HOOP EARRINGS

Circular earrings worn close to the lobe or in bold arcs that frame the face. Scale and finish change the read from quiet huggies to statement “door-knockers.” Comfort matters: weight should sit neutral so they move with you. Materials range from gold and silver to stainless and acrylic; the form stays a simple, confident line.

• Design notes: continuous or near-continuous circle; secure hinge or post; even wall thickness.
• Common sizes: huggie 10–15 mm; classic 25–40 mm; statement 50–90 mm.
• Materials: gold, gold-fill, silver, stainless, acrylic; bamboo or wood in certain styles.
• Variants: huggie, classic, oversize “door-knocker,” textured, bamboo style.
• Fit: weight balanced so the lobe sits neutral; posts smooth and straight.

• Long use across the African continent and the Mediterranean; reasserted in the Americas.
• Beauty supply and market stalls alongside fine jeweler supply chains.
• Claimed in hip-hop, salsa, lowrider, and Caribbean style languages.
• Periodically policed as “unprofessional”; repeatedly reasserted as standard dress.
• Moves from street to ceremony without losing meaning.

School portraits and block parties; quinceañeras and weddings; album covers and runways; mothers and daughters sharing pairs; portraits that read identity at a glance. Coming-of-age gifts and sister swaps; a photographed constant from 1970s street style to today’s modern red carpet.

Museum jewelry collections and ethnographic records; fashion studies on dress codes; oral histories within Black and Latinx communities; brand archives and period magazines.