So traditionally when I write an article it goes like this: I come up with the idea and I go straight to Pinterest to get visual inspiration and look at specific products to see how they are styled by different people. This is an important first step in researching an article so I can use history and sources to back my own wild ideas. From bridal floral arrangements to tattoo sketches, Pinterest has everything. So you can imagine my surprise, when I searched “doorknocker hoops,” a series of unrelated leather earrings and ear crawlers filled the page before I stumbled on what I was actually looking for. At the bottom of the page was one. Just one doorknocker hoop and it was off Poshmark. This is a problem and we will return to this.
*All photos are taken from online retail sites and were not shot by me. I take zero credit for the production of any image below. Each image is hyperlinked so click away and happy shopping! Support Black Businesses.*
I just finished up with a seven week course with the Museum of Modern Art, “Fashion As Design,” about individual pieces and their origin connecting to overall themes. Last week’s lesson was especially alluring, “What do We Say with what We Wear,” and I have been excited to share my take ever since. I know what I hope to say with what I wear, but perception is everything and sometimes that is not how others see it. Today I am going to share a traditionally Black item that is deeply rooted in its community. Without going through the effort to build a whole outfit, this piece alone, by itself, conveys resistance and unity.
The doorknocker hoops are certainly an earring you’ve seen, even if you may not know the name. Today they are gold or silver bamboo hoops that are large, heavy, and associated with resistance. The “the bigger the hoop, the bigger the hoe,” slogan stems from this particular earring and the slur “ghetto” is often attached. Making assumptions about someone based on jewelry is ludicrous. I love this item because it represents a coming of age in both the Black and Latino communities. Thirteen year old girls in these communities cannot wait to pick out their first set of large bamboo metal earrings because it symbolizes a step towards womanhood, a step into being a true member of society. A voice. They get their ears pierced at birth and wear small hoop earrings throughout their lives until this point.
The true origin of doorknockers is unclear to the masses. Oftentimes trends are marked by the year celebrities, and now influencers, gave the fad a try. Singers on the album Blacks’ Magic, Salt N Pepa brought both doorknocker hoops and kente cloth into the limelight in the late 1980s. It is really the 1960s however, when we see a large amount of women wearing hoops during the Black Power Movement. If doorknocker hoops align with your cultural background, consider making them a symbol of peace and justice by wearing them to the protests of today.
The team behind the Adornment photo series (click here), Mexican-American photographer Amanda Lopez and Puerto Rican designer Tanya Melendez informed me on the cultural implications making this rad item, not right for all to wear. Both women were disturbed by Marc Jacobs 2017 “hip hop collection” because it appropriated their culture and stripped the piece of its meanings: power, prosperity, infinity, and dynamism. In 2017 a bamboo hoop was viewed as just an earring. A consumer item. Doorknocker hoops raised quite an issue in 2017, when schools in L.A. saw white girls protesting against “removing their hoops.” While this was going on, I all the while, was on the East Coast studying and drinking, completely clueless.
This is not the first time the heritage of the doorknocker was stripped in the name of fast fashion trends. In 1998 Carrie Bradshaw famously wore big hoops that said Carrie in addition to a name plate necklace that continues to receive pushback decades later. In 2014, the only celebrity I truly idolize, Taylor Swift, wore braids, leopard, and doorknockers while shaking her booty with her crew in one of her most famous music videos: Shake It Off. It is likely the creative director at Marc Jacobs, the writer of Sex And The City, and the head of 13 Management had no malicious intent. Maybe they even thought they were progressive and daring for wearing something from street style. But the issue is that these three sources carry so much power over the public, they influenced a disrespectful mass replica fad. As of 6/6/2020 the official Shake It Off music video has over 2.9 million views while, the Sex And The City finale drew 10.6 million viewers to HBO. And who knows how many more views via streaming services. We see this in fashion a lot. Knockoffs and duplicates are never as good as the original concept. In my book, it is always best to be first to market.
Now is the time to start your own unique look that can connect you to your ancestors and your culture. Have you ever really talked to your grandparents, parents, or older sibling about what their life was like growing up? You might be surprised what you dig up. I recently inherited a Cape May Diamond ring from what I thought would be German origin. As it turns out, my ancestors lived in bird country, Philadelphia, for a while after first immigrating. They enjoyed summer trips to Cape May where my great-great-grandmother bought this prestigious 1900s item. She had the same name as my grandmother, one of my best friends and I never knew that until recently. To any other person this would just look like a pearl ring however, it means much more. Though my culture may not be as evident or as close-knit as the Black community, this is my version of the doorknocker hoop and I wear it proudly. What’s yours? I interviewed a few of my Black friends - male and female - on what piece best connects them to their heritage.
“African...and even Kenya itself have so many cultures (to pull from), it would be hard to categorize.”
“The same wraps women use on their heads can be used to tie babies to their backs as they cook or walk long distances. Wraps can also be used as a skirt and even more uses.”
“I would say shea butter, as a black woman I know how mandatory it is to keep our hair moisturized and this is a staple product throughout Black women! It’s rough being a black girl with natural hair because the world doesn’t see me as beautiful because of my hair! Shea butter is 100% natural, it’s extremely moisturizing and for a girl with 4c hair texture it’s a plus! That texture needs a lot of moisture and it can get dry faster! So to me shea butter is very important.”
“Most of the cultures that are really mainstream on TV and even on Google images are actually cultures that for the most part have isolated themselves from the modernized civilization. I come from a pretty modernized tribe with fashions from Western fashion.”
“Jordans.”
“Kente cloth. I wore it on my graduation stole when I graduated high school and college. It was symbolic of the work, struggle, and sacrifice my ancestors gave to get me to where I am. I don’t wear it too often outside of that because I haven’t done enough research to fully understand it. I know it comes from the Ghanian people. My blood line has roots in Nigeria and Senegal from what I’ve found. So there is an internal conflict for me wearing kente outside of grad.”
“I remember back in high school I cut all my hair off. It's called a ‘big chop’ and people tried bullying me, but I stood first for natural hair for others to follow behind me to be proud of our hair and many after told me they embraced their hair cause they seen me do it!”
“Unfortunately my family isn’t as culturally involved as most. I WISH we were.”
“We are cut-off from our heritage. We have an innate desire to cling to something that connects us to our ancestry but we don’t always know the best way to go about it ‘cause that history was taken from us. We want to rebuild it but, it's hard at times and leads to some conflict between Africans and African Americans. There is a difference.”
“This is different for me because my parents are from Jamaica and Kenya, respectively. One clothing item I saw a lot growing up is kitenge. It is a patterned fabric originating in East Africa.”
“For African Americans, we identify with grillz, fronts, gold chains, doorknockers which are big hoop earrings with names or lovers names.”
“In the last 5 or 10 years there’s been a resurgence of people expressing their views with the clothes on their bodies. Essentially when you wear clothes you are a walking advertisement for the brand and the message of your clothes. Black people use clothes to get their message out; from the Civil Rights Movement to today. That’s why it is so important to support black owned businesses.”
Takeaways: I always saw the Black community as close, with members who backed up their people. Who valued family and cultural connections. However, from my interviews and research I have found though there are some specific pieces that represent Black culture, a very rich part of their lineage is missing. There is a clear distinction between African and African American styles and fashion ideals. Black lives matter, black lives are important, black lives are vital members of our society that we all need to look out for.
Education: I strategically talked to friends I made coming up through the public school system, K-12 to prove this point. There is no reason to pay (or have to go into a lottery system) to get an education in a closed-off exclusive environment. Public schools should receive full funding and resources to continue to make education diverse. Charter schools are not public schools, they are restrictive. Vote in your local referendums! Public schools are not the answer to every problem and of course, the more learning you are doing now the better, but they are a very good start to help young ones see the real world.
I sincerely thank everyone who shared their perspective with me!
Why Now? This blog is meant to be about me. It is supposed to be about me and my outlook on fashion, my closet, my opinions, and my styling tips. I hope a wide range of people can continue to appreciate these stories. Though I think doorknockers especially are super cool, I can’t appreciate them for their full worth therefore, I don’t own any and haven’t ever worn them in a photoshoot. Liberty and justice for all should not just be words. I hope newly elected leaders will advocate for the freedom every person of every background deserves. Legalize being Black.
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