Introduction
Choker necklaces are necklaces that fit around the neck and cover the neck like a collar. The fit of a choker necklace is very tight. The choker necklace sits around only the neck and doesn’t touch the collarbone or below. The name choker is suggestive- these models are very close to choking the wearer!
Origins
It is thought that these necklaces evolved from the fashion of tying a ribbon around the neck to accentuate its slender look. The fashion of wearing a red ribbon around the neck was a common practice in Europe during the years of the French revolution. This was done as a show of sympathy towards those who died at the guillotine during these years.
Chokers over the Years
In the Victorian and Edwardian era, a kind of carved medallion evolved. These medallions were multipurpose- they could be worn as pendants, on a ribbon around the neck or as a brooch.
The 1920s, known as the Roaring Twenties, saw the return of chokers as big time fashion. This is the time when chokers were really recognized for their aesthetic purpose- of highlighting a slim attractive neck and camouflaging defects of other nearby parts.
Chokers Today
A choker necklace is sometimes mixed up with a torque (‘torc’ for some). But these two are different from each other. A torque is a metal ring in the form of a broken circle. These rings can be bent to open. Torques have elaborately done knobs at the openings.
Chokers are associated with Goth look in cotemporary fashion parlance. This may be due to the period in which they first appeared, namely the Victorian era when Bram Stoker’s Dracula was published and the concept of vampires took readers’ imagination by storm. The aesthetics of a choker came to be thus linked with a vampire drinking blood from a wound on his victim’s (often a beautiful woman) slender neck. A black or red choker, black lace gloves and black dress with a deep neck complete this look.
That said, a choker can be used to create very different looks too. For instance, a leather choker with metal works on it can create the look of the independent strong woman who is no victim.
And one can always skip all these images and simply wear a choker in a suitable color or with a good medallion to show off a slender neck.
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