Summer Earrings: 10 Trends For Stylish Older Women

Discover the chicest summer earrings for women this summer. From the new upstyled hoops to long dangly numbers; understand which looks will work best for you when you’re over 50.

Hoops – this year’s styles

• Large hoops in mixed materials

For several years simple gold or gold-tone hoops have been the go-to earring to wear with floaty summer dresses. If you love barefoot-in-the-sand simplicity then these are still ideal for you. The very oversized hoops of a few years back are probably best left to our sisters under 50 – and besides they really get tangled in your hair. But a large hoop does add a touch of gypsy style so if you’re a boho gal at heart – or on holiday – and you don’t mind the odd hair tangle moment, then there are some great models available.

Look for materials such as wood, resin or raffia which are especially fashionable today when mixed together or with a more traditional material such as silver or gold.

• Chunky hoops

The wider hoop is especially welcome for us older women. As our face and neck age they develop more texture – lines, wrinkles and irregular tones. This means that we will look better in jewelry that is bolder. For hoops this means chunky. My everyday earrings are now medium to small chunky hoops. Not large enough to suggest the gypsy in me – of which I have to admit there is very little! – but nevertheless making enough of a statement to be noticed against my face.

In general I would say that the smaller the hoop, the bolder it needs to be. And the more textured your skin, the chunkier your earrings, especially hoops, should be.

• Hoops with extra style features

To add more interest and fun to your summer earrings, consider buying a pair of hoops with additions. You can buy them with a whole fruit basket hanging from them if you want to go all out for the beach holiday look. But if, like me, you are more of a casual classic, you’ll look your best with a simple bead or pearl added.

You can choose an addition that picks out a color in your shirt or dress if you tend to be a more conservative dresser. Or you can wear a one-color top or dress and let the earring color stand out as a highlight for a more relaxed style.

• Reimagined and restructured hoop earrings

We think of hoops as circular but nowadays hoops have been twisted, pulled and pushed into all sorts of designs. You’ll see lots of oval hoops, some with more of an oblong shape but retaining rounded corners. These are a good halfway house between the traditional hoop and the dangly earring. They add a little extra length to the earring which can make your face look slightly longer and slimmer. Try some on and see if these newer hoops work for your face shape.

Twisted hoops add interest. Being more unusual they draw the eye to your ear. One reason earrings have been popular for thousands of years is that we know our eyes are expressive of our personality and mood. Eye-catching earrings make us focus on the mid and upper areas of the face.

If you have good skin color in summer – or year-round – you can step beyond the traditional gold and look fabulous in silver.

Drop earrings

Even if you’d never think of wearing drop earrings at any other time of the year, you might love them for your holiday.

• Fun dangly summer earrings

These are so popular – it’s as if we are saying ‘Hey, look at me, I’m on holiday’. You’ll find long strings of fruit, fishes, shells, and other colorful shapes that make you feel happy and alive in the sunshine or over cocktails at sundown. Never spend much money on holiday jewelry, and spend even less on fun items. Like wine, these don’t travel – home – well. Next summer you’ll likely wonder why you bought them.

You need a longish neck to look great in drop earrings. I never wear the most fun, longest earrings in summer because I have a short neck. But I do enjoy adding a bit more personality to my outfits if I’m invited out so I sometimes wear slightly more conservative versions of fun summer earrings such as these pretty retro beaded drops from Talbots.

• Elegant summer drop earrings

Diamonds are perfect for the city but all too easy to mislay in the new routines of a summer holiday. But that doesn’t mean you have to stick with colorful raffia hoops! Add a touch of elegance, whilst acknowledging you are on holiday, with pearl drop earrings. They don’t need to be real pearls of course. Pearls look so wonderful when you have a suntan, if, like me, your year-round complexion is pale. And pearls that wiggle around as your turn your head catch the lights and everyone’s attention when you’re dining outside.

Fantasy beach-themed earrings

Whilst many fun summer earrings are long and dangly – to have enough length to allow for a whole smorgasbord of delights, you can take a simpler approach to fantasy ear-wear.

Seaside themed earrings featuring shells, beach parasols and starfish are popular this summer. They can look like clasp earrings though in fact they attach through the piercing in your ears. If you buy a simple pair they can add fantasy and style for days on the beach all the way through to drinks on the terrace of an upmarket bar.

Clip-on earrings

Most modern earrings from the main fashion retailers are constructed to be lightweight. Real jewels less so. That’s why you’ll see hoops that look chunky but in fact are hollow. And why long drop earrings are so often made of non-metalics such as thread, coiled paper and resin.

Older ears have a tendency to sag when heavy earrings are worn frequently. So it’s good to see that you can still buy clip-ons and clasps. These of course have the other misery of trapping the blood-flow after you’ve had your restaurant starter and still need to look good for another couple of hours until coffee. For me they are the facial equivalent of the high heel on your foot. Not to be worn for too long.

However, if the earrings are lightweight and if you wear those little foam cushions, clip-on summer earrings can be bolder than many hoops whilst avoiding the drooping ear lobe.

If you enjoy reading about style for the older woman then why not read one of these posts next:

What I was wearing in 2023: My English Coastal Grandmother capsule wardrobe

15 elegant gray hair up-dos that are simple to do

How to style a short jacket 5 ways, over 50

Looking for a declutter then restyle? Take a look at my video course: The Mature Style Course