Huggie earrings are some of the most versatile earrings you’ll ever own. Comfortable to wear and appropriate in any setting, huggie earrings can be the heroes that make any ear stack feel complete. If you typically use studs to fill the upper positions in your ear stack, you’ll find that switching to huggie earrings can make for a great change of pace – and in this guide, we’re going to explain everything you’ve ever wanted to know about them. How can you know which size to get when you buy huggie earrings, and how can these tiny hoops help you complete your perfect ear stack? You’re about to learn it all.
First, though, what exactly are huggie earrings?
What Are Huggie Earrings?
Huggie earrings are very small hoop earrings. Unlike traditional hoop earrings – which are heavier and tend to point down – huggie earrings sit close to the ear. Because they hug the ear, they tend to point outward, perpendicular to the outline of the ear. Huggie earrings work with the natural curve of your ear rather than against it, and that helps them blend in with the rest of your ear stack instead of potentially clashing with other pieces as some types of earrings can. Be careful not to pick ones that are really heavy so you don’t end up with stretched ears.
What Makes Huggie Earrings So Great?
So, what makes huggie earrings so special? One of their greatest benefits is that they’re incredibly versatile. No matter how many piercings you may have, an ear stack that includes huggie earrings is completely appropriate in business, casual and formal settings. They’re also great if your ear stack happens to be especially elaborate because they’ll go with earrings of virtually any size, type or color. They’re great as alternatives – or additions – to studs. They’re also wonderful for framing and adding interest to larger centerpiece earrings without distracting or getting in the way.
Huggie earrings are also terrific from a comfort standpoint. They’re very light and don’t tug on your ear, which is great for a more elaborate ear stack. They’re also unlikely to catch on your clothing or become tangled in your hair. Thanks to those qualities, you may find that you’re able to sleep comfortably with huggie earrings in your ears instead of taking them out at night. If you happen to have small children, another great benefit of huggie earrings is that they’re difficult for little hands to grab.
How to Choose the Right Size for Huggie Earrings
When you’re choosing a huggie earring to buy for yourself, there are three aspects of the earring that you should consider: the size of the hoop, the design of the earring and the way it fits on your ear. We’ll talk about the size of the hoop first. The classic way to wear huggie earrings in an ear stack is by starting with a larger hoop for the lobe piercing and graduating to smaller sizes as you move up the fleshy part of the ear. When you reach the top part of the ear, finish with a very small hoop or a stud.
When choosing a hoop size for huggie earrings, one of the most important things to remember is that the hoops don’t necessarily have to point outward. As we mentioned above, the main distinction between hoop earrings and huggie earrings is that, because huggie earrings are much smaller, they tend to point outward – perpendicular to the outline of the ear. However, there is an in-between option that you might also consider: you can buy slightly larger hoops that lean downward and rest against the ear. It can be a nice way to curate an ear stack with a pleasing sense of direction and movement.
How to Choose the Right Style for Huggie Earrings
Now that you have an idea of the hoop sizes that will work for your ear stack, the next step is to think about the different designs that might appeal to you. In this case, the only limit is your own creativity. Because huggie earrings are so small, they generally won’t compete with one another or with the centerpiece earrings that you wear in your lobe piercings.
With huggie earrings, you can feel free to mix and match metals and gemstone colors. You can wear a stack of white diamond earrings, for instance, to make the outlines of your ears sparkle in the light. On the other hand, you could wear a gradient of colored gemstones that encourages the viewer’s eye to roam up the ear and admire the entire stack. One of the best aspects of huggie earrings is that it’s very difficult to find two earrings that clash with each other. You can pick any earrings that you like, and there’s a very good chance that they’ll look terrific next to one another. You can focus on your creativity instead of worrying about choosing two earrings that could potentially clash.
How to Choose the Right Fit for Huggie Earrings
The final thing you need to do before buying a huggie earring is make sure that the earring you want will actually fit comfortably in the desired piercing. You may find this process easier if you enlist help. You’ll want to use a ruler that measures in millimeters since most jewelry uses metric measurements.
Measure the distance from the piercing to the edge of your ear. If you want the earring to fit snugly against the outside of your ear, you’ll want to buy an earring matching that measurement. If you want the earring to stick out from the edge of your ear or tilt downward and lean against your ear, choose something with a slightly larger measurement.
Remember that huggie earrings are supposed to be comfortable to wear – that’s a huge part of the draw. If you can’t find an earring with a size exactly matching the distance from the piercing to the edge of your ear, you should choose the next size up because you wouldn’t want to wear an earring that pinches your ear.
