From car paint, T-shirts and music taste to hobbies, art forms and food, personal expression comes in many forms. Sometimes, it comes wrapped around your neck. Chokers are an old trend resurfacing on the pop culture scene. This new, trendy jewelry comes in many colors, shapes and varieties that suit the bearer’s tastes.

“I really like the chokers that have a single strand of material around it that have like a jewel or a colored stone in the middle,” sophomore Emma Lindsay said. “They just go with a lot and you can pair them with anything.”

In addition, the skintight necklaces don’t only serve a function; they also allow people to express themselves in ways some other garments do not.

“I have always wanted to be super close with my squads on drill team,” senior Laurel Wakefield said. “And when I made my choker with my name on it, my squad leader, Addison Rogers, jokingly said I should make some for the squad that say avocados on it, but I thought it was a great idea. I went and got some glass beads so they would looker nicer than the typical ones everyone else had.”

The early 2000s made themselves present again around the necks of teens everywhere, making 2017 the year of the chokers.

“I love the chokers so much,” drill team member and freshman Tatum Haugh said. “They are so cute and Laurel made sure each of us had one. It makes us bond more, and it lets everyone that sees us wearing them know we are like a little family.”

Chokers not only tell a little bit about the wearer; they also add a special touch to an outfit that only a choker can give.

“I think what made the chokers so popular is because they’re easy to make so people can go out and get the beads and string and make several necklaces in one sitting,” Wakefield said. “Also, they kind of started out as joke and people put silly sayings on them just like we did when we were little so it just kind of transferred to being a popular thing.”