white gold anklets

An anklet (in Arabic: خلخال), ankle chain, or ankle bracelet is an ornament worn around the ankle

Ankle

In human anatomy, the ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot...

. Barefoot anklets and toe rings historically have been worn for centuries by girls and women in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...

and Arab world

Arab world

The Arab World refers to Arabic-speaking countries stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast...

especially in Bedouin

Bedouin

The Bedouin, , are a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western Desert, Sinai, and Negev to the Arabian Desert...

and countryside and married women in India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...

, though in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

both casual and more formal anklets became fashionable in the late twentieth century. While in western popular culture both younger men and women may wear casual leather

Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable and versatile material....

anklets, they are popular among barefoot

Barefoot

Going barefoot means for a person not to use, or to go without, any type of foot covering. It is traditional to go barefoot in many developing countries, but less common in industrialized countries due to greater societal taboos, fashions, or peer pressure against going barefoot...

women. Formal anklets (silver

Silver

Silver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

, gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...

, beads) are common women's fashion jewelry. Anklets are an important jewellery in Indian marriages worn along with saris

Saris

Saris was a Palestinian Arab village that was depopulated during the major offensive launched by the Haganah on 6 April 1948. Called Operation Nachshon, and launched before the British had left Palestine, its objective was to capture villages between Jerusalem and the coastal plain.-History:During ...

.

Much more rarely, the ankle chains are joined by a stretch of chain to limit the step. This practice was once more prevalent in the Middle East, where the effect was to give a 'feminine' short tripping step. Today a few western women follow this practice, but rarely in public. A very few people even have 'permanent', e.g. soldered-on, ankle chains, and more rarely still, so is the connecting chain.