Above image credit: TJ on Depop
With threader earrings gaining in popularity and so many designs popping onto the market, here’s what you need to look for when you buy your first pair.
Length
These type of earrings come in a LOT of different lengths, from around 6cm right the way to around 14cm. We think longer lengths look dressier if simply threaded through the ear – while shorter lengths are great for day time and office wear – but it’s really down to how you wear them and what you wear them with.
Above: These long star threader earrings are perfect for a dressier look.
Whether your hair is up or down also makes a difference – longer lengths will look more striking with your hair up, so they can really be appreciated!
Remember that the length quoted will be from one end to the other. This will be halved if you wear the earring with an even amount both sides. Alternatively you’ll get almost all of this length if the earring has a decorative stud that’s supposed to be pulled right up to the ear hole.
Length is especially important if you have a double piercing and want to loop the earrings through both holes. If the earring is around 10cm works well with a double lobe piercing.
Above: These leaf threader earrings measure 10.3cm and work well with this double lobe piercing.
Metal
Even if you’re usually not sensitive to costume jewellery, it’s worth choosing Sterling Silver or Gold for threaders. They have very fine parts (i.e. the chain) and so more opportunities for bacteria to harbour, so it’s really important to keep the chain and post that’s going through your ear clean and sterile. This can be done with cheap rubbing alcohol or a special solution for earrings. All that cleaning can quickly make costume jewellery fade and plating chip (which can then cause sensitivity). Real Silver and Gold last a lot longer and will tolerate being cleaned frequently. They can also be polished so they look lovely and new, even after years of use.
(NB: All of our designs are 925 Sterling Silver. A small number are Gold plated over Sterling Silver, where indicated.)
Decoration
Above: Pretty pink CZ heart earrings. Image credit: TJ on Depop
Some threader earrings have a pretty decoration on the end which hangs at the front of your ear. There are all sorts of variations – hearts, moons and stars are perhaps the most popular. Others are plain, with a bar at either end. This is just a matter of taste – the longer plain earrings can look very dressy, even though they don’t have a decoration.
Type
Threader earrings, or pull through earrings as they are sometimes called, come in a few different types. For example, you can buy them with an earwire about midway through the earring which is the part that sits in your ear.
Above: Some types have an ear wire part way through the chain, which is the part which rests in your piercing. Click here to buy these.
Whilst this might make them very slightly easier to clean, we prefer the ones that are fine chain all the way – they hang nicer and just look better overall. They are also more flexible because you can wear them with more or less at the front/back, depending on what you think looks best. (We often like to pull ours through if they have a decoration on the front, so there’s more length at the back.)
Above: Some types have a little decoration that pulls right up to the ear. Image credit – TJ on Depop
Some styles have a little decoration which pulls right up to the ear – others have a decoration that hangs on the front. Some are especially long with the intention that they’ll be looped through multiple piercings which might be anywhere in your ear.
To stack or not?
Above: They can look really pretty as part of an ear stack. Credit: Instagram.
A final point to think about is whether you’re planning on integrating your threaders as part of an ear stack. This will influence the type of metal you choose, the length and the overall appearance. Pull through earrings offer so many opportunities for wearing in your own way. There are endless combinations that can be created with hoops, studs, bars, cuffs and climbers, making them a really great choice for creating a unique look.