Choker. Fashionable accessory with spicy undertones
This season, choker has become one of the most trendy decorations. This unusual accessory entered the top fashion trenov even last fall, having won the hearts of many ladies around the world. What is a choker? What is his secret subtext? What chokers are now in fashion?
An interesting fact is that the choker at the same time symbolizes power, nobility, threat, slavery and rebellion. This contradiction of interpretations is easily explained by the history of this unusual decoration.
A choker is a short necklace, tight to the neck. For the first time it was worn in the Ancient World, mainly in the Mediterranean regions and in the countries of Asia. Then this accessory was made exclusively of wood. This kind of ring was put on the neck of little girls from privileged families. Their parents hoped that this would make their daughters necks much longer. In those days, the length of the neck testified to the nobility of the family. The expectations were not met, but the wooden collars appealed to people with their colorful appearance. So, the chokers continued their story, changing the look and meaning.
Chokers for a long time out of fashion nobility, becoming an attribute of slaves. But, in the Middle Ages, it was worn by many people, regardless of status. In this dark era, the choker began to serve as a means for self-defense. Medieval chokers were made mainly of leather, which was stuffed with thorns. The length of the spike could reach several tens of centimeters. Thus, people tried to protect themselves from thieves and robbers. However, not only the living ones encouraged them to wear such a strange ornament on their necks. Often, choker thorns were made of silver. Not everyone could afford such luxury, although these measures were necessary, in the understanding of the inhabitants of the Middle Ages. Thus, they tried to protect themselves from vampires and werewolves, if the sacred prayers suddenly did not help.
The Renaissance began to change ideas about the world and the appearance of people. The emergence of liberal ideas and the dispersion of muddled feudal beliefs freed many people from slavery. The collars of the former slaves left on the carnations were taken over by the masters.
Thus, the refined and luxurious chokers came into fashion, invariably adorning the necks of beautiful ladies for over three hundred years.
Especially popular were chokers-velvet ribbon, representing a wide ribbon of black velvet, decorated with a round or oval pendant, a pendant in the shape of a heart, or a tear. Pendants are made of precious metals. They were supplemented with artistic ornaments, engravings, or precious stones. Chokers were also sewn from lace and satin. The color of the fabrics was predominantly black, since it is the one that can best emphasize the paleness of the skin. In that era pale skin and thin camp testified to the noble origin of the ladies. Such chokers were supplemented with precious stones, mainly with diamonds or pearls. In addition to inserts of silver, gold, or platinum, they were decorated with fabric bows embroidered with pearls.
Richer and more powerful women preferred to wear collars of precious stones, strung on silver weaving. The most preferred stones were diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. These luxurious shining products were not inferior to chokers of pearl threads, mostly white. They are often supplemented with diamonds of different colors and inlays of silver or platinum.
These pompous ornaments were worn in combination with massive necklaces, or chains on which were pendants with diamonds. As the saying goes, all devotional out. Such a richly decorated neckline declared the status of a lady, which was determined by the number and size of precious stones in her jewelry. For this reason, the chokers were at times quite weighty and wide, completely covering the ladies’ necks, right down to the chin.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, fashion artists tried to replace chokers with richly embroidered stand-up collars that adorn ladies’ dresses and camisoles of gentlemen. Of course, the collar decor consisted solely of precious stones and pearls. But, despite the popularity of such robes, noble young ladies could not completely abandon the chokers. Now on their necks were more concise, but no less beautiful collars, made of precious metals. They were an intricate weave associated with light lace, or sea foam.
During this period, on the necks of Ukrainian women also chokers gleamed. In our country, they were called hryvnia. Actually, the Ukrainian chokers had a completely different look. The local masters kept the style of the ancient Slavs. Hryvnias were an unclosed neck of precious metal. Unbroken space was 3-4 cm and was located in front, in the center. These decorations were complemented by a variety of ornaments depicting ancient symbols, plants, animals, or birds.
Both in Europe and in Ukraine, chokers were worn not only by noble persons. They were also available to ordinary citizens. For this social class jewelry craftsmen made more simple.
