Be it a humble huggie or a loud door knocker, a hoop makes more of a statement than a stud — and if you've been on the hunt for a new pair, you've come to the right place. To find the best hoops on the (vast) market, I asked a panel of especially tasteful people — including fashion-world insiders, brand consultants, an antiques dealer, and some fellow Strategist staffers — for their favorites. Read on for the pair of hoops that fill six out of eight piercings on one writer's ear and the pair that I recently splurged on myself. Just note: Most of the hoops here are sold as a set, but some are sold as a single hoop — I've included the cost for a set unless otherwise noted.
These huggies from Studs are a true huggie ( at 6 mm. in diameter , half the size of the first Mejuri pair, for reference). And, like the Studs hoops above, you can get them as a single ($22) or a pair ($44), and in either 14-karat gold- or rhodium-plated. Strategist senior editor Hilary Reid owns a sold-out “beaded” version of the hoops — which are now available in a more croissant-esque shape — and says she wears them just about every day as part of her earscape. “They work well with almost any other style of earring, from baroque pearl drops to slightly larger hoops,” Reid says. “I've always received compliments on them.”
For Ruby Buddemeyer , the director of copy and concept at Starface (and former beauty editor at Cosmopolitan ), hoop earrings must meet a list of criteria: not too big but not too small, thick but not heavy, and, of course, comfortable and easy for everyday wear. So when Buddemeyer saw her sister wearing these Machete hoops, she practically grabbed them out of her ears. “I stole hers for a bit but quickly bought my own since she's equally as big of a fan as I am,” Buddemeyer says. That was four years ago, and Buddemeyer has been wearing hers weekly ever since. “They're still shiny without any noticeable tarnishing,” she told me, attributing some of their longevity to always removing them before showering.
