
Last year, I went to lunch with a dear friend and sat out on a sunny patio. There was a woman who would glide around the patio in a long, colourful dress. I don’t know if she owned the place, but she certainly walked around it as though she did. She was stunning in a natural way that looked effortless.
I couldn’t stop watching her as she moved from table to table to talk to guests. There was something magnetic about her. She wore these big, gorgeous earrings.
My friend Rhonda noticed I had been watching her.
Side note... this is why we love Michael from Love on the Spectrum. Post continues below.
“Do you know her?” my friend asked.
“No,” I told her. “But I admire her. I always wanted to be the kind of woman who wore big earrings.”
Rhonda looked at her and then looked at me and said, “You are.”
I can’t count the number of times I’ve gone into shops and lingered longer than I planned by the jewellery. Earrings always grab my attention. Big, bold, beautiful earrings.
The kind that stand out and command attention and get noticed. It’s not because I like the idea of the attention they get. Actually, the attention is what I fear and what holds me back.
Simply, I love them. I find a strange joy in them. They’re full of life and carefree. They lift spirits. I’m inclined to believe that if they wanted to and we let them, they could move mountains.
I’ve never been the kind of woman who wears big earrings because, like so many other women, I was taught to be small.
I needed to fit into a box and being loud or drawing attention to myself was impolite or inappropriate. We should be seen and not heard. And, certainly, even our level of visibility shouldn't be loud.
We just don’t do that. We are demure. We are understated. Our jewellery should comply with this.
I also feel very strongly about big, chunky bangle bracelets. The colourful ones women stack one on top of each other that clank together when they move. I’ve loved those too but I’ve never worn them because I thought the sound of the clanking bracelets would draw attention to me.