The thing nobody tells you about sterling silver is that it tarnishes, properly, if you leave it sitting in a damp bathroom cabinet or swimming in chlorine on holiday. I learned that the hard way with a pair of hoops that went from bright to grey in about six weeks because I kept them on the edge of the sink next to the toothpaste. It still earns its spot in my collection though, because nothing else gives you that cool, bright, slightly expensive looking shine for the price. It photographs well against most skin tones and it doesn't go that dull yellow some cheaper golds do after a summer of sweat and suncream.
Where it falls short is anywhere you can't take it off and look after it. Gym sessions, swimming, anything with heavy perfume or hairspray sprayed directly at your ears, all of that speeds up the tarnish. If you've got sensitive ears, proper sterling silver is usually fine because the nickel content is low, but anything marketed as "silver plated" or "silver tone" is a different material wearing a silver coat, and that will irritate some people and flake eventually. So the first thing worth checking in the shop is the actual marking, a proper hallmark or a stamp saying 925, because that tells you it's the real thing and not a dip.
While you're looking, check the clasps and fastenings too, not just the front of the earring. A lot of cheaper silver pieces have lovely fronts and flimsy little butterfly backs that bend out of shape within a month. Give the post a gentle wiggle in the shop, if it feels loose in the packaging it'll feel loose in your ear. Hold them up to the light as well, because silver shows up scratches and tool marks more than gold does, so a rough edge now is a rough edge forever.
On the styling side, I'd be careful mixing sterling silver with warm gold jewellery in the same look, it tends to read as accidental rather than deliberate unless you're doing it on purpose with mixed metal rings too. It also doesn't love being next to anything very warm toned, like bronzer heavy makeup or orange based fake tan, the cool white of the metal can look slightly at odds with it. Autumn and winter outfits in navy, grey and black suit it best.
The one mistake I'd avoid is buying a beautiful pair and then never cleaning them, because a silver cloth takes two minutes and brings them straight back to life.
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