A huggie sits close, usually 8mm to 12mm across, and closes with a hinged snap. It follows the curve of the lobe rather than hanging below it, which is why it does not catch on hair, collars or a pillow.

A hoop is anything larger, and it swings. It reads as more of a statement and moves when you do.

Where a size is stated it appears in the product name. Twenty-eight styles state one, all of them huggies, and they run from 8mm at the smallest up to 21mm. If you are buying a first pair of huggies, 8mm or 10mm sits neatly on most lobes; 12mm and up starts to read as a small hoop.

Huggies are the piece most people build an ear stack around, because a snug hoop in a second or third hole leaves room for studs in the first. A common arrangement is a flat back stud in the lobe and an 8mm huggie above it.

If you are wearing more than one, keep the metal tone consistent and let one piece be the largest. Everything else can be small.

Huggie hoop earrings — 62 styles, the close-fitting core of the collection, and the ones rated waterproof.

Acetate hoop earrings — 42 lightweight hoops in colour, marble and glitter. These are acetate on a 316L surgical-grade stainless steel post rather than solid steel, which is what keeps a hoop this size light. If it is the acetate you are after rather than the hoop, acetate statement earrings is the larger collection at 113 styles.

CZ hoops and huggies — 19 styles set with cubic zirconia.

Coastal hoops and huggies — 23 shell and sea-toned styles.

Kids' hoops and huggies — 23 smaller styles suited to younger ears.

Gold huggie earrings — 44 gold-plated styles.

Pearl hoops and huggies — 7 pearl-set styles, or pearl earrings for all 36 across every form.

Sixty-six of the 116 are rated waterproof: all the huggies, and four of the metal hoops. Those are 316L surgical-grade stainless steel and are built for the shower, the pool and the ocean. Chlorine, saltwater and sweat are hard on plated finishes, not on the steel underneath — rinse with fresh water afterwards and dry the ear before storing. That single habit does more for how long a finish lasts than anything else.

The remaining seven metal hoops have no water rating established; until they do, keep those dry.

Related: waterproof jewelry as a vacation essential.

Shape aside, what decides a reaction is the metal — jewelry for sensitive ears collects every form built on 316L.

A huggie is a small hoop that closes snugly against the earlobe, typically 8mm to 12mm across, usually with a hinged snap closure. A hoop is larger and hangs away from the lobe. Huggies are the style most people choose for continuous wear because they do not swing or catch.

Huggies are the most sleep-friendly hoop style because they sit tight to the lobe with nothing dangling to catch on a pillow. They are not quite as flat as a flat back stud, so if you sleep heavily on one side, studs remain the most comfortable option for overnight wear.

For a first pair, 8mm or 10mm sits close on most lobes and reads as a fine everyday piece. 12mm and above begins to look like a small hoop rather than a huggie. Twenty-eight styles state a size and it is in the product name; the other 88 do not, so measure against a pair you already own.

Sixty-six of the 116 styles, yes — all the huggies and four of the metal hoops are 316L surgical-grade stainless steel rated waterproof for shower, pool, ocean and sweat. Unlike gold-filled and vermeil hoops, which are usually meant to come out before water, those are designed to stay in; rinse with fresh water after chlorine or saltwater and dry the ear, and the finish lasts considerably longer. Seven of the metal hoops have no water rating established yet, so check those product pages.

The shape matters less than the metal. On 108 of the 116 styles the metal against your piercing is 316L surgical-grade stainless steel, and that includes every one of the acetate hoops, where the acetate is the front and the post is steel. If you have reacted to hoops before, it was almost certainly a nickel-bearing base metal rather than the hoop shape itself. Seven of the metal hoops carry no material spec yet, so check those product pages.