I’m 48 years old. I’m a jeweller. And I’ve just had my tragus pierced.
It’s my eleventh piercing.
And I absolutely love it.
In fact, I think it might be my favourite yet.
Which did make me wonder: what is going on with women of our age and ear piercings?
Look around and you’ll see them everywhere. Not just on teenagers and twenty-somethings, but on women in their 40s, 50s and beyond. Beautifully stacked lobes. Tiny hoops tucked into unexpected places. Helix, tragus, conch, daith. Delicate diamonds and little flashes of gold climbing up ears that, once upon a time, probably had one respectable hole in each lobe.
Somewhere along the way, we’ve become addicted to getting holes punched in our ears.
So, is this the new midlife crisis?
First of all, are we even calling it “middle age” anymore?
Because I’m not sure I got the memo.
“Middle-aged woman” still conjures up an image that feels wildly disconnected from the women I know in their 40s and 50s.
We’re running businesses. Raising families. Starting businesses. Changing careers. Going out. Travelling. Dating. Divorcing. Remarrying. Going to festivals. Wearing trainers with everything. Discovering weight training. Rediscovering ourselves.
And apparently… getting our cartilage pierced.
Maybe “midlife” still works. But the old definition of what a woman is supposed to look and behave like at this age definitely doesn’t.
And perhaps that’s part of the appeal.
The rise of the grown-up ear stack
The multiple-piercing trend isn’t actually brand new. The “curated ear” has been building for years, helped enormously by the arrival of much finer jewellery and a completely different approach to piercing.
What was once associated with chunky silver bars and teenage rebellion has become something much more sophisticated: tiny hoops, precious metals, diamonds, unusual placements and carefully considered combinations.
Women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond are very much part of it. Piercer and jeweller Maria Tash has spoken about clients spanning generations, while other piercing studios have reported seeing growing numbers of women in midlife choosing conch, helix, daith and tragus piercings.
Even the tragus - my latest obsession - has become increasingly popular as part of a curated ear because it can take anything from a tiny, delicate piece to something much more statement-making.
But I think there’s more to it than fashion.
Maybe we’re finally dressing for ourselves
There’s something rather brilliant that happens as you get older.
You care a little less (or maybe alot less?)
Not about how you look - but about whether somebody else thinks you’re “allowed” to wear something.
At 20, you’re often dressing to fit in.
At 30, you’re juggling careers, babies, mortgages and life.
By your 40s? You know what you like.
And jewellery becomes less about following rules and more about telling your own story.
That’s exactly what I love about multiple piercings.
There is no prescribed formula. Your ears don’t need to match. Your earrings don’t need to match. You can mix tiny studs with hoops, diamonds with plain metal, sentimental pieces with something you bought simply because you loved it.
Your ear becomes a tiny jewellery collection in its own right.
And then there’s the thrill…
I’ll admit it.
Getting another piercing is weirdly exciting.
There’s the deciding. The placement. The momentary what the hell am I doing? as the needle approaches.
The sting.
And then you look in the mirror and think:
Oh. I LOVE that.
It’s a tiny act of reinvention without actually having to reinvent your life.
No sports car required.
No dramatic haircut.
No running off to Bali to “find yourself”.
Just a very small hole and another excellent reason to buy jewellery.
Perhaps that is why piercing works so well at this stage of life. It’s change, but not chaos. Rebellion, but make it beautiful.
British Vogue has explored the same idea, with one writer describing her growing collection of piercings not as an attempt to cling to youth, but as a map of different moments and experiences in her life.
That feels much closer to it.
Am I too old for eleven piercings?
Obviously, I’m going to say absolutely not.
But not just because I sell jewellery.
The whole concept of being “too old” for a piercing feels increasingly ridiculous.
Too old according to whom?
There are women in their 50s, 60s and beyond wearing beautifully curated ears, and when it’s done well it doesn’t look like you’re desperately trying to be 22.
It looks confident.
It looks considered.
It looks modern.
In fact, Maria Tash puts the sophistication of multiple piercings down to them looking deliberate and well fitted rather than haphazard — and says there shouldn’t be an age restriction on celebrating or decorating your body.
Exactly.
This isn’t about trying to look younger. It’s about refusing to become visually quieter just because we’re getting older.
So… midlife crisis?
Maybe.
But if this is mine, I think I’ve got off rather lightly.
Eleven piercings. One newly pierced conch. An ever-growing list of earrings I now “need”.
And absolutely no intention of stopping because somebody somewhere decided women reach an age when they should become more sensible.
Quite the opposite.
I think one of the joys of getting older is finally realising that you get to decide what suits your age.
And right now?
My age suits another piercing rather well.
Genna x
48. Jeweller. Eleven piercings and counting.