Do you think a double strand pearl necklace about 19" long is appropriate for day? I'm just considering...
Double Strand Pearls
- Thread starter lovehermes
- Start date
Well, in my opinion I think it just depends...if they are fairly small I don't think it's an issue. If they are larger, more dramatic pearls then I'd stick with evening wear.
Now if they are freshwater pearls that are colored (they can be any number of colors) or non round (nugget, rice, etc.) I see no reason not to wear them during the day.
I'm generally of the opinion that whatever you want is what is fashionable.
Now if they are freshwater pearls that are colored (they can be any number of colors) or non round (nugget, rice, etc.) I see no reason not to wear them during the day.
I'm generally of the opinion that whatever you want is what is fashionable.
The Old School pearl-wearing orthodoxy is:
1) Strands of pearls are always worn in odd numbers, one, three, five, or seven.
2) The number of strands of pearls a lady wears should never exceed the number of decades she has lived. Thus, once you are 30, you may wear 3 strands, you may increase that to five on the day you admit to having celebrated your Golden Jubilee, and when you have attained the bloom of 70, you may wear seven strands, math majors will be able to extrapolate for older ages, and help others do so.
1) Strands of pearls are always worn in odd numbers, one, three, five, or seven.
2) The number of strands of pearls a lady wears should never exceed the number of decades she has lived. Thus, once you are 30, you may wear 3 strands, you may increase that to five on the day you admit to having celebrated your Golden Jubilee, and when you have attained the bloom of 70, you may wear seven strands, math majors will be able to extrapolate for older ages, and help others do so.
Really? I had no idea! That is so neat though.
I am totally an 'odd' person - no floral arrangements with even numbers especially.
But for some reason a double strand of pearls works for me...normally an 'even' amount of something would bother me but not with pearls. Go figure. I'm just odd. !!!
I have always heard that about flower arrangements, too, though I can't remember where, maybe it's genetic, some of us are just born with it.
The pearl stuff is from my grandmother's rule book, the one which also said no shoes lighter than your hemline and no dangly earrings before 5 PM and no leaving the house without gloves, even in case of fire, and the fingers of the gloves cannot have outside stitching unless they are intended for cold weather and it is snowing AND you are located north of Memphis. Or something. The glove rules got complicated, and it's been a long time....
The pearl stuff is from my grandmother's rule book, the one which also said no shoes lighter than your hemline and no dangly earrings before 5 PM and no leaving the house without gloves, even in case of fire, and the fingers of the gloves cannot have outside stitching unless they are intended for cold weather and it is snowing AND you are located north of Memphis. Or something. The glove rules got complicated, and it's been a long time....
Well I certainly agree with the glove edict, I'm meticulous about not showing my seams, and of course my gloves are always spotless. 
I do have a double strand of pearls, but logic dictated. Once upon a time a bazillion years ago, we had some extra money because the insurance company reimbursed us for a burglary
. What was stolen was mostly mine from pre marriage days, so after a hefty sum was applied to a burglar alarm I spent the remainder on a long (30", maybe?) strand of 6 mm pearls. That's when I found out I walk like Quasimoto 
(who knew?) and that the long pearls swung back and forth wherever I went, especially if I walked quickly. Short story long, I was so irritated with this development that the first time it was affordable I had them shortened into a double strand. I'm much happier and until this moment my secret was safe. 
By the way, the reason that I didn't just double them is that they slide when you do that, also they never lie quite flat.
I rarely think of pearls and formal party fancy, but I do think they add a formality to business attire that makes one feel quite elegant--especially when the rest of your outfit is, how shall we say it, tired.
Champaign
I do have a double strand of pearls, but logic dictated. Once upon a time a bazillion years ago, we had some extra money because the insurance company reimbursed us for a burglary
. What was stolen was mostly mine from pre marriage days, so after a hefty sum was applied to a burglar alarm I spent the remainder on a long (30", maybe?) strand of 6 mm pearls. That's when I found out I walk like Quasimoto (who knew?) and that the long pearls swung back and forth wherever I went, especially if I walked quickly. Short story long, I was so irritated with this development that the first time it was affordable I had them shortened into a double strand. I'm much happier and until this moment my secret was safe. By the way, the reason that I didn't just double them is that they slide when you do that, also they never lie quite flat.
I rarely think of pearls and formal party fancy, but I do think they add a formality to business attire that makes one feel quite elegant--especially when the rest of your outfit is, how shall we say it, tired.
Champaign
Thanks for all your insightful responses. I guess it all depends on how comfortable you are wearing a double strand during the day....still can't decide.
I literally wear any of my pearls with any of my outfits from a night at the symphony, or for a trip to the grocery store wearing a pair of jeans and tee. I now have nearly mm size, length and color imaginable (Thanks to Megan's recent addition to my collection), so I mix/match them a lot. Special pieces like the 17" strand that Megan made and my Tahitian/yellow gold station 10mm necklace are definitely stand alone pieces, but the smaller mm strands from 16" to 30" I'll PILE ON!
Speaking of the "number of strands per decade", I'd never heard that, but I've been unconsciously piling on more strands as I get older. By that rule, I'm officially up to 5 strands now.
And I'm an "odd is better" person too. Begging the question: why are a dozen roses so desirable?
Speaking of the "number of strands per decade", I'd never heard that, but I've been unconsciously piling on more strands as I get older. By that rule, I'm officially up to 5 strands now.
And I'm an "odd is better" person too. Begging the question: why are a dozen roses so desirable?
Fantastic thread! I just declined a double-pearl strand my hubby showed me because of the odd-only rule. He asked me why and I realized... I had no idea! Thanks for enlightening us!
My grandmother had a lovely set of double strand pearls from Tiffanys that she wore all the time. My mother wore them for years after she inherited them and I was allowed to wear them on special occassions such as to debutante balls in NYC. I have never heard of any rule involving numbers of strands. Perhaps it is a regional fashion, but it certainly didn't apply in NYC.
Now, diamonds were another matter. It was always understood that no lady wore diamonds during the daytime unless she was ancient - or not really a lady, not even in her ears. And, now that I think of it, ladies in NYC did not have pierced ears during the 50s, 60s, 70s and into the 80s. They all wore clip on earings. Their grandmothers would have worn pierced earings though. I can see them in the old portraits we have hanging in the house. Why earring fashions changed from pierced to clip and now back to pierced is an interesting question.
Now, diamonds were another matter. It was always understood that no lady wore diamonds during the daytime unless she was ancient - or not really a lady, not even in her ears. And, now that I think of it, ladies in NYC did not have pierced ears during the 50s, 60s, 70s and into the 80s. They all wore clip on earings. Their grandmothers would have worn pierced earings though. I can see them in the old portraits we have hanging in the house. Why earring fashions changed from pierced to clip and now back to pierced is an interesting question.
That is very interesting... Madame Chanel would have thought
different as she piled them on....
But pearls are wonderful & truthfully a double strand is always
classy, classic & timeless....
I love double stranded pearls!
My husband gave me a beautiful long strand of Mikimotos for my birthday the year we became engaged. I like to wrap them twice and allow one strand to hang a bit shorter..they look more haphazard this way. Recently, I saw a woman wearing long double stranded pearls with a grey cashmere sweater, jeans and tall boots.
She looked GREAT.....time for me to drag out those pearls.....
My husband gave me a beautiful long strand of Mikimotos for my birthday the year we became engaged. I like to wrap them twice and allow one strand to hang a bit shorter..they look more haphazard this way. Recently, I saw a woman wearing long double stranded pearls with a grey cashmere sweater, jeans and tall boots.
She looked GREAT.....time for me to drag out those pearls.....
I wear pearls whenever i feel like it, actually prefer daytime and diamonds @ night!
Pile on your pearls, why save them for evening wear, enjoy them, and remember the more you wear your pearls, the better, as your natural body oils help to maintain their natural luster, remember, pearls are an organic gem from a living organism, like coral.....
Pile on your pearls, why save them for evening wear, enjoy them, and remember the more you wear your pearls, the better, as your natural body oils help to maintain their natural luster, remember, pearls are an organic gem from a living organism, like coral.....