Rise of
Septum or helix, dermal or cuff? School-gate chat has
evolved from which summer-holiday clubs to sign up
for and the best Birkenstock style to include piercings
and, crucially, where to get them.
Undoubtedly midlife piercings are on the up. If you’re
over 35, I’d bet my diamond-encrusted belly-button bar
that you already know that. Indeed, a quick audit of your
friends’ body parts (yes, we’re talking everything from
nipples to nose rings here) will confirm it. The fine jewel-
lery brand Mejuri identifies women over the age of 40 as
one of its key customer groups, while Maria Tash (who is
to piercings what Manolo Blahnik is to high heels)
describes those aged between 35 and 50 as her brand’s
sweet spot. I hear the same from the piercer on duty at my
local Claire’s Accessories, who tells me that middle-aged
women are among her most enthusiastic customers.
When I tell my friends (primarily mums who are over
40 or getting close to it) I am writing this piece, this
spike is confirmed. “I got mine done on Saturday,” says
Katie, 40, of her newly speared third hole. “There is
nothing more fun than wandering into Claire’s with
your mate, giggling like a pair of teenagers, then asking
them for their most expensive stud. If people ask, I’m
telling them we went to Maria Tash.”
Another friend, Leanne, who “dropped thousands”
on a high-end London piercing bar ahead of her 40th
birthday, WhatsApps to tell me she has recently had
her septum pierced because she hoped it would make
her feel “less basic”. “I also think men think they’re hot
because they say ‘subversive’,” she explains.
Sandra, who celebrated her 50th with a nipple
piercing, has enlightening details to share. “A friend
and I were having afternoon tea in a posh coffee shop
and the idea just popped into my head. Before I knew it,
we were in a scuzzy tattoo parlour and an old biker was
asking me to show him my nipple. I didn’t have time to
think about it, but I left with an adrenaline rush.”THE MIDLIFE
PIERCING
Forget Arket puffer coats and the right pair of Birkenstocks, the sharp
new school-gate look is to stick the needle in. Luxury piercings – and piercing
parties – are booming among the over-forties, finds Karen Dacre
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LOBEMARIA TASH26 • The Sunday Times Style