Fashion History: When Did Piercings Become Popular And Why?

Fashion has its own history just like every other industry. Fashion is, however, more natural to others than it is to some. That’s why fashion history is so fraught with so many twists and turns, seemingly illogical steps, and then breakthroughs in design, etc. it’s quite a human industry, in that it’s all subjective. Unlike engineering whereby you definitely need to know how to build a bridge if you want to work on one, fashion is more about taste, style and feel. Fashion has also been the base of many style revolutions. One of which was piercings. Whether it’s earrings, nose rings, lip piercings or more, let’s take a look at why they came about.

The pearl earring

The world-famous painting of the girl with the pearl earrings brought about a change in fashion and style perhaps like any other. The dashing pearl earring, the youthful skin, the seductive gaze and the amazing ribbons in her hair. The girl in the painting showed that earrings could be dainty, curvy and beautiful. They were not just an accessory, but a statement of how the world could be portrayed. Human beings captured in their right moments can be the stars of the show. The pearl earring was painted between 1500 and 1600. Some say it was about 1550 but others say later. You can imagine at the time that this was seen as a rather evocative painting. And all because of an earring.

It went punk

We should just jump to the most relevant period for piercings, punk. The punk era was all about shocking the viewing, challenging their perceptions, making them feel uncomfortable and rearranging how ‘normal’ was seen. If you would like to see some of the piercings that were popular and still are, the collection on Barber DTS. Nose rings were made very popular by women during this era while nose bright piercings were made popular by men. They were worn with black lipstick, black eyeliner, spikey hair and black clothes. Something about punk fashion and piercings still resonates with people today. It was a part of someone’s youth when they rebelled against the mainstream culture. Being part of that movement was probably life-changing.

The roaring history

In the 1920s, lavish lifestyles started to be enjoyed by the average Joe. If you ran your own business, became wealthy and wanted the finer things in life, the steps to achieving them weren’t as far as it was a decade ago. This is when long pendant earrings become fashionable. They were made from diamonds and other precious stones like sapphire and emerald. Ruby pendants were very popular among the show business class. 

What type of piercing fashion do you like the most? Maybe it depends on your wardrobe, or your personality, perhaps both? Whatever the reason, we hope piercings continue to evolve and stay popular with the future generations.

Collaboration.