Hoop Earrings

I bought my first ever pair of earrings two weeks ago.  They were about $7 from Target, so I wouldn't feel too bad about never wearing them.  I was having a hard time deciding whether or not they are trashy.  I don't know what it is about my upbringing that makes me think hoops are for hoochies.  That doesn't make any sense!  My mom never wore earrings, and my sisters didn't really own hoops.  In Catholic school, I think hoops were a no no, and in a school, wearing hoops is like asking for your earlobes to be ripped.  Now I have reached the promised land of being able to wear hoop earrings.

Recently I've been watching the tv show Parenthood a lot and Lauren Graham's character is almost always wearing hoops and looks nice, but she also plays the role of the 40 year old bartender who can't hold down a job.  Then I saw a real housewife wearing them today and I thought hmm yes trashy indeed. 

Is there a certain age that it's appropriate to wear hoops?  A certain hour? Trashy before 8, but classy after?  Is it never appropriate to wear hoops?  Can I wear them to work?  When I google image search celebrities who wear earrings there is no one who I would identify as particularly classy - J Lo, Hillary Duff, Kim Kardashian, Angelina Jolie (the mix of trashy and trashy).  Come on internet, you're supposed to give me some kind of style compass!

So now I am left to trial and error.  THANKS FOR NOTHING WORLD WIDE WEB.