Huggies and hoops are the same earring at two scales. A huggie is a small hoop that hugs the lobe, closing close to the skin with almost no gap below it. A hoop is the wider family, from those small sizes up to pieces that hang well below the ear and move as you do. In our range, the huggie earrings measure 12.00 to 19 mm on their spec sheets, and the plain gold hoop earrings reach 44.00 mm. Size, how close the earring sits and how it closes are the three differences that matter when you choose.
Huggies vs Hoops, Measured Side by Side
The table sets our four huggies beside a run of our gold hoops, as our spec sheets list them, from the smallest up. Length is the measurement each spec sheet gives, or the diameter where the sheet gives a diameter. Where a spec sheet gives no weight, the table says so rather than estimating one. Every piece in it is 14K yellow gold.
| Earring | Huggie or hoop | Length or diameter | Closure | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square huggies | Huggie | 12.00 mm | Snap lock | 1.5 grams |
| Puffy C hoop huggies | Huggie | 14.10 mm | Push back | 1.2 grams |
| Polished C hoop huggies | Huggie | 16.00 mm | Push back | 3.4 grams |
| Paperclip huggies | Huggie | 19 mm | Snap lock | 3.1 grams |
| Twist hoops | Hoop | 20 mm | Snap lock | 1.68 grams |
| Endless round hoops | Hoop | 21.00 mm | Endless | Not listed |
| Wide puffy hoops | Hoop | 22.25 mm | Snap lock | 3.25 grams |
| Large omega C hoops | Hoop | 24.20 mm | Omega back | 5.1 grams |
| Endless oval hoops | Hoop | 25.00 mm | Endless | 1.5 grams |
| Puffy ribbed scallop hoops | Hoop | 26.50 mm | Hinged snap back | 3.6 grams |
| Puffy hoops | Hoop | 27.00 mm | Hinged snap back | 4.6 grams |
| Endless pear hoops | Hoop | 32.00 mm | Endless | 1.9 grams |
| Endless paperclip hoops | Hoop | 44.00 mm | Endless | 2.6 grams |
Two things stand out. The huggies stop below 20 mm and the hoops start there, so the size line between them is close to 20 mm. And weight does not follow size: the puffy C hoop huggies are the lightest pair in the table at 1.2 grams, while the 44.00 mm endless paperclip hoops weigh 2.6 grams, less than the 16.00 mm polished C huggies. A fine endless hoop can be larger and still lighter than a solid little huggie.
Are huggie earrings the same as small hoops?
A huggie is a small hoop, but not every small hoop is a huggie. The name describes fit: a huggie sits close around the lobe with almost no gap below it, while a small hoop can still hang a little. Our square huggies at 12.00 mm hug the lobe; a 20 mm twist hoop is still small, but it drops below the ear. Fit, not one fixed millimetre, is what makes a huggie.
Mentioned in this piece
Paperclip Huggie Hoop Earrings in 14K Yellow Gold
$1,268.00
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How Huggies Sit and Close
A huggie is made to sit tight to the ear. Because the hoop is short, most of it lies along the lobe rather than below it, and from the front you see a neat curve of gold rather than a swinging circle. That is why huggies are the hoops people forget they are wearing.
Huggies close in one of two ways in our range. The square huggies and the paperclip huggies close with a snap lock: a short post on one end of the hoop clicks into a catch on the other, so the closure is part of the hoop and there is no separate back to lose. The two C hoop huggies are open curves on a straight post, held behind the lobe by a push back, the same kind of back a stud wears.
Are huggies more comfortable than hoops?
For most people, yes, because a huggie has less gold hanging below the lobe and nothing to swing or catch on a collar. Comfort comes down to weight and closure as much as size. A snap lock huggie of a gram or two, with no back behind the ear, is the easiest to forget. A heavy hoop or a large one on a post asks more of the lobe over a long day.
How Hoops Sit and Close
A hoop above about 20 mm hangs below the lobe and moves with you, which is the point of wearing one. The larger the hoop, the more it frames the face and the more it reads from across a room. Our hoops close in four ways, each listed on the spec sheet. Snap lock hoops close the way snap lock huggies do. Hinged snap back hoops carry a section that swings open and snaps shut. Endless hoops are a fine continuous wire whose end slips into its own hollow tube, which keeps large hoops light. The large omega C hoops sit on a post with a hinged clip that folds up and closes over it.
Weight is the line to read before choosing a large hoop. The puffy hoops at 27.00 mm weigh 4.6 grams and the large omega C hoops at 24.20 mm weigh 5.1 grams, both rounded and full. The endless oval hoops at 25.00 mm weigh 1.5 grams, about a third as much, because they are made of fine wire. Two hoops of almost the same length can feel completely different on the ear.
Huggies or Hoops: Which to Choose
Choose huggies for every day and for leaving in. They sit close, weigh little, and a snap lock pair can stay in from morning to night. They also suit a second or third piercing, where a large hoop would crowd the ear, and they sit neatly under a hat, a scarf or a phone held to the ear.
Choose hoops when you want the earring to be seen. A 20 to 27 mm hoop is the size most people mean by a gold hoop; it frames the face without dominating it. Larger still, an endless hoop keeps the look large and the weight low: the endless pear hoops at 32.00 mm weigh 1.9 grams. Many people own both and wear them together: a huggie in an upper piercing and a hoop in the first.
Can you wear huggie earrings all the time?
A huggie that closes with a snap lock or a hinge can be worn day and night, which is why so many people leave one pair in. Take it out now and then to clean it, because skin oil and soap collect where the catch meets the hoop. Rinse it in warm water with mild soap, brush the catch gently, and dry it completely before putting it back.
Are huggie hoops safe to sleep in?
A small huggie that closes on itself, with a snap lock or a hinge, is the hoop best suited to sleeping in. It hugs the lobe, weighs a gram or two, and has no back to press into the pillow. Huggies on a post with a push back are better taken out at night, like studs, and so are large hoops, which a pillow can bend out of round.
Our guide to sleeping in hoop earrings goes through which of our hoops to leave in and which to take out.
Are gold huggies or hoops better for sensitive ears?
The metal matters more than the shape. Choose 14K yellow gold, which is nickel-free, so the earring does not bring nickel against the piercing whether it is a huggie or a hoop. White gold depends on its alloy, so ask us about a white gold pair first. Every huggie and hoop in the table above is 14K yellow gold, with its closure listed on its spec sheet.
How huggies fit into the whole size range is a section of our hoop earring sizes guide, which measures each hoop side by side, and our guide to opening hoop earrings shows how each closure clicks shut.
Compare the pairs in our huggie earrings and hoop earrings collections, or start with the paperclip huggies in 14K yellow gold, 19 mm with a snap lock.
Warranty. Every DEEVE piece carries a lifetime manufacturer's warranty for the original purchaser, serviced in-house, with complimentary cleaning, inspection and prong tightening for the life of the piece and rhodium re-plating on white gold at no charge. Read the warranty.
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