Is it okay to wear Pearls these days?

[TalkingShop]

Hi,

I just wondered if it okay to wear pearls these days or would I look as though I'd got up in the morning and landed in the wrong century?

I was watching this really interesting video on youtube, which was an interview with Diana Mosley and she had a three strand pearl necklace over a navy blue roll neck jumper with a very striking broach just below.

This is the video:
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She was being interviewed about her association with the fascists, which was not so great, but I really liked her necklace and roll neck jumper and broach and how they complement her hair. I also live in roll neck jumpers with a similar hairdo, and I wondered if I could do that too or if I would look like a total idiot.

I'd have to wear plastic ones on a nylon thread from a craft shop, which might be fantastically naff too. That does sound naff actually doesn't it? Maybe it only works if they are real pearls and the person has the classy accent to go with them? I don't.

Anyway, do you think this is a bonkers idea? I thought it might be a bit nicer than a knackered gap sherpa hoodie, but maybe I can't carry it off. I'm nearly 50, tall slim, knackered looking. Same build and hairdo as Diana Mosley, but not the same posture or accent.

My hair is brown but with a silver streak at the sides.

Thanks!

Pearls are very unlucky, almost as bad as an onyx.

Yes that would be a better compromise.

Second hand gems and precious metals are probably a better ethical choice too @TalkingShop . If brand new, investigate which country and by what means the gems and metals are obtained. Some methods have a bigger environmental and health/social impact than others. I don't know huge amounts about it, I guess there's always new ways of doing things that are better, and sadly worse.

I've always been wary since that Canadian gold company attempted to the Costa Rican government for $400million because the government wanted to protect its own rainforest and not have it destroyed by mining. I just couldn't believe that the gold company tried to force the government to essentially stop protecting the environment. Thankfully Costa Rica won last July, but it took 14 years!

@warmheartcoldfeet Blimey, that's a bit rough isn't it? Oh dear.

I had no idea that it was so complicated.

Maybe wooden beads are the safe option. That would fit everybody's environmental thoughts and would be brown too. I will think about that.

Go on pinterest and search 'wearing pearls'. You'll get lots of ideas.

I smiled when I thought of Jackie O,apparently her "pearls" were from a thrift shop,Still sold for 100 thousand dollars! All in the history I suppose .

My mum had a pearl engagement ring. She was married to my father for 59 years. Opals are also supposed to be unlucky, as are peacock feathers. It's all superstitious nonsense

It has never not been okay

I wouldn’t wear real pearls or fur.

But I think both look beautiful and I would definitely wear the fake versions, regardless of what’s ‘in’ or not.

If you look good in something, then absolutely do it.

How can you tell if they’re real pearls?

I know about rubbing them across your teeth, but I wouldn’t fancy doing that in a charity shop 🤢

Exactly, so I think she probably should use another person who dresses similarly as her Muse!

Rub them against each other. Real pearls will feel slightly gritty whereas fake are smooth.

Good grief, I would advise against watching hours of youtube videos about fascists, even if it's just for fashion tips! Nancy is a more stylish Mitford anyway, and if you google Phoebe Waller Bridge + pearls, there's a modern person who channels that sort of look a lot.

And vintage jewellery is always going to be the most sustainable option. Even vintage real pearls won't always break the bank.

I wear black pearls, I bought them many years ago for £30 at an antiques fair. To me they seem to have many imperfections.
I recently had them restrung and was informed I should insure them for the value of at least £350!

@AngelinaFibres oh god yes. Never wear Opals. Terrible for bringing bad luck.

Your mum and dad did great with the pearl, it's genuinely good to hear of someone who wasn't cursed by wearing them.

I have a set of fancy 3 strand pearls for events and my 'everyday pearls' which are just pearl earrings and a gold chain with a single teardrop shaped pearl on it. I often get a compliment for the latter and it's just a simple cultured pearl.

FWIW I am in my 50s and in no way elegant. I do love jewellery though and pay careful attention to matching pearls / rings / necklaces etc to what I am wearing (so red sweater today and ruby stud earrings).

I also have a long strand of black pearls. I LOVE them. I bought them in Singapore airport after a truly horror flight with DS1 from Australia to the UK. I rang DH in the UK and told him I was not getting back on the plane and he would have to come and fetch us. He told me to go buy some booze and a necklace and then to get back on the plane. They look incredible over a roll neck and hang down to my navel.

Sorry- just wittering as I love jewellery! To summarise, OP- wear the pearls. Pears are always a good idea.

Pearls are fine to look at but cruel. Buy vintage

I have pearl studs that are 6.5mm and get compliments on them all the time. They're small enough for every day wear though I alternate with a pair of diamond studs. I also have a graduated princess length pearl necklace which I don't wear as often. It looks a little weird with more casual outfits.

What does your age or build have to do with wearing or not wearing a string of pearls?

Edit that was to the poster who said they would be awful on her at 35 and fat

It doesn't matter imo about the colour of your hair, the colour of pearls pick up the whites of your teeth and eyes, and generally give anybody a bit more of a glow.
I usually wear my (modern, minimal) pearl earrings and pendant in the summer months, they look good with lighter coloured clothes and a slight suntan.

@TipsyBlueOtter Thanks for the tip on Phoebe Waller Bridge + pearls, that is really helpful.

It was odd how that video came along. I was watching lovely old documentaries with footage of ordinary people from the 40s, 50s and 60s to hear their accents, and about their lives. There are amazing videos of the old communal city laundries in Liverpool and stuff like that. I really like the social history videos on youtube.

The Mitford sisters and the Mosleys and the Duchess of Argyll must come along with that, but I think you are right about not going down that rabbit hole. It doesn't seem like a nice place. A least I now know a lot about what fascism looks like in real life, and how to avoid it. That might be quite useful in the current political climate.

The more I read all these posts on this thread, the more I realise that different jewellery choices signal different things to different people. I think the best thing might be just to wait and see if I have a DIL one day and ask her what she would like me to wear. That seems safer.

I promise you no-one will see you out wearing a string of pearls and think 'heavens, she's channelling Diana Mitford'.

@TalkingShop there is no relevance to an imaginary future daughter in law and wanting to wear pearls. No one should be telling you what to wear.

If you want to wear them, just do it now. For yourself.

@PaintDecisions Thanks, yes that's a good point. I don't really want to wear pearls, because I like being scruffy, but I'm sort of dimly aware that other people have to look at me, and that I ought to make a bit of an effort.

Agree, while many people have heard of her and know her story, relatively few will have seen that video or have much idea what she looked like or wore, and even then I doubt very much they’d make the connection, pearls are a timeless classic.

If you do this remember to take them off before taking off the jumper, I haven’t done it with pearls but have with another necklace and polo neck, because I am used to wearing a chain all the time and usually my tops are lower than it so it doesn’t get pulled with them. I can’t wear polo necks any more, I overheat and can’t bear the feel of the fabric on my throat, but I used to in the 90s when I worked in a freezing cold building.