Jun 9, 2018

I've Worn This Trend Every Summer Since I Was 7

by Anna LaPlaca

Once upon a time, many, many summers ago, I was a kid running around suburban Ohio, riding my bike everywhere and jumping into the questionable waters of Lake Erie. No matter what I do or where I go in my adult life, there's still a part of me that wants to channel those carefree days of my youth. And yes, it does frighten me that I'm even using phrases now like "in my youth", and yet here we are.

While I can't actually go back in time and relive those days, I try to capture that same summer mood every year by wearing an ankle bracelet. It's such a simple nod to the summer days I spent as a kid, but the jewelry actually holds nostalgic meaning that I don't plan on letting go of anytime soon. It's because anklets are just like friendship bracelets—they're purely for fun. So what if I'm a full-fledged adult now? I still want to have as much fun as my 7-year-old self. Sure, anklets totally made sense when I was running around in my rubber flip-flops as a kid, whereas now I'm more likely to be wearing one underneath jeans or obscured among ankle-tie sandals. Still, just the act of wearing a piece of jewelry that's mainly for kids makes me feel, well, like a kid again.

Photo:

Anna LaPlaca

If you look closely, you can tell that I'm enthusiastically wearing an anklet on each of my ankles (I'm on the left). And I'll forever be trying to get back on this level of trendsetting.

Back in the day, mine was either strung with multicolored plastic beads or woven from a colorful assortment of string. Who knows when exactly I started wearing them, but what really solidified my love for anklets were the years I spent at sleepaway camp learning how to make every kind of friendship bracelet under the sun. I remember proudly arriving home with pouches full of bracelets after weeks away at camp. I'd stack the bracelets up both wrists until I needed more body parts to adorn. Naturally, I took to tying them around my ankles and have never looked back.

Sadly, I always manage to lose my anklet by the end of each summer for whatever reason. I kind of don't mind it, though, because it allows me to shop for another brand-new piece every year. Now the jewelry tradition has taken on more meaning than simply being a decorative bauble. For me, tying up yet another bracelet on my ankle marks the beginning of summer—not the mid-June solstice dictated by the calendar, but the moment when I actually start getting into that carefree mood again simply because of the warmer weather that awaits.

Since anklets are a yearly indulgence of mine, I've come to discover the most stylish ones out there. Shop my picks of the anklet trend and see how fashion girls are also wearing theirs well into adulthood.