The tradition of ear piercing can be traced back to nearly 5000 years ago. With the discovery of Europe’s oldest mummy, named Otzi. The mummy was found on the border between Austria and Italy with her ears pierced.
Other ancient evidences of ear piercing, weather it be fashion or tradition, are the carved images on the walls of the Ancient Persian Empire where soldiers doned pierced earlobes.
It has also been said that the pharaoh, Tutankhamun (aka King Tut) who was the king of the New Empire Period of Ancient Egypt also had his ears pierced. Proof of this was discovered in images of his death mask in which the ears were holed and covered with discs.
The tradition of wearing earrings also became famous during the English Renaissance in the late 16th century. It is believed that earrings were mostly worn by sailors who wore them for 2 reasons. Reasons being, pierced earlobes were thought to have been a symbol of achieving an accomplishment of having sailed the world, or have sailed across the equator successfully. While other sailors had a perception that perforation of their earlobes would improve their eyesight.
In the 16th century, ear piercing became symbolic of a high-end fashion trend among the gentlemen who would wear gold, stone or pearl earrings to show off wealth and elite status. In the 1800’s ear piercing was at its peak in the Ainu culture. However in the late 1800’s the Japanese government placed a ban on men wearing earrings which is believed to have incidentally decreased the trend allowing for the introduction and rise of the clip-on earring trend.
In 1950, following the end of WWII, there was a boom in the economy, people began spending again and women started investing more in their appearance supporting the rebound of the piercing trend .
By the 1970s teen girls threw piercing parties, where friends pierced each other’s lobes using a needle and an ice cube to numb the area.
Since then the art of piercing has gone way beyond just the ears and has become a fine tuned craft contributing to the longevity of this fashion statement.
Join us Thursday, April 28th, at our West Hollywood Boutique and Studio for a Samira 13 Piercing Party. Leave the ice at home and the piercing to the professionals with an on-site piercer. Enjoy an exclusive trunk show with event cohosts and creators of Celui Fragrance (@celuifragrance).
Bubbly and bites from our Sunset Plaza neighbor, The Butcher, the Baker, the Cappuccino Maker (@bbcmcafe).
Piercing is free with earring purchase.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT TO RESERVE YOUR PIERCING FOR APRIL 28TH >>>
