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    The Secret (And Not So Secret) History Of Choker Necklaces

    If these necks could talk...

    The choker necklace has a long and storied history. You'll find examples of it centuries ago in Chinese, Native American, Indian, and Egyptian cultures. Let's take a look at some of the choker's historic highlights...

    1798: Political dress during the French Revolution.

    1860s: The uniform of prostitutes.

    1874: But ballerinas and fashionable ladies wore them too.

    Late 1800s: Royal trend

    A young Indian woman wears a choker-style necklace in Bombay.

    A woman wears a choker in 1880.

    Late 1800s: Upscale chokers are markers of the elite.

    1944: Reviving the trend, as seen in"Life magazine.

    And then the '90s happened...

    Mid-'90s: Gothic takeover.

    Late '90s: The tattoo choker.

    Gwyneth wore one to the 1999 Academy Awards.

    Britney really liked chokers in the late '90s.

    Remember this one Christina Aguilera wore in 2001?

    And this one Paris wore that same year?

    Rihanna's been wearing choker necklaces a lot lately...

    And they were all over the runways at Paris Fashion Week in January...

    What is going on?!?!?!