Over the past year, chokers have made a striking comeback from the ‘90s. The mystery behind this eye-catching accessory is the element of edginess it brings to any outfit. I think most of us are relieved to know that this once cringeworthy fad of the past is now an acceptable everyday trend. This summer, I time traveled back to my childhood and unleashed my creative, artistic side to design my own chokers while living and working in New York City.
Living in Manhattan on a tight budget is challenging for those of us who are cursed with a forever-expanding shopping addiction. Especially on an intern’s salary, I certainly wasn’t making enough money to afford contributing to my solo choker collection in a traditional way. Instead, I decided to take advantage of living a subway ride away from the garment district, the fashion center of the world. I discovered several little shops where I was able to purchase my own fabrics, trims, and beads in order to create my own chokers from scratch for half the price of any I would find online or in a store. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, having the ability to select from hundreds of different fabrics was freeing. I no longer had to stick with a typical design that had been seen over and over again, and taking the chance of wearing the same one as my friends during a night out.
On my Fridays off, I would spend the majority of the day browsing around for interesting fabrics and beads, holding them up to my neck to get an idea of their look. Most of the fabrics I selected were sold by the yard, meaning I was able to make two or three of the same choker for anywhere from $1.99 to $12, depending on the quality.
You’re probably wondering what the most important aspect of self choker design is: how exactly did I make them once I acquired the materials? Well, I sought out easy ways to piece them together considering I was just designing for my own recreation rather than making a business of it (I might come back to that idea in the future). After rushing back to my apartment with a bag filled of trim, I would sit down and cut each yard into sections slightly larger than my neck’s circumference. Again, depending on the material, I would either use sticky velcro or a safety pin to hold each end together behind my neck. Both options worked perfectly! For the beads however, I had to buy a clasp along with the yardage itself. I didn’t experiment too much with beads, although I wish I had. I purchased four yards of blue micro beads and layered it around my neck three times to create an ideal double choker with a hanging overlay.
After exploring this little hobby of mine, I can honestly say I would do it time and time again. I no longer feel the need to purchase ready-made chokers because I know I can make them so much more unique with my own hands. I love how I am able to embrace this trend from 20 years ago in a modern and relevant manner. Fashion is all about taking risks and breaking rules, so if you’re thinking about following in my footsteps with creativity, I say go for it!
Photo Credit: Author’s own