What do we think of coloured pearls?

Ele

Saturday was my birthday and though most of my presents were of the kitchen/cooking variety, my sister got me one accessory. We both love pearls, and she bought me this freshwater pearl bracelet. In person, the colour is lovely: a pale green that reflects shades of copper and pink (this is it on me).

The thing is, I'm not really sure how to work these into my style. I don't wear bracelets often, so I'm considering taking this home with me next month and seeing if my aunt, a jewelry designer, could re-string it into a necklace. Also the colour, though pretty, is a bit too "pastel" for my tastes, so it will take some thinking to make these feel modern and stylish, rather than cutesy.

What's your vote? Bracelet or necklace? How would you wear these? Do you even like coloured pearls, or are they a big fashion "no"?

16 years ago

Dressing

10 replies

Latest reply was from Ele

garmenta

Active Member

I love freshwater pearls for their irregular shapes and their iridescence. They catch the light differently from cultured pearls. You might try wearing your pearls with something unexpected: either a rich, saturated, deep color, or a masculine cut in a dress, or a very casual garment, like a denim jacket. Any of those would play off the pale iridescent shade and make it a little sharper.

16 years ago

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

I love colored pearls, but I have them in darker colors than that: smoky grey and chocolate brown. They're not items I wear a lot, though, because I feel like they are statement pieces and require a dressier look than even I do at times. (I don't feel like that about pearls in general, but these particular pieces read super dressy to me.)

Yours are very pretty, but to be honest, I am not sure if the greenish tint is right for your skin tone. They look very different on your wrist than they do on the table. But if you are not a bracelet person, then look into putting them in a necklace; maybe your aunt could break it up with other stones or metallic pieces, etc -- so it's not a string of pearls, it's a necklace that uses pearls in it. Does that make sense?

16 years ago

shiny

Veteran

We think colored pearls are lovely.

I have a set of costume chunky pearls in a goldish-pink color that I wear often. I used to have black pearls that I would layer with white pearls, but that necklace broke and I haven't gotten around to fixing it. I tried on an amazing multi-strand choker with pink pearls while in Paris - if it wasn't amazingly expensive, it would've come home with me. The color was very flattering.

But if you don't wear bracelets often, that is a problem. I do have a three-strand pearl bracelet my sister gave me for being in her wedding. I have a hard time wearing it because I can't shake the association with bridesmaid gear. But then I look at Dawn's outfit today and I love the added touch of a pearl bracelet. (Check it out on her capsule challenge post). I think Garmenta's advice is fantastic: wear deep, rich colors with it... and steer clear of any outfits that are too sweet.

I would NOT make this into a necklace. It would end up being single strand, wouldn't it? I would fear the pearls are too small for that and it would end up looking conservative. I could be wrong. Depends on how much length you would ultimately have. I think pearl necklaces look best when they are chunky and short, or regular size and long.

I like Kristen's idea too.. If you could find someone who could weave a black ribbon through the pearls, that could be cool too (see Jcrew).

16 years ago

Alecia

Veteran

Pretty pearls. I second Kristen's idea to make it into a necklace but with other materials. Happy Birthday, too.

16 years ago

Steph

Veteran

What are these pearls strung on right now? From the photo, they don't look like they are individually knotted. If they are strung on elastic, chances are they will break anyway, so you should have them restrung regardless.

If you're going to make them into a necklace, I agree that it looks like you might end up with a single strand. There are a few things you can do if you want to avoid that. You could have your aunt string the pearls into two strands, which would sit on the front of your neck, and then she could finish the back half of the necklace with ribbon. Another idea would be to have her use other stones with the pearls to make something that fits your personality and taste. I make jewelry and I often use pearls as components in a design--if she incorporates wire into her designs she should be able to do this for you without a problem. If you go that route you should think about what colors or gems you would like to add to the design.

16 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Happy belated birthday, Ele!!! May the year bring you good health, wealth and loads of love and laughter.

I’m like a bee to honey when I see the word pearl.

I vote bracelet. Definitely. The size of the pearls will be lost as a necklace. They make the best statement close to one another and layered as is. Perfect and so pretty. You need to start wearing bracelets! Don't even think about it. Just wear it and don't worry about matching it. Funky :0)

Coloured pearls are 100% fabulous. No faux pas at all. AT ALL.

16 years ago

ShibaNut

Active Member

I can see the pearls are on a wire wrap for your wrist. If you find them too plain, have them redone as the same kind of bracelet with a focus item woven into the middle of it. I have a southwest style one with wood beads and in the middle of the wrap are the turquoise and wood accent beads - it draws focus to what would be a plain bracelet. You could add a silver or gold accent piece to kick it up a bit.

Lynn

16 years ago

Dawn

(website)

Active Member

Happy birthday Ele!! I love the green pearls as they are and I can see them with a menswear inspired outfit as a pop of colour and femininity.

Shiny, give the pearl bracelet a try! Mine are fake plastic pearls but they don't look totally fake. Hopefully someday I'll have a real pearl bracelet.

16 years ago

Anonymous

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELE!
I am just beginning to really like braceletes. And the same goes for pearls. I didn't really pay attention to the subtle beauty of pearls until YLF.
I think your new bracelet is gorgeous. It gives the appearance of a cuff, which I like. I can see this on your wrist to soften a more masculine jacket. The unusual color is beautiful.

16 years ago

Ele

(website)

Active Member

Ok, thanks everyone! (And thanks for the birthday wishes, as well- I had a great day:)

I'm going to keep this as a bracelet for now, because I agree that the pearls make the biggest statement when all together. I am intrigued by the idea of adding in some other metal/beads, though. They look really pretty next to my gold jewelry, so I'm wondering is some small, matte gold beads might look pretty mixed in.

In any case I'll likely get my aunt to re-string them anyway, since as Lynn noted, they're on a wire wrap right now. It's not my favourite look (or feel), so I'll ask her what she thinks might be better.

16 years ago

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