And if I take it out, no one will see the hole because it’s hidden in the curve of the ear.’
Tempted? Do bear in mind that the procedure entails having a needle poked through a part of the ear that doesn’t heal easily (it was 12 months in my case). And it hurts.
But the moment I set eyes on these
pretty things, I was like a magpie eyeing up the Queen’s dressing table. I had a flutter in my stomach and knew I had to have at least one. Before you could say ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend’, a gentle giant with gemstone piercings and a hole the size of a Polo mint in his ear was poised ready to stab me through the helix (upper ear) with a not terribly thin-looking needle! Yes, the old-fashioned method pioneered in teen bedrooms of the 1970s is still the preferred way to do the job. No fancy stud guns. Of course, these days it’s all carried out in a lovely salon, and will set you back a minimum of £90.
I left the shop feeling elated – it was a bit like playing a vinyl version of David Bowie’s Life On Mars on an old record player, when the first few bars whisk you straight back to your teenage self. Just a word of warning if you’re thinking of joining us: think about where your specs or sunglasses hit your ear; warn your hairdresser that you have a piercing, as having it knocked can be painful; don’t expect to be able to sleep on the pierced side for quite a long time.
So was it worth it? One year on, my midlife piercing still makes me smile. In a way, it’s a symbol of the freedom of youth I felt as a teen. Yes, hope and excitement about the future can be ours in later life. Shine on, little diamond!