The question on people’s minds: are the plastic backs on earrings necessary?
Chelsea Smith had a small revelation — that she can remove the plastic backs on studded earrings. She took a picture and posted her discovery on Twitter and said that she didn’t know she was “supposed” to take the back off of her earrings.
The innocuous realization got retweeted more than 45,000 times. Then, the picture made its way to Facebook when Joseph Ayoub used Smith’s photo (uncredited) to ask his fans about the proper way to wear earrings. His following shared the post over 39,000 times.
Smith knows her photo has been used by others without giving her credit. She said on Twitter: “People just keep stealing it.”
Earrings admired for their beauty aren’t that comfortable. Smith’s simple tweak made sense to many who welcomed the freedom from those plastic backs.
Despite Smith’s followers warning of lobe problems when removing the backs, it’s the wearer’s choice to keep or ditch the back.
Brittany Hopkins, owner of Anice Jewelery told TheStar.com the plastic disk is meant for larger earrings, such as accessories popular in the 80s — but that it’s not necessary for smaller studs, like the one pictured in Smith’s photo.
“I didn’t need to have this big plastic thing on all these years, why the heck do they have it on?” Hopkins said. “This just shows you what the industry can do to you. That there’s a product out there that everyone uses and you don’t question it. You just wear it.”
