What Do Hoop Earrings Mean To You?

[AGBF]

I just read this article in "The New York Times" and loved it. I have never worn hoop earrings...until the small pair of in and out diamond hoops made for me by Whiteflash. I did not have my ears pierced until I was 48, but the earrings i always coveted (and could never wear before I got my ears pierced) were studs. I remember being in high school and seeing them sit so magically on the lobes of the other girls' ears, those perfect simple, single jewels-only one-floating. Attached to nothing! Those were the earrings for which I got my ears pierced, not for hoops!

But one of my best friends, who is from a background a little different from mine, loves her hoops. She is a white girl, too but she grew up in an Italian-American family where everyone wore hoops and it was expected that everyone would wear hoops. And now her husband (of almost 50 years) thinks she looks sexiest in hoops. So she still wears hoops a lot of the time.

This article states that the writer wore hoops all her life (as a Latina woman) then gave them up in college as too "ghetto" and now wears them again.

How do you feel about hoops? Has your feeling about them changed over time? Do you have-or have you ever had-any specific associations with hoops and the women who wore them? I have always wondered about this and am interested in everyone's replies.

Link to article...https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/...on=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below

Deb/AGBF

 

[Arcadian]

I still wear them occassionally, but small ones. Over the years heavy earrings took its toll on my ears and that means lots of heavy hoops. At the height of my hoop wearing (the 80's) the heavier the bigger the better. I wore the hell out of hoops!

But that damage does get done, so these days I keep them small. My husband loves hoops on me but he does understand why I don't wear them as often anymore.

 

[whitewave]

I love hoops. Sexy indeed

 

[GreenPapaya]

I love hoops! Unfortunately I can't wear them anymore since my ears holes have stretched almost to the end. In the 90s I would wear them to sleep, shower, etc... I wished I knew to take the darn things off from time to time.

 

[redwood66]

I can't wear big ones but I like smaller ones. I have a wide square jaw and big ones always looked funny on me if they hung too low. I guess I never thought about certain jewelry being only for certain people. I won't tell anyone else what they can and can't wear and they can do the same for me.

 

[kenny]

My little parrot LOVES to perch in a hoop earring!
... much to the delight of every woman who's had the pleasure of hosting!

It's one of the few times I wished I carried a telephone with a camera in it.

 

[dkata]

Hoops are just so 80s and 90s to me, I never wear them, but it’s just my taste. To tell the truth here in Europe hoops are not associated with ghetto, but I still don’t see hoops a lot.

 

[PintoBean]

As a child, I found gypsies and pirates mysterious and glamorous hoop wearers! That's my earliest association of hoop earrings.

 

[VRBeauty]

I wore hoops for many years - decades, really. My hair was shoulder-length and thick, and smaller earrings would get lost in it. Now that my hair is very short, a small pair of diamond studs tend to be my go-to. But since you asked, I just tried on a few pairs of hoops - and they still look pretty good! Most of my hoops are in the 1 - 1 1/2 inch range. Hoops the size of bangles have never been my style - and truthfully, I'm a pretty reserved person and probably couldn't have pulled them off.

As for what they "mean" to me, I wear my earrings as a fashion accessory and/or because I think they're flattering, not as a political statement.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I sleep in a pair of small diamond hoops. I have a WG pair and a YG pair. They are soooooo comfy!!!!!!!

I'm always forgetting to switch out earrings so these do their job keeping my ear holes open until I remember or have time to change earrings.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Can't wear hoops. My parents insisted on going to a derm to have my ears pierced in the early 90ies - result: it was probably verey hygienic, but the piercings are not 100% straight IN the lobes. So hoops turn outwards on me. Way outward. Looks horrible. The bigger the worse.
Not a big ghetto connotation here, though.

 

[dk168]

Hoops do not suit me as they make my already wide fat face even wider!

The same with studs that sit high on my large earlobes, the biggest round studs I could wear are 10mm.

I can wear huggies only if they are small and just hug my earlobes, and found just the right pair when I was in LA in 2016. I made interchangeable pearl drops for them. The pearls drops can't be too wide or they would touch my face!

I do not like to wear a pearl necklace or pearl pendant with these, just does not feel right. However, they add a bit of sparkle on dress down days when I do not feel like wearing anything around my neck.



DK

 

[FinleysMom]

Love them on others but these days I wear a lot of posts and small hoops. Rarely wear my dangles. Just less fuss. And hoops in winter get caught in the scarves. Ouch!

I have been pulling out my 1990’s gold, chunkier earrings that I wore when suits were the uniform. Jazzes up the frumpy!

fm

 

[FinleysMom]

Hoops do not suit me as they make my already wide fat face even wider!

The same with studs that sit high on my large earlobes, the biggest round studs I could wear are 10mm.

I can wear huggies only if they are small and just hug my earlobes, and found just the right pair when I was in LA in 2016. I made interchangeable pearl drops for them. The pearls drops can't be too wide or they would touch my face!

I do not like to wear a pearl necklace or pearl pendant with these, just does not feel right. However, they add a bit of sparkle on dress down days when I do not feel like wearing anything around my neck.



DK

Love your pearl hoops! I am seeing newscasters wearing pear necklaces more and more. Pretty, timeless, girlie.

Was getting so tired of the huge armour plate necklce fad. Never bought into the look. Looked like they would be warm and heavy. But at least they covered up cleavage. Lol!

FM

 

[LJsapphire]

I used to wear them in the 90s when I was a teenager but not any more. (apart from these vintage style ones - https://bowandcrossbones.com/collec...ia-lucite-confetti-hoop-earrings-silver-flake)

I also recently read an article about hoops being subject of cultural appropriation:
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/hoop-earrings-cultural-appropriation-latina-ethnicity-race-white-women-fashion-a8004381.html

 

[missy]

Thanks for sharing that interesting article @AGBF.

I grew up in the 70s and I love hoops. I didn't get my ears pierced till I was a teenager but I think hoops were right up there with the earrings I wore when I was a teenager and I love wearing my diamond hoops now. They make me feel sassy and confident.

I have a five pairs of diamond hoops but two of them too heavy so they no longer get worn. And I have a few white gold and yellow gold pairs as well of different sizes. But when I wear my hoops I usually wear the same diamond pair. Perfect size and weight for me.

Oh and I am a big fan of Hoops and YoYo as well. They're sassy and confident too and oh so adorable. But NM, I digress.

 

[AGBF]

I also recently read an article about hoops being subject of cultural appropriation:
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/hoop-earrings-cultural-appropriation-latina-ethnicity-race-white-women-fashion-a8004381.htm

l

LJsapphire-

The article you linked quotes the same sources that the article I mentioned in my opening posting does. Apparently there was a very recent incident in which three Latina women took exception to white women wearing hoops (and seemed unaware of the decades in which white women in the United States had worn hoop earrings) and expressed it in a mural at at their college. More discussion of hoop earrings being the proper province of black women followed. But they have a right to their opinion and I find the entire discussion about the root of hoop earrings fascinating. I welcome the discussion!

Deb

 

[stracci2000]

I have never been a fan of hoops.
Mostly because I nearly ripped my own earlobe off while brushing my hair many years ago.....ouch!!!!!

 

[in-the-air]

I don't see anything wrong with hoops. I love them.

 

[lyra]

I have the same problem as @kipari . Hoops sit almost sideways on me. I remember wearing big diameter hoops in the 70's-80s for a brief time. My hair covered them, so they didn't go as sideways as they do now. Hoops hold no connotations of anything for me. I do have teeny diamond huggies that work because they are so small and a bit heavy.

 

[missy]

My favorite pair of hoop earrings through the decades.
Would love to see your hoop earrings if you would care to share.

 

[anne_h]

Like a few others, I feel hoops are not flattering to my particular face shape. I have a squarish jaw and don't like the widening effect. I also think hoops make my ears look bigger, which I don't like!

I wear hoops only very occasionally, and even then only very small ones (eg: 10mm). If others like to wear hoops, great.

I wish hoops *did* look better on me, I've always wanted little diamond inside out huggies!

Anne

 

[elle_chris]

I only have one pair of small platinum hoops that I got years ago. I don't generally wear them as my hair somehow always gets caught in the hoops, and they're just uncomfortable.

Growing up in my part of Brooklyn, they were definitely associated with latinas, but they weren't viewed in a negative way- was just part of their style.

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

Both my sister and I wear yellow gold hoop earrings as our everyday earrings. We sleep with them on and only take the off to switch out if we are going out somewhere fancy. My other sister prefers stud earrings. I find them very flattering.

 

[tyty333]

I wear small diamond hoops (huggies) 24/7. I hate changing earrings. Before that I wore SS huggies. I just cant wear studs anymore. My ears just
seem too flimsy. My biggest hoops are a little less than an inch. I dont wear them very often. I dont really associate any thoughts with hoops just
whether they are pretty or not (or look nice on someone).

 

[kenny]

I do associate large hoops with a style that African Americans have enjoyed.
That's not negative or positive.
It's merely an observation of what has occurred.

Obviously not ALL AAs wore them and other groups also wear them ... and how lame is it that this disclaimer is even necessary!

Some Einsteins here just go psycho when you mention anything related to race.
How stupid!

 

[AGBF]

Since delving into this thread, I found this page with important philosophical questions about hoop earrings (and related topics) on it and thought it only fair to share it here. Among the questions posed on the site are:

Are hoop earrings trashy or classy?
What makes something classy?
What does it mean to be "classy, not trashy"?
...and more!!!

https://www.quora.com/Are-hoop-earrings-trashy-or-classy

 

[nala]

The Kardashians sure do love them!

 

[AprilBaby]

I love my hoops. I don’t make any assumptions about them.

 

[kenny]

The Kardashians sure do love them!

UGH!
Well, now I HATE hoops!