The Choker Obsession

The choker has now become a revived modern trend amongst women and girls with almost every girl possessing at least a tattoo choker, while the ones with precious stones maybe something more common amongst the elite.

    The choker origins are unfortunately unknown they appeared in almost every culture from china and India to red Indians in America!

    In the developed world a red ribbon was worn as a choker originally during the French revolution in support of individuals executed using the guillotine, whereas in the 1860’s it was worn by prostitutes as black ribbon so that they may be identified by prospective clients. Often many articles will mention Manet’s famous painting, “Olympia,” (1863) in this regard. The painting shows a model who is a prostitute wearing only what appears to be a black choker that may be possibly made of a ribbon lying on a bed.

  In the 1880’s and later there was an unusual shift in this trend. A professional symbol of prostitutes of Europe was adopted by the European royalty! Almost every woman could be seen at those ravish parties that were so commonly seen in Britain and elsewhere wearing one of these chokers of various types. What set apart these chokers however from the ones worn by the down trodden of the society was that these had various kinds of precious stones. My personal favorites were the green emerald chokers with the black belt that are now considered a gothic variety.

In India chokers have their own unique fashion history (as in with respect to design). They have been quite common since times immemorial amongst the Indian royalty. Gold chokers have been worn by men and women alike of the royal families and even courtesans. The design of these chokers however was quite different compared to the ones worn in Europe thing giving an authentic Indian appeal. The designs have barely changed today and the only time you will see a woman wearing one of these will be at a wedding. They are quite expensive and not affordable to most middle class individuals.

 Sardar Singh Maharaj (1880-1911) son of Pratap Singh wearing a pearl choker

 Indian Courtesans date unknown wearing chokers

  It has been said that Alexandra, princess of wales wife of King Edward VII was inspired by Indian forms of chokers to herself wear one. It however cannot be determined how far this is true. But she did love chokers. Her favorites were the ones made of pearls and diamonds that had a velvet support that eventually earned the name “dog collar”.

  Today’s chokers are made of a variety of materials ranging from plastic, leather, and lace to precious metals and stones. They have made a recent comeback in 2010’s. They are popular amongst the elites and non-elites and everyone in between. Despite the cost whether cheap or expensive most traditional chokers suite almost all women and the chokers themselves look quite attractive. They also go well with most modern clothing and traditional (depending however sometimes on the choker design). Thus making it a must have fashion accessory amongst modern women and hence their popularity.

an example of modern Indian wedding choker 

----Raghuvir Keni