Choker: Difference between revisions

Golden choker necklaces were crafted by [[Sumer]]ian artisans around 2500 BC and according to curators from the Jewelry Museum of Fine Arts,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Graff|first1=Michelle |title=The History Behind … The Choker|url=http://www.nationaljeweler.com/fashion/antique-estate-jewelry/4080-the-history-behind-the-choker|access-date=6 August 2017|work=National Jeweler|date=31 March 2016}}</ref> chokers have been around for thousands of years, firstappearing gracing the world's earliest civilizations:in Ancient Egypt, in addition to the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. Often made with gold or lapis, the necklaces were thought to be protective and imbued with special powers.

Chokers were also later worn in the First1st Centurycentury A.D. They are mentioned in the ''[[Talmud]]'', book [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]], chapter 6 as a common women's accessory.<ref>[[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbos]], [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/t01/t0114.htm beginning of chapter 6]</ref> as a common women's accessory.

[[Ballerinas]] and the upper class in the late 19th century commonly wore certain types of chokers. However, at that same time, in the late 19th century, a plain, thin, red or black [[ribbon]] choker had ties to [[sex workprostitution]], as seen in [[Édouard Manet|Manet]]'s ''[[Olympia (Manet)|Olympia]]'' (1861).

The 19th -century fashion for broad chokers reached its peak around 1900 in part due to [[Alexandra of Denmark|Queen Alexandra]] of the United Kingdom wearing one to hide a small scar.<ref name="Phillips156">{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=Clare |date=1996 |title=Jewelry from Antiquity to the Present |publisher=Thames and Hudson |page=[https://archive.org/details/jewelryfromantiq00phil/page/156 156] |isbn=0500202877 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/jewelryfromantiq00phil/page/156 }}</ref> Chokers were popular into the 1920s and again in the '40s as ''colliers de chien''.<ref name=Garber>{{cite news|last1=Garber|first1=Megan |title=The Long (and Short) History of the Choker|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/10/neck-and-neck-the-long-and-short-history-of-the-choker/503315/|access-date=10 October 2016|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=10 October 2016}}</ref> In particular, the term ''[[dog collar]]s'' or ''colliers de chien'' caught on, and these designs – incorporating luxe [[diamond]]s, [[pearl]]s, [[lace]], and [[velvet]] – could be seen as objects of the elite because the best kinds were custom-made to fit one's neck perfectly.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thespruce.com/antique-and-vintage-necklace-styles-148955|title=How Much Do You Know About Necklace Styles?|work=[[Dotdash|The Spruce]]|access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> In 1944 ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine stated that "a dowager fashion of 40 years ago" was being revived by young women, illustrating the trend with photos of models wearing the now vaguely rebellious "dog collars".<ref name=Garber />

In recent years, chokers have been popular with a number of celebrities, including [[Gwyneth Paltrow]], who wore one to the 1999 [[Academy Awards]]. [[Paris Hilton]] wore three inches of Swarovski around her neck in 2002.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thecut.com/2014/05/from-beads-to-plastic-50-celebrities-in-chokers/slideshow/2014/05/12/celebrities_in_chokers/chokers-27/|title=Paris Hilton, 2002|work=[[The Cut (website)|The Cut]]|access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> [[Rihanna]] has also been featured wearing chokers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.vogue.com/article/rihanna-choker-necklaces-celebrity-accessory-style|title=How to Rock the Choker With Sophisticated Cool Like Rihanna|work=[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]|access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref>