Bookworm Cottage Style

In the continued interest of “styling” my clothes versus “wearing” them, I’ve been captivated by the way a classic, slightly chunky pair of earrings can really change the look of an outfit. I’ve never had my colors done, but gold jewelry is definitely my preference for my dark hair, dark eyes, and slightly warmer skin tone.

At the risk of sounding completely high-maintenance, my ears are incredibly sensitive to anything but real gold. (I know, how obnoxious!) I love the look of affordable statement earrings from retailers like J. Crew (how amazing is this pair?!) but I have learned the hard way that if I wish to keep them on all day and keep irritation at bay, the earrings need to be at least gold plated/filled or gold vermeil (rather than brass or titanium). And for small huggies that are comfortable enough to sleep in, solid gold is ideal so that I can shower in them too.

1. Linjer 14k Gold Huggie Earrings with Pearl – Alicia ($299; 14K Gold) // I have the cheaper ($89) gold vermeil version of these earrings and love them. But after showering and sleeping in them for months (I know, not recommended for non solid gold jewelry) they have started to tarnish at the area where the charm rubs against the hoop. So, I’d love to upgrade to the solid gold version for better durability. 
2. Linjer Croissant Earrings – Piper ($109; Gold Vermeil) // Chunkier gold earrings are having a moment and are a wardrobe hole I’m hoping to fill. Since I’m less likely to sleep/shower in chunky earrings, I don’t mind them being gold plated or gold vermeil rather than solid gold.  
3. BaubleBar Fallon 18K Gold Bezel Earrings ($68; Cubic zirconia, 18K Gold plated sterling silver) // Grace Atwood linked to her favorite BaubleBar pieces in a recent Substack post, which is where I stumbled on these earrings. What a find! These are priced really well and so pretty. 
4. BaubleBar Tina 18K Gold Earrings ($88; Cubic zirconia stones, 18K gold plated sterling silver) // These chunky little hoops have just the right amount of sparkle, and are really well priced.
5. Heaven Mayhem Mini Knot Gold Earrings ($90; 18k gold plated on brass) // These viral earrings are an influencer favorite (see the silver pair on Julia Berolzheimer) and are probably the #1 pair of earrings I’m crushing on right now. Although I’m partial to gold, I also like the mixed metal version.
6. Mejuri Sculptural Hoops ($248; 18K Gold Vermeil) // These are pretty pricey for vermeil but the shape is absolutely gorgeous and the size is really substantial.
7. GLDN Wildflower Hoops ($94; 14k gold fill) // These hoops are larger than most of the other earrings on this roundup, and if you can’t tell from the little picture they have a really pretty wildflower engraving all over the earring. They also come in a smaller huggie size, but I like this larger size (and would be less likely to forget to take them off before showering/sleeping – important for non solid gold pieces). 
8. Dorsey Petite Crawford Asscher Cut Earrings in gold ($320; 18k Gold-coated brass, lab grown sapphires) // Dorsey is the it-brand for lab grown stones. I first came across the brand via Grace Atwood (see her styling the larger size Crawford earrings in this post). While these wouldn’t be an everyday earring for me, how fun would they be for special occasions or to dress up a simple black cashmere sweater around the holiday season?!
9. Jennifer Behr Caspian Earrings ($198; 18k gold plated) // Jennifer Behr is a great source for statement earrings. Shell jewelry is having a moment, and these are my favorite shell earrings that I’ve come across thus far. These oversized gold floral earrings from the brand are also a fave.