Beads, one of women’s favorite fashion ornaments |25 September 2013

Many women, mostly of African origins, use beads as distinctive elements of personal clothing and adornment. This is especially true for some women of southern and eastern Africa, where artistic creativity is manifested in the myriad ways beads are used for embellishment. Even Seychellois women wear them. Talking to some women recently, they revealed how they consider wearing beads. Some even said they just cannot leave the house without some beads ornaments on them.

 “If I wear a red blouse and black skirt I need to have my matching beads to accompany them. Otherwise I would feel like I am not completely dressed up,” says Susan, a social worker. “The colour of the beads should match the colour of my clothing. This means the necklace, the ear rings and even bracelets. My siblings always say maybe it’s the African origin in me that makes me love beads ornaments that much,” continues Susan. But she says even white women are wearing beads these days as the beads are fashionable.

 As for Jenny who likes to travel, she believes it is better one wears beads ornaments especially if visiting African countries. “I’ve heard of people’s wrists or fingers being cut off by thieves just to steal the gold ornaments you may have on. So it’s a safety measure to wear beads as nobody will pay attention to you,” says Jenny. Also I love beads that match the colour of my clothing,” she concluded.

 For Jacqueline, an office assistant, beads ornaments form part of her everyday clothing. “I have every colour you can think of because as I wear them everyday they have to match the colour of every outfit I put on,” she says. “I cannot leave the house without somes beads on me. Some may say I am beads crazy,” smiled Jacqueline. She has two jewellery boxes full of beads bracelets, necklaces and ear rings. She even has some more hanging against a hook attached to her wardrobe window. When asked if they aren’t too much Jacqueline laughed and said she is going to buy some more as more beautiful ones keep arriving in shops. “Maybe I am reall addicted to beads,” Jacqueline added.

Many women use beads as distinctive elements of personal clothing and adornment

To go back to a brief history on how it all started, beads have been used to create jewellery and adorn costumes since the dawn of time. If you were to look back on the Ice Age you would discover small objects crafted of natural "beads" including animal bones and teeth, seashells and colourful stones. These items were usually attached to clothes or plant fibres to form the most primitive forms of beaded jewelry.

Beading jewellery symbolises different things for different people; different cultures have associated beads with varying spiritual beliefs, cultural customs and social traditions. Beads, like many other cheap jewellery items, have been used throughout time to adorn the bodies of men and women alike, signifying power, beauty and the human spirit.

The very first actual "beads" that have been discovered date back to about 38,000 BC. Made by cavemen, these beads were crafted from animal parts. In later times, beads were crafted as symbols of fertility and animal spirits.

During the stone age, beads were crafted primarily to not only adorn the body, but were also used for trading on occasion. A couple thousand years later, beads were crafted out of coral and other "precious" substances. The use of semi-precious stone beads began to become more popular about 2800 BC among the Syrians, who fashioned beads of materials like agate and serpentine.
Since that time beaded jewelry has become more and more valuable and popular. Gold and other semi-precious stones are often used to craft beaded jewelry.

Perhaps the most popular form of beaded jewelry is glass jewelry. Evidence of the first glass beads suggests that glassmaking was common in Mesopotamia around 2180 BC. Glass beads were popular then and are popular now in part because of their durability and inexpensive pricing. The Egyptian and Phoenician culture are well known for their use of glass to make beaded jewelry. Beading jewelry was commonly found buried with wealthy pharaohs in the ancient tombs of Egypt, though it was not uncommon for glass beads to be buried with poor families as well.

In modern times beaded jewelry is popular because of its versatility and diversity. Beads can be crafted from almost any material including coral/seashells, gemstones, glass, rock crystal, gold, silver, stone, pearls.

Beads can even be crafted out of plastic. Though in times of old beads served as symbols of status, wealth and heritage, today beaded jewellery is much more representative of the person’s unique style, preferences and personality. Beading jewellery can be custom made in almost any style, using any type of chain and any type/combination of beads.

 Beaded jewellery is just as popular today, if not more popular than it was in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian times. Nowadays you have literally tens of thousands of unique selections of beads to choose from. Though no longer traded for food, modern jewelry enthusiasts often engage in bead trading for fun and camaraderie.