Chokers

The choker is a necklace that fits closely to the neckline. It can be made of latex, plastic, velvet, and metals, namely Gold, Silver and Platinum.

The choker is an ornament which is most comfortable when it is worn loose enough to fit a finger inside and when it can be rotated around the neck.

The different types of chokers available are Silk, Velvet, Charmed, Bow, Tattoo, Colourful, Diamond, Lace, Dainty, Pendant, Beaded, Statement and Long; all based on the type of materials employed and the designs.

Chokers, Collars, Princesses and Matinees have lengths of 16, 14, 18 and 20 to 24 inches respectively. All four of them are positioned tightly in different areas of the neckline, namely against the base of the throat, around the neck, on the collarbone and between the clavicle and bust respectively.

The history of the choker is prevalent in the Egyptian, American, African and European cultures. Chokers can be traced back to the earliest Mesopotamian civilizations of Egypt when the Sumerians used to wear them as an adornment that offered protection from evil powers.

Native Americans used to wear chokers as a means of protection, incorporating glass beads, shells or silver decorations.

In the 1500s the Queen of England, Anne Boleyn is known to have worn a choker as evident from her painting by Elizabeth as well. In Europe, the French ladies were known to wear chokers to simplify their adornments; some even tied a red ribbon to the ornament to pay homage to people executed as part of the French Revolution in the 1700s. The ladies of England, in turn, imitated this, but the connotations changed drastically by the 1800s.

Later in the 1800s, the Queen of Victoria identified herself as an admirer of the choker to hide the scar she had developed following an operation in her childhood.

By the 1940s the choker had become established among the popular actresses and models of the time, and they were seen adorned with lace, diamond and pearls incorporated chokers. In the 1990s chokers regained popularity once again after they faded off for a bit, and were made simpler than their predecessors.

In the Indian context, the choker finds its position as the first necklace worn by a lady along with other ornaments at the time of her wedding.