I’ve been giving a lot of thought to earring looks recently. One of my favorite favorite approaches – especially for summertime – is the look of lots of small gold studs worn all together. Here’s a fantastic demonstration from The Jewelry Altar, via piercing artist @cassisoclassy’s Instagram:

Don’t you love the different gold shapes and textures? These obviously aren’t all studs; it’s an Advanced Level ear party. I love how the negative space between the pieces starts to become part of the look.

Fantastic, yes?

Here are some itty bitty pretties to start your very own ear party – and because more is merrier, we’re going as low as we can without sacrificing a standard of quality (no one wants an itchy earlobe). Let’s see some teensy gold studs under $55!

Gorjana “Chloe” Gold-Plated Mini Stud Earrings ($32). These tiny, gently textured gold studs catch the light in a subtle, interesting way.

Gorjana Festival Mismatched gold-plated stud set ($52.50).

Gorjana Mika Mika Opposition Stud Earrings ($35).  I’m wearing these right now.

These are all Gorjana, because I enjoy their style and I trust their quality (I own more than one pair of their gold studs, myself). You have to watch out with earrings on the lower end of the price spectrum: if the materials are too cheap, they won’t just look bad and wear out quickly, they’ll irritate your skin. Precious metals are best, but you’re not going to find any solid gold for $55. The pairs above are all gold-plated, which generally works for me and my somewhat sensitive lobes.

Thanks again to Alyssa of The Jewelry Altar for her inspiration!! Her ear mastery is something to aspire to: these affordable Gorjana gold studs will be a perfect starter kit.

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