Jo Fuertes-Knight is a columnist, sub-editor and provoker of Internet trolls at Sabotage Times. She’s written for alt-titty magazine Front, ‘SUP magazine, Glamour and more Jo lives in London where she spends too much time Tweeting and huffing nail polish fumes.
"They make my ear lobes turn green, they’re kinda crooked from that time I accidentally trod on them, and they’re probably slowly giving me an advanced blood infection. But, I love them. I have more hoop earrings than I’ve had hot meals, and these will forever be my first in command. We’ve been through a few rough patches and even a full-on break-up, but right now we’re inseparable.
"London is and always will be a fashion authority. It’s just that I had a mind-numbingly ordinary upbringing in the city’s suburbia, where fashion meant ironed hair with perfect nails, a fondness for bronzed tits and a lot of jewelry. The long break-up with my creoles started when I began studying at Goldsmiths College, a Mecca for fashionistas and boys in ball-crunchingly tight jeans. The look of choice: english rose types rocking the “I’ve just rolled out of bed after boning your boyfriend and I still look better than you." But the notion of dressing to look like a carefully constructed mess was pretty alien to me. During my freshers week, a girl snarkily remarked on my (admittedly tacky) french manicure. I felt my face begin to blush. So, slowly, the hoops were shelved as I went on a fashion learning curve. I learned I didn’t need a blowdry with a full face of make-up if I was just going to buy tampons, and it’s not second-hand. It’s ‘vintage,’ darling.
"But, as I’ve grown older, I’ve settled somewhere in the middle. As I give less of a shit about fleeting fashion trends and think more about personal style, the hoop earrings have found their way back into my everyday attire. I’ve accepted that I’m never really going to be at the cutting edge of fashion until the love-child of Peggy Bundy and a Christmas tree is the look du jour. There is no irony, my taste is actually this trashy…but it’s all mine."
Check out our DIY hoop earrings story to learn how to make hoop earrings on the cheap.