One of the biggest style trends 2016 started was off the shoulder tops and choker necklaces. As the style trend carries into 2017, online stores are increasing in quantity of how many of these tops and accessories they sell as well as the number of styles for them.
No matter how many tweeted #StopChokers2016 in 2016, nothing is going to stop this style from being proudly worn. From my perspective, the combo of off the shoulder tops and choker necklaces give many the confidence in the fashion items they wear. For one, choker necklaces, when you pick the right style of choker necklace, your neck gets a nice, lean look and gives it the perfect dose of accessory that is unique best to you. On another note to bring out the choker nicely, off the shoulder tops give major confidence, too. As some may be conscious of their arms, off the shoulder tops really draw attention to your collarbones and shoulders while typically covering from your elbow to below your shoulder by the area of your underarm.
As someone who is self-conscious and learning to love her body, I have learned to really take the time in stores to try things on and look in the mirror a little longer to make sure I am comfortable in wearing what I will be purchasing. We as young women have no reason to be self-conscious, although we somehow find every reason to be anyway. We are all beautiful in our own ways and blessed with the bodies God brought us into this world as. However, it does help you love yourself more when you feel good in what you wear and how you fuel your body and stay active. Every day you wake up, you're in the body you're in, so why not go out into public comfortably and confidently and show people what you're made of?! In one way: by what you wear! What you wear tells a lot about you and when you wear the right thing you feel great in, you walk with confidence, a smile on your face, and your head held a bit higher.
One of the worst things about this fashion trend is that no matter how cute it is, adults will always have it in the back of their mind that a choker necklace is, as Urban Dictionary tells that choker necklaces "sometimes signified secret lesbianism", are for "girls that are hoes", or for 20-year-old females "that are searching for a sex partner".
It's sick how much of a reputation one item can have that people judge you for a choice of fashion. I'm not hurting anybody by wearing a choker necklace, it doesn't determine my sexuality, it doesn't mean I am completely revolved around the idea of sex. For me and many others, wearing a choker necklace gives me a sense of confidence and feeling comfortable in my own skin and style worn usually with an off the shoulder top or loose sweater.
So, to tie all of this up, chokers and off the shoulder tops will continue into 2017 and probably for many years after that. It may not be as much of a trend in the future and something everybody wears at once like 2016 and 2017 are, but it'll certainly be a style many continue to wear and feel comfortable in.
Xx- A non-fashion expert who loves this style
