成年女性用大耳環(huán)對付中年危機？

Glance around any Christmas drinks party and you’ll probably notice a fast-emerging trend among the female guests: the vogue for the glittering ear. Not since the punk era have multiple earrings been so fashionable. But this time around, it’s not the adolescents who are studding their cartilage — it’s the older woman.

隨便掃視一下年末的酒會現(xiàn)場，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)女嘉賓中正快速興起一項流行時尚：珠光寶氣的耳飾風(fēng)尚!如今是自朋克時代以來多耳飾最風(fēng)靡的時代。但這一次的時尚引領(lǐng)者，并非青春叛逆期的少男少女，而是成年女性。

Where men typically deal with mid-life by buying inappropriate vehicles, the older woman is increasingly facing 40 (plus) by decorating her ears with climbing rows of gold hoops and tiny, twinkling diamonds, such as Maria Black’s triple-hoop earring (pictured, £545, net-a-porter.com). At Love Hate Social Club, a studio in west London’s Notting Hill, 80 per cent of clients are in their 30s or older, and most declare themselves to be in the midst of a midlife crisis as they climb into piercer Nicole Mitchell’s chair.

男性通常以購買不合適的汽車來應(yīng)對所謂中年危機，而越來越多的女性在不惑之年前后的應(yīng)對之策通常是裝扮自己的耳朵：穿戴金耳箍與閃亮的小耳鉆，如Maria Black的三箍耳飾。在倫敦西部諾丁山(Notting Hill)的Love Hate Social Club美容室，80%的客戶已過而立之年，多數(shù)人聲稱自己前往耳飾師尼科爾•米歇爾(Nicole Mitchell)處的原因是正逢中年危機。

“They all say they must be mad,” says Mitchell. “They haven’t had a piercing in 20 years. They’re very nervous. We have a consultation and talk them through it.” Despite their varying levels of self-conscious anxiety, her customers are bold in their choices. Helix rings, which perforate the cartilage just before it curves over the top of the ear, are popular. So too, incidentally, are nose piercings. The desired effect is a sophisticated brand of luxed-up rebellion: think of the jeweller and Fendi heiress Delfina Delletrez, who wears septum studs and piercings as insouciantly as her Fendi forebears might have once worn a string of pearls (Delfina Delletrez earring, pictured, £675, net-a-porter.com).

“他們都說自己肯定腦子不正常。”米歇爾說，“他們已有20年沒給耳朵打過孔了，感覺非常緊張，我們通常會開導(dǎo)他們，解除其心理壓力。”盡管她的客戶有著程度不一的焦慮感，但都毅然決定給耳朵打孔。在上耳輪軟骨處鉆孔的螺旋式耳環(huán)(Helix rings)最受客戶青睞，順便說一下，鼻環(huán)也很受客戶青睞。她們最期望的效果是打造奢華又叛逆的優(yōu)雅時髦感：你們可以看看珠寶商與芬迪家族(Fendi)的傳人Delfina Delletrez，她經(jīng)常穿戴septum stud飾釘與耳環(huán)，坦然出入各種社交場所，這一點與其率性穿戴珍珠鏈的先祖如出一轍。

What is prompting so many women to turn to the needle? “Tattoos and pink hair are déclassé but us old ladies still need to feel hip,” explains Stacey Duguid, fashion editor at Porter magazine and columnist for The Pool, a fashion website. Duguid’s latest piercings were done by Maria Tash, New York’s doyenne of piercing, loved by Britney and Beyoncé, and now operating a small salon at Liberty in London. “I got six piercings in one sitting,” Duguid continues. The new piercings took her tally to eight, although a subsequent infection required one to be removed in A&E. She didn’t put it back in. “I was sick of sleeping on an inflatable pillow.”

到底是什么原因讓眾多女性如此青睞各種耳釘?“刺青與粉色頭發(fā)早已風(fēng)光不再，但我們成年女性仍需要與時俱進。”《Porter》雜志時尚主編兼時尚網(wǎng)站The Pool專欄作家斯泰茜•杜古德(Stacey Duguid)解釋道。杜古德穿戴的最新款耳飾由瑪麗亞•塔什(Maria Tash)設(shè)計，瑪麗亞•塔什是紐約耳飾界的老前輩，“小甜甜”布蘭妮(Britney Spears)與碧昂絲(Beyoncé)是其鐵桿粉絲，如今她在倫敦Liberty百貨店經(jīng)營一家小型美容室。“我曾一次戴過6件耳飾。”杜古德繼續(xù)說道。加上瑪麗亞•塔什的最新款耳飾，她一次戴的耳飾數(shù)達到了8件，盡管隨后引發(fā)耳部感染迫使她去急診室摘取掉了一個耳飾。她沒有再戴那件取掉的耳飾，“因為再戴上后，睡充氣枕讓我很難受。”

Mitchell says that her customers are excited about piercing again because for them it’s an experience. She conducts group piercing sessions and fits mother-daughter duos with matching studs. “It’s a nice activity for people to do together — it makes them happy,” she says. It is not just Mitchell’s willingness to placate jittery clients that attracts them to her salon — it is the jewellery she offers, too. Ungainly, industrial-style piercing pieces no longer have to be the norm. Mitchell works solely with gold, and prices at Love Hate go up to £1,250.

米歇爾說，自己的客戶樂意再次戴耳飾，因為這是一種親身體驗。她曾給團體上過耳飾培訓(xùn)課，并給母女二人傳授如何正確穿戴互搭型耳釘。“團體活動意義非凡，因為大家都樂在其中。”她說。顧客蜂擁而至米歇爾的美容室，并非只是她擅長舒緩前者的緊張心理，還在于其提供各種款式耳飾。難看的工業(yè)穿洞式耳環(huán)(industrial-style piercing，是兩個耳洞用一根直的耳環(huán)連起來，通常是耳輪穿孔后，再在斜上面挨近臉的位置再打孔)不再常態(tài)化。米歇爾只用金耳飾，Love Hate Social Club提供的耳飾售價高達1250英鎊。

At Maria Tash, piercings cost between £15 and £30, but the earring itself might set you back £500 (a selection is pictured below). It is the proliferation of subtle, wearable pieces that drives women to Tash’s studio. “We have so many clients who say the jewellery inspired the piercing,” she says. J Colby Smith, the piercing artist responsible for Scarlett Johansson’s punctured ears, agrees. He started out in the 1990s, when piercing was a subcultural symbol that hinted at the spheres of punk and rock. Back then, a thrice-pierced lobe was not a common sight outside the school gate. Today, he says, “the jewellery is getting better — it has [been] refined into something more delicate”. This is indicative of a broader social shift. Increasingly, women are buying jewellery for themselves. “Our older customers tend to buy themselves exactly what they want,” says Leigh Batnick Plessner, co-creative director of Catbird, a New York jewellery store. Clients include actors Liv Tyler and Michelle Williams, who love its microcosmic, thread-thin jewels. Laura Gallagher, who works in luxury PR, started wearing earrings again two years ago but has developed a passion for ear jackets, cuffs and climbers. “I now own around 100 pairs,” she says.

瑪麗亞•塔什的美容室的耳朵打孔費在12-30英鎊之間，但耳環(huán)本身價位可能高達500英鎊。正是做工精巧的耳飾的風(fēng)靡讓女性客戶紛至沓來。“太多客戶說正是我們提供的精美耳飾讓其前來打耳洞。”她說。耳釘藝術(shù)家科爾比•史密斯(J Colby Smith)對此頗有同感，他負責(zé)給影星斯嘉麗•約翰森(Scarlett Johansson)設(shè)計耳飾。他上世紀(jì)90年代進入此行，當(dāng)時戴耳飾是亞文化標(biāo)志——暗指朋克與搖滾從業(yè)者。那個年代，像Thrice樂隊成員那樣耳垂戴耳飾者在校門外實屬鳳毛麟角。他說，如今，“首飾越發(fā)精致——它們儼然已是美侖美奐”。這暗示著社會關(guān)系的劇變。越來越多的女性為自己購買首飾。“成年女性直接購買自己心儀的首飾。”紐約首飾店Catbird聯(lián)合創(chuàng)意總監(jiān)雷•普萊斯納(Leigh Batnick Plessner)說，她的客戶包括了 影星麗芙•泰勒(Liv Tyler)與米歇爾•威廉姆斯(Michelle Williams)，她們青睞精細小巧型首飾。奢侈品公關(guān)勞拉•加拉赫(Laura Gallagher)兩年前又開始戴耳環(huán)，但也喜歡上了耳夾(ear jackets)、耳箍(ear cuff，無需打耳洞)以及打洞式耳夾(climbers)。“我如今有約100副各種耳環(huán)。”她說。

Brands have been quick to capitalise; jewellery, like clothes, now comes packed with sartorial possibility. Just like a tailored silhouette or a bold print, an asymmetric piercing can offer a tantalising insight into a personality. London-based jeweller Astley Clarke released a collection of mix-and-match studs shaped as stars, circles and half-moons. “Our lawyer was wearing our 14 carat Halo Hoops in the same ear and they looked amazing,” says founder Bec Astley Clarke. Diamond designer Jessica McCormack has conceived The Taster Menu, a mixed box of minute studs, earrings and hoops that can be worn in various combinations. In essence, this is self-mutilation at its most glamorous — a chic way to rage against the machine. “It’s less dangerous than a Harley-Davidson,” says Duguid, “and I’m too tired to have an affair.”

各大品牌都迅速順勢而為，首飾如今與服裝一樣，時尚風(fēng)格千姿百態(tài)。與量身定制裝以及醒目印花圖案一樣，非對稱式耳飾也能深刻反映穿戴者的個性。倫敦首飾行Astley Clarke推出了星星、圓圈以及半月形的混搭款耳釘。“我們的專職律師在同一只耳朵上戴我們的14克拉Halo Hoop耳箍，效果美不勝收。”品牌創(chuàng)始人貝克•阿什利•克拉克(Bec Astley Clarke)說。鉆石設(shè)計師杰西卡•麥科馬克(Jessica McCormack)打造了The Taster Menu混合系列：它由任意組合的微型耳釘、耳環(huán)以及耳箍混搭而成。從本質(zhì)上說，這是最富魅力的自殘方式——算是以時尚方式PK男人把玩的各式車輛。“耳飾的危險性小于哈雷摩托(Harley-Davidson)。”杜古德說，“況且超負荷工作的我實在無暇搞婚外情。”