The choker, between history and meaning (+our top 3 chokers)

The choker is a piece of jewelry that is worn around the neck, also called the choker. It is said to come from Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt and was used for several reasons, the main one being for protection.

The choker and its different meanings

Already in the Georgian era, the most deprived women tied a strap with a hanging stone around their neck to show off. The first known appearance of the choker is that of Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I and wife of Henry VIII, who can be seen in her portrait exhibited at the National Gallery.

The choker as a means of commemoration

Necklaces can have real meanings . Furthermore, during the French Revolution, we found the choker as a flagship piece of jewelry. Victims' Balls were organized and aristocrats wore a red ribbon to celebrate those guillotined during the Victims' Ball.

During these balls, the women wore red ribbons but also fabrics that they tied in an X on their backs to show their support for the victims.

Between prostitution and lust

The choker was also found as a symbol of prostitutes. They wore it black, without a small clasp, exactly like in the painting Olympia by Manet below. Thus, the prostitute shown clearly offers her services only while wearing this choker.

Olympia, Manet.

The more time goes by, the more the choker evolves and multiplies its functions. The choker found lust as a new symbol. We can interpret the painting The Ballerinas by Edgar Degas where they wear a choker as an action to show that they wish to be maintained.

We interpret the wearing of the choker here in this case since being ballerinas, they did not earn enough to meet their needs but still earn more than the prostitutes.

The Ballerinas, Edgar Degas.

The choker to hide scars?

A few years later, the choker came back into fashion. This time it was used to hide scars and other unsightly features as with Alexandra of Denmark who used it to hide a horrible scar.

Alexandra of Denmark, portrait.

Unfortunately, the Queen had undergone surgery when she was younger. So, to hide this mark, she always wore several necklaces and especially chokers. Thanks to this, the choker got another, more luxurious look.

In Austria, the choker was called a kropfkette and was also worn to conceal goiter or other thyroid marks.

Show your unavailability with the choker

Other than paying tribute, expressing a need, offering your services or even hiding your scars, the choker also serves to express your accessibility to men. Its use was explicit and meant that the woman wearing it was no longer having sex and was unavailable.

In this case, it was a black satin ribbon and it was reserved for canonical women and young duchesses. Depending on their means, it was decorated or not with diamonds or had a pendant.

From choker to dog collar

At the beginning of the 20th century, the choker became trendy according to Yvonne Markowitz, curator of the Jewerly Museum of Boston. Jewelers Henri Vever and René Lalique create magnificent ones with languid shapes. It is these shapes that will make the choker called “dog collars”.

The choker trend became less and less fashionable thereafter and was brought back to the forefront by its reappearance on the cover of Life magazine around 1944, this time under the name of choker which in English means to strangle. .

How to wear your choker correctly?

Now that you understand the plurality of meanings of the choker, we can now look at how to wear it. Being an accessory that remains quite trendy, the choker is worn to add the final touch that changes everything to your outfit.

3 tips for wearing the choker

Firstly, the ideal would be to wear the choker with clothing that reveals the neck completely, so abandon clothing with high collars and favor tops with low necklines or even boat necks so that you can better focus on the necklace . This will also highlight the necklace and even more if the outfit is simple and the choker has a touch of color and rhinestone beads. Also adapt your outfit according to the mesh of your necklace .

Then, when we wear a choker, all the attention goes to our neck. Because of this, not all cuts will highlight the necklace, especially loose hair. To make the jewelry more visible, you should tie your hair up, either high or in a low ponytail.

Why not wear earrings with our choker? It's a good idea because it's the accessories that change an outfit, but not just any accessories. Since the first thing you see is the choker, it wouldn't be appropriate to wear dangly jewelry or extravagant jewelry. The best thing here is to wear discreet jewelry in addition to the choker so as not to look “too much”.

Our selection of chokers

Now that you know how best to wear chokers and also what to avoid doing with this piece of jewelry, here is our selection of chokers.

For a fairly punk style, the " rock chain all black " choker is made for you, especially if you like dark colors.

If you are fond of elegant looks and want to add a touch of color to your outfit, the rhinestone and jewel choker will be your best friend.

And to finish the selection, we have chosen for you the heart ring jean choker for a relaxed casual outfit that remains cute and feminine.

And There you go! Now you know the many meanings of chokers, how to wear them to show them off and you even have a mini selection of chokers.