Kiddies, when you've seen it all come and go and come around again, you start to be able to pick out the shining pearls of wisdom in there amongst the dreck. I'm absolutely THRILLED to share a cultured strand or two with you, my dear readers.

Okay Auntie...
I have a question. What's up with the whole earring thing for men these days? Does it even matter? One earring, two? Either side? Individual male preference?? Personally, I thought that maybe when they started wearing two at a time that they would help us out of forced traditions and stop making each side match!

So, what's your opinion?
Jane D. Zetsch www.lifeartdesigns.etsy.com

Dear Jane,
In days gone by, portable wealth was important. Banks were not always available, or worthy of trust, or with a nearby branch if you happened to be on Crusade or sailing around the Cape of Africa. And they didn't even have broken ATMs back then. So having something valuable and close to hand was vital, especial if you didn't have LOTS of available wealth. Buttons, often made of precious metals or set with gems, could be sewn to a coat and removed for trade as needed. Keeping wealth even closer, one has the option of wearing it bodily. Soldiers who went on Crusade and sailors who traveled the world were exposed to the fashions and ways of people who did things very differently than the folks back home in Europe. This include ritual scarification, tattoos, and piercings. Some of these fashions (and gems and gold) found their way back on the bodies or in the bootlegs of the sailors. A pierced earlobe often meant that the wearer had sailed around the world or had crossed the equator. In addition, if a non service member sailor was involved and survived a sinking ship, they were often seen wearing an earring in the left ear. There was also a long-held belief that puncturing the earlobe was beneficial to increasing the acuity of eyesight or of hearing. It was also a fashion with seafaring gents of the time to carry enough portable wealth in the form of a gold earring so that if one happened to die while in a foreign land, there was enough money for burial, masses said, and notice sent back to family. Portraits as far back as the 1500's (including a lovely one of Sir Walter Raleigh, the Captain responsible for the introduction of tobacco and potatoes to Europeans) show men wearing a single earring, often with a pearl or ruby. Women did not often wear earrings at this time, but it became more and more fashionable in later centuries, and almost always they were worn in pairs. In the earlier part of the 20th century, only "bad" girls had pierced ears. (I have two holes in one ear, one in the other. You do the math...)

As to my opinion--pierced earrings are far more comfortable than clip-ons. Other than that, I wouldn't assume any coded messages are being sent by the wearer. Perhaps the wearers secretly dream of being Knights or Sailors, but the most you can safely tell is whether or not the wearer is concerned about coordinating their accessories with their outfit. Of course gold and silver go with everything, and copper or brass will turn your lobes a funny color---but hey--if it goes with your outfit, its up to you!

Aunt Acid

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