The lead-up to this year’s festive season was saturated with Kate Moss, thanks to her party collection for Zara.
Earlier this month we saw more pictures of Kate than we had in the past five years combined: Kate straddling a chair in a beaded bralette; Kate in a beaded black dress, entering and exiting a Mayfair club the night of the launch party.
You would have thought there was nothing left to be said on the subject of this fashion icon’s style but… there is one more thing.
I could not help noticing that, in all these images – in the Zara ad campaign and paparazzi shots – there was barely a hint of earrings. On launch night Kate was wearing her party best and an unassuming pair of small drop earrings, just big enough to dazzle when the flashbulbs caught them.
Fast-forward a few days and Victoria Beckham was a guest, along with husband David, at a banquet for the Emir of Qatar at Buckingham Palace. What was she wearing? A plain black dress of her own design, hair scraped back, and no jewellery… apart from some small, light-reflecting drop earrings.
Plain black used to be the backdrop for Christmas bling, especially earrings: shoulder-scraping waterfall earrings; velvet and rhinestone bows; hammered gold and pearls the size of quails’ eggs.
I have drawerfuls of dangling diamante earrings, semi-precious stone clusters and big crystal chandeliers, all still waiting to be retrieved from their pouches this party season, and it isn’t going to happen on New Year’s Eve either.
There’s something about a big statement earring now that belongs in a 1980s TV drama, along with taffeta puffball skirts and court shoes. Simple, striking and Not Big is the fashionably dressed-up rule of winter 2024.
Shane Watson (pictured) writes that big statement earrings now belong in a 1980s TV drama
Less is more is a useful all-round rule for the Fifty Plus aged woman (note Kate and Victoria are now in that camp). Less tight, less make-up, less coiffed hair, less decollete, less sheer and less loud and blingy in the jewellery department. All the lesses.
But it’s not about hiding your light under a bushel. It’s appreciating what keeps you youthful, and stepping away from bling. We’re not saying never, just that, generally, the subtler approach looks more modern and fresh.
That doesn’t mean you’re not going for impact, it’s just a different sort of impact – some face-illuminating, sophisticated, glow-enhancing earrings. It also means you’ll be wearing them all year; the problem with blingy jewellery is you rarely have the opportunity to wear it.
So, small 18ct gold vermeil hoops with white topaz drop stones would be a very good place to start (£78, mejuri.com). White topaz looks like diamonds and sparkles almost as brilliantly. (Note: a drop swinging from a hoop gives you the light-catching movement that makes all the difference.) A stud is not quite the same, but feel free to wear one, too, also from Mejuri (£58), or try a single pearl charm on a hoop (£50).
Monica Vinader’s Nura Keshi small pearl drop earrings (£95, monicavinader.com) aren’t ground-breaking, but the charm of these cultured pearls is their shimmering, iridescent quality. They bring a lot more to the party than a regular pearl.
Or how about a real diamond charm to dangle from your hoops (£88)? One can be fun, with a stud in the other ear.
Dialling up the impact, consider Marks & Spencer’s cubic zirconium danglers (£16.99, marksandspencer.com): four zirconias in a row, grading up in size from top to bottom. You won’t get the tremble effect, but they’re plenty light-reflecting.
Or head to the Wilson jewellery website and choose from moon and star hoops (£50, wilsonjewellery.com) or crystal-encrusted huggies (£40). Steer clear of coloured stones – plain ones look smarter and more expensive.
Kate Moss straddles a chair in a beaded bralette as part of her collection with Zara
Jennifer Lopez completes her chic ensemble at the IndieWire Honors with a subtle pair of earrings
Jigsaw’s keshi pearl drop earrings are a bit more of a statement – a single shimmering pearl on the end of a cable-link, gold-plated chain that hangs to chin height – but still a very simple design.
These are ones to consider if you’ve got a reasonably long neck – and they’re in the sale (£38, jigsaw-online.com).
Otherwise Jigsaw’s molten bead, hoop earrings – silver beads nestled within a chunky molten gold hoop (£55) – are similarly striking and shiny and you could wear them any day of the year.
If in doubt, a gold hoop is still going strong (chunkier than before) and you can pick up a pair from John Lewis for just over a tenner (£12, johnlewis.com).
A very Happy New Year!