Functional Accessory

Certain elements/aspects of fashion are tied to our subconscious. For instance, a woman in heels evokes sensualism and the overall effect is oftentimes “sexy;” Business suits are synonymous with professionalism, white evokes innocence and red evokes sexualism and to the simpleminded black is synonymous with grief. Besides the feelings clothing items and/or colors conjure, have you ever wondered if your accessories evoke certain subconscious reactions or could ever be symbolic?

Generally, I consider silver accessories to be sleek and modern, whilst yellow gold to me invokes feelings of ancient wealth, and noblilty. And when I think about what my mother calls “costume jewelry” (anything that falls between silver and gold, does not necessarily make a dent in your pocket and can be found in ANY store); it invokes feelings of playfulness.

Recently however, another form of accessory has crossed my path. One which I had hardly given much thought to: Pearls. Thus far, my only association with this accessory is that I have read the book “The Girl with the Pearl Earring,” (which by the way is a brilliant read and recommended by me), and a few years ago, I bought a string of faux pearls because I thought they were fashionable (they still are btw). However, in thinking deeply about these flawless creations, and what they connote, I must say, it has been a remarkable thought process (all 10mins spent thinking :-). I read somewhere that “Diamond’s must be a girl’s best friend, but a string of pearls is the badge of a lady.” And sadly enough this is true. Every female wants the bling of diamonds, but noone really deems it necessary to have a string of pearls in their jewelry box. Or maybe diamonds are today what pearls were to the old-school ladies? Who knows? Needless to say, since reading this saying, I have had what you could consider an 'Eureka!' moment. It goeth thus:

Have you ever noticed that some of the most powerful women seem to wear a string of pearls around their necks?

Sandra Day O'Connor, Margaret Thatcher, Condoleeza Rice,

Queen Elizabeth, Hilary Clinton ...

Why is this so?

My theory is this: For many of these high-powered women, ruling in a male dominated world, their pearls are a way to still retain their feminity. It seems to me that pearls seem to have done the impossible: which is to transcend both style and fashion to become a purely functional piece. Nancy MacDonald Smith sums it up perfectly when she asserts that there is something about pearls – their air of cleanliness, their association with feminity, their purity of color and form – that is very inviting. Pearls are high status enough to be aspirational, yet familiar enough to inspire warmth.

And herein lies the crux of my blog today:

Pearls - like clothing items, and other accessory types make a statement. However, what makes pearls unique is that they are in and of themselves a definition rather than define the wearer. Any gender can wear silver/gold accessories and you really don't need to look very far to realize that diamonds are no longer just a girl's best friend. Just ask 50cent, puff daddy(pdiddy? diddy?), Kanye west (or turn on MTV/BET). Pearls on the other hand are a statement accessory that play into our subconscious: associating pearls with ladies.

I must confess that this revelation is not going to find me running to the nearest shop to pick up my very own freshwater pearls. However, I wouldn't mind finding these in my jewelry box :-)