How to style multiple ear piercings: a mix and match guide

Got two or three piercings in each ear and always end up wearing the same pair? Working out how to style multiple ear piercings is easier than it looks: you need one rule for the order, a common thread of colour and a few basic pieces. In this mix and match guide you’ll find the order hole by hole, the ear cuff trick and the mistakes to avoid.

How to style multiple ear piercings: from biggest to smallest

There’s only one rule: start at the lobe with the biggest piece and work your way up, getting smaller. The lobe is the widest, most visible part of the ear: a piece with volume gets noticed there straight away, while the details get lighter as you go up, like a neat little cascade.

• First hole, the lobe: the star. A bold hoop like the Chunky Hoop Earrings, a smooth tube of about 2.5 cm with a hidden post fastening, or the 25 mm Maxi Flower Hoop Earrings. If you like movement, go for the Flower Drop Earrings, a 22 mm drop, or the Infinity Oval Hoops, which thread through the lobe with no fastening.
• Second hole: the huggie. It’s the small hoop that hugs the lobe. The Plain Huggie Hoops are small, shiny, stone-free and have a click fastening: the all-rounder that goes with everything. For a touch of colour there are the Flower Hoop Earrings, 12 mm midi huggies with a click fastening.
• Third hole: the stud. The Solitaire Stud Earrings, with a brilliant-cut cubic zirconia in a 4-claw setting and a butterfly back, finish the line-up with a sparkle. Alternatively there are the Mini Green Flower Earrings (8 mm) or the Bow Earrings (10 mm wide).

Only got two holes? Keep the first two steps: the star below, a huggie or a solitaire stud above.

Ear cuff: the second-piercing look without a piercing

No second hole, or don’t want one? An ear cuff is the shortcut. The Twist Ear Cuff has a twisted rope design and squeezes onto the outer ear: no hole, it goes on and comes off in seconds, and it’s adjustable, so you can fit it to your ear.

Three ways to use it in your mix:

• With just one hole: a huggie or a stud in the lobe and the ear cuff higher up. Two levels, no new piercing.
• With two or three holes: complete the line-up from the lobe up and add the ear cuff as the finishing touch.
• Asymmetric: an ear cuff on one ear only, the other ear simpler. It instantly looks considered.

Colour and style: the common thread of mix and match

Good mix and match earrings look varied, never random. The trick is to choose one thing in common and repeat it.

One metal

Stick to the same metal colour from your lobe to the top of your ear. Our earrings are 18K gold plated stainless steel: wearing them together keeps everything in one gold tone.

One star colour

Enamel adds a bit of fun, but use it sparingly. Choose one colour family and keep the rest neutral. The Flower Hoop Earrings, for example, have sky-blue flowers and green leaves along the hoop: the Mini Green Flower Earrings, an emerald-green stud with a gold-tone centre, pick up the green. Next to them, plain gold-tone is all you need.

One style family at a time

Split your earrings into three groups:

• Plain and minimal: Chunky Hoop Earrings, Plain Huggie Hoops, Puffed Teardrop Earrings, Infinity Oval Hoops.
• Enamel: Flower Hoop Earrings and Maxi Flower Hoop Earrings, Flower Drop Earrings, Cloisonné Flower Earrings, Mini Green Flower Earrings.
• Sparkly: Solitaire Stud Earrings, Bow Earrings.

The plain ones are your base and go with everything. For accents, though, pick just one group, enamel or sparkly: mixing them on the same ear looks messy.

Three ready-made combinations

• Everyday: Plain Huggie Hoops in the lobe, Solitaire Stud Earrings in the second hole, Twist Ear Cuff at the top.
• A touch of colour: Flower Hoop Earrings (12 mm) in the lobe, Mini Green Flower Earrings (8 mm) in the second hole, Twist Ear Cuff at the top. The green repeats, the sizes get smaller.
• Evening: Chunky Hoop Earrings in the lobe, Plain Huggie Hoops in the second hole, Solitaire Stud Earrings in the third.

Mistakes to avoid

• Upside-down order: a stud in the lobe and a big hoop above it. The visual weight ends up at the top and the ear looks messy.
• Three stars at once: a maxi hoop, a drop and a coloured stud on the same ear. Pick just one.
• Too many colours: the Cloisonné Flower Earrings, 10 mm huggies in multicoloured enamel, are already colourful on their own. Adding more enamel next to them looks messy: pair them with plain pieces.
• Identical hoops in holes close together: if your piercings are close, two hoops the same size can touch. Alternate a hoop and a stud.
• Changing the earring in a new piercing: follow your piercer’s advice first.
• Forgetting the fastenings: with more pieces in, it’s easy not to notice one’s missing. Check posts and butterfly backs before you go out; more tips in our guide on how to stop losing your earrings.

The beauty of mix and match is you don’t have to buy everything at once: start with a star piece for the lobe and add one piece at a time, working your way up. Hoops, huggies, studs, drops and ear cuffs are all in the Earrings collection, ready to mix and match.