I have no recollection of getting my ears pierced for the first time, however I do recall being drawn to subtle yet chic earrings to be worn with my day-to-day outfits even as a young girl. As I gradually moved away from the sparkly studs sold at my local Claire's, I discovered my now never-ending love for hoop earrings and the need to pair them with almost every ensemble for every occasion.
From large to small, the circumference of my hoop choice typically depends on the mood I'm in for the day and my desired aesthetic, however with most of the country still reeling from the effects of COVID-19, wearing extra large statement earrings feels a bit out of place in our current climate. Overall fashion has gotten a bit more cozy comfortable with less of a need for over the top pieces, instead dainty earrings that are lightweight and perfectly paired with everyday effortless looks while still noticeably chic are first on my priority list.
Like most, I can find an assortment of hoop earrings throughout my jewelry box, however I am currently obsessed with finding small to medium-sized options ranging in different shapes, colors, designs, and textures creatively designed with artistic expression in mind. Check out these not-so-basic everyday casual hoop earrings to add to your jewelry collection before they're gone!
1. Spiked Hoops
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
These 14k gold spiked hoops are an absolute treasure. Edgy and fun, these mid-sized hoops are Natalie McMillan's signature design. Created to last a lifetime, these are ideal for sensitive ears as well those who value handcrafted one of a kind styles. Pair with an all-white ensemble so as to not take away from these small but mighty hoop earrings.
Shop earrings here.
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
2. Ivory Hoops
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
As much as I love gold and silver hoop earrings, ivory is the perfect alternative to the common metals we've grown accustomed to. Perfectly paired with light colors and earth tones, these hoops are perfect to transition from summer to fall. I also love the duality in design, allowing for both casual and sophisticated outfit options.
Shop similar earrings here.
3. Vintage Mini Chain Link Hoops
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
One of my favorite pastimes is shopping for vintage jewelry as nothing compares in style, design and durability. With a classic chain link design, these mini hoop earrings are a staple that can be worn for years to come. Tiny yet chic, it's the subtle details that count. Pair with absolutely anything and they're an instant match.
Shop similar earrings here.
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
4. 80's Vintage Hoops
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
Vintage is always in, but there's room for an updated modern spin on a classic. Burgundy Bay is an online boutique specializing in clothing trends and unique styles for fashion lovers everywhere. I love that I can wear this style with a silky top and jeans for a cute and casual slay or even with biker shorts or sweats for a fun streetwear type of vibe. These are definitely a style to have fun with while stretching your everyday outfit combinations.
Shop similar earrings here.
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
5. Colorful Hoops
Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
I might have mentioned staying away from statement earrings, however these multicolored trimmed hoops are definitely an exception to the rule. Mid-size, brightly pigmented and surprisingly lightweight, these are the perfect feel-good earrings to add to your collection.
Shop similar earrings here.
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Featured image by Shahirah Ahmed/xoNecole
Originally published on September 17, 2020
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This was first evident more than a decade ago when she quit her job as the corporate executive of a Fortune 500 company during a Periscope livestream. “I’m not sure if there’s an alignment of [our] future trajectory. I’m going to work for myself. I'm promoting myself to work for myself,” she said at the time before flashing a smile at the viewing audience. As she resigned on camera, a constant stream of encouraging messages floated upwards on the screen.
By 2021, she’d fashioned her work as a corporate consultant and her personal life with her husband and three adopted daughters into a reality show, She’s The Boss, for USA Network. This year, she released the New York Times bestselling memoir Nothing Is Missing, written as she was in the process of getting a divorce and dealing with her eldest daughter’s struggles with substance use.
Convinced that there’s no way the 39-year-old has achieved all of this without intentional strategic planning, I asked her about it when we spoke less than a week before Christmas. I’d seen videos on social media of her working on 2024 planning for other brands, and I wanted to know what that looked like following her own year of success.
She listed a number of goals, including ensuring that the projects she takes on in the new year align with her identity “as a Black woman, as an African woman, as a mother, as someone who has lived a [rebuilding] season and is now trying to live boldly and entirely as themselves.” But, I was shocked by how much of her business planning also prioritized rest.
Despite the bestselling book, a self-titled podcast, and working with numerous corporations, Walters said she’s been taking Fridays off. This year, she doesn’t want to work on Mondays, either.
“A lot of us think we work hard until retirement hits. I want to progress towards retirement,” she said, noting that she’ll check in with herself around March to see how successful this plan has been. The goal, Walters said, is to only be working on Tuesdays and Thursdays by sometime in 2025. “It is intentionally building out what I know I would like to have happen and not waiting for exhaustion to be the trigger of change.”
"A lot of us think we work hard until retirement hits. I want to progress towards retirement... It is intentionally building out what I know I would like to happen and not waiting for exhaustion to be the trigger of change."
Walters said the decision to progressively work less was partially in response to her previously held notions about her career, especially as an entrepreneur. “When I first started, I thought burnout was a part of it,” she said. “What I didn’t realize is that even if you’re able to bounce out of burnout or get back to it, there’s a cumulative impact on your body. If you think of your body as a tree and every time you go through burnout, you are taking a hack out of your trunk, yes, that trunk will heal over, and the tree will continue to grow, but it doesn't mean that you don’t have a weakened stem.”
But, the desire for increased rest was also in response to the major shifts that occurred three years ago when she was experiencing major changes in her family and realized her metaphorical tree was “bending all the way over.”
Courtesy
“One of the things we have to recognize, especially as Black women, is that there is this engrained, societal, systemic notion that our worth is built around our productivity,” she added. “That is some language that I think is just now starting to really get unpacked.” In recent years, there’s been an increased awareness of achieving balance in life, with Tricia Hersey’s “The Nap Ministry” gaining attention based on the idea that rest, especially for Black women, is a form of resistance. Even online phrases such as “soft life” and “quiet quitting” have hinted at a cultural shift in prioritizing leisure over professional ambition.
"One of the things we have to recognize, especially as Black women, is that there is this engrained, societal, systemic notion that our worth is built around our productivity."
If companies are lining up to consult with Walters about their brands and products, then women have been looking to her for guidance on starting over since she invited them to livestream her resignation 12 years ago. As viewers continue to demand more from content creators in the form of intimate, personal details, Walters has navigated her personal brand with a sense of transparency without oversharing the vulnerable details about her life, especially when it comes to her family.
The entrepreneur said she’d been approached to write a book for several years and was initially convinced she was finally ready to write one about business. “I started to do that, and then I went through my divorce. When that happened, I said, why would I write a book telling people to get the life that I have when I’m not sure about the life that I have,” she said.
Instead, she decided to write Nothing Is Missing and provide a closer look at her life, starting with being born to immigrant Ghanaian parents (“You need to know my childhood to know why I’m passionate about entrepreneurship.”) through the adoption of her three daughters and eventual divorce. Despite her desire to share, however, she said she felt protective of the privacy of her family, including her ex-husband.
When discussing this with me, Walters said she was reminded of a lesson she learned from actress Kerry Washington, who released her own memoir, Thicker Than Water, just a week before Walters’ book release. Washington’s memoir grapples with family secrets, too, specifically the fact that she was conceived using a sperm donor and didn’t learn about it until she was already a successful TV star. While Washington reflects on how the decision and subsequent deception impacted her, she’s also careful to hold space for her parents’ experiences, too. “A lot of things she said was that she had to recognize where she was the supporting character and where she was the main character,” Walter said.
This is something Walter worked to do in Nothing Is Missing when discussing her daughter’s struggles with addiction. “I was very intentional about making sure that I did not reveal more than what was required,” she said. “If I say something about someone’s addiction, I don’t need to go into the list of the substances they used, how they used them, what I found. [I don’t need to] walk into a room and paint a picture of what it looked like for people to understand.”
Walters said some of the most vulnerable moments in the book barely made a ripple once it was released. She was extremely nervous to write about getting an abortion, she said. But no one has asked her about this in the months since the book was released. Instead, people have been more interested in quirkier revelations, such as the fact that she once appeared on Wheel of Fortune.
“I have bared my soul about this thing I went through in my youth that has changed me for people, and people are like, ‘So how heavy was the wheel when you spun it?’” she said, chuckling. “It just goes to show that people never worry about the thing that you worry about.”
With the success of Nothing Is Missing, Walters said she still isn’t planning to release a business book at the moment. But, as she navigates parenting a teenager and two adult children while also navigating a relationship with her new fiancé, Walters said she believes she has at least one or two more books to write about her personal journey. “There is sort of an arc of where my life has gone that I know I’ve got something more to say about this that I think is important, relevant and necessary,” she said.
In just three years, Walters’ life has undergone a major transformation. There’s no telling what the next three years will have in store for her, but it seems likely she’ll retain an inspired audience wherever life takes her.
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MYAVANA is a beauty tech company "with the aim of revolutionizing personal and professional textured hair care through data driven science and technology." Women can take a hair assessment, backed by AI, to determine which products are best for their hair. If that's not enough, women can also choose from a hair analysis kit or simply get a virtual consultation from one of their hair consultants. However, Taste of Texture brings the conversation about hair to you.
Photo courtesy
"The mission of Taste of Texture is to create community and connection through intimate, in-person experiences that facilitate deep cultural conversations about our hair journeys and how we evolve to become our authentic selves," Candace shared with xoNecole. "Our hair parties brings a fun, celebratory, safe, supportive platform for deep discussion around our challenges, traumas, and the victories of embracing our textured hair through the lens of our shared cultural experiences."
During the event, many women shared their personal stories about their hair, which undoubtedly resonated with other women in attendance. Gail also shared her own stories about her hair as an actress in Hollywood. She explained how she would take down her braids before going into auditions and wanting to experiment with hair dye, but was afraid. Well, that was until now. "My hair journey, a phrase I would say now is self-love," she beamed.
Candace Harris and Gail Bean
Photo courtesy
Some women walked away with a free hair consultation, but everyone left feeling a sense of community, knowing that we all have similar experiences with our hair and we also have a safe place to celebrate our textures.
