Women need ropes of pearls

Ropes and ropes of pearls.

Continuing our celebration of pearl month - Coco Chanel once said “A woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls."  Never has she been more correct than now, when layering necklaces and bracelets is all the rage in fashion.  Not just pearls alone, but mixed with metals or other beads.  We are also seeing pearl combinations in multiple colors and sizes layered or twisted together to fill the décolletage.  Plus pearls are being used as belts around the waist or hips to update the look of pants and skirts. 

I did a quick search for pearl layering combinations and found the following blog posts that showed some great examples of current trends:  Relics by Tami, Savvy Mode, Personally Charming by Janet, and Honora.  I also found a 3-part video series on layering with pearls by F.A.I.T.H Company; visit their channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/faithcojewelry to view the 4 to 5 minute videos.

To create layers of pearls, you need to understand the different lengths.  The classic size is around 18 inches.  Choker styles or twisted torsades are shorter than the classic length, although some may include an extension chain on the end so they can be adjusted a little longer.  Then the next longer styles used to be only for special occasions when one went out and are still referred to as matinee or opera length.  Multi-strand pearls are often made of 2 or more strands typically connected with a special special connector/clasp to separate the strands that are between the choker length and the special occasion lengths.  The longest is the rope which can be wrapped around the neck to create layers – I have seen endless strands as long as 100 inches advertised. 

For more on pearls, see my prior pearl post to learn more about pearls and how to shop for them.  You may also want to check out the posted videos on how to tell if a pearl is fake/real and next how a pearl enhancer works.  By using comments, please let me know if you have any pearl questions that I did not cover in 1 of the 6 posts planned to discuss pearl tips.