So, after not wearing my 27 year-old septum piercing much at all since the 1980s, I decided to run an experiment and try wearing it now that I am older. I tried two things: wearing a U-shaped retainer type "out" and wearing a small captive segmented loop (5/16") with "rainbow" coloring. Amazingly enough, I got two compliments from young women (strangers) while wearing the retainer. I got one compliment from a younger woman (someone I worked with in a professional setting) with the loop and a "cool" from one guy I also work with. For the most part however, the majority of the reaction was "Um...yeah..." to polite silence on the entire issue and even a few "That doesn't work for you at all" comments.

I am ending this particular experiment. As much as I would like to wear septum jewelry more often, I have decided I just don't look good with it. The primary problem, in my eyes, is that I am overweight and septum jewelry makes me look fatter for some reason. Perhaps I am just having a problem with how I look with this weight and not the jewelry itself. Perhaps I'll revisit this after I've lost a few tens of pounds (I am indeed losing, as I have been sticking to an effective exercise program). In the mean time I will see what happens when I try to Americanize Indian jewelry and dress (e.g., saris).