Past and Present: FLOTUS Jewelry Thread

[Julide]

Hi! I've been over in the FLOTUS wardrobe thread and have spent most of my time drooling at the jewels. I thought I would start of thread just for the jewels of all the First Ladies!!

 

[Julide]

I thought I would start with pearls. They seem to have been popular with many First Ladies. Photos from GIA, Bradshaw jewelers, gray and sons, USA Today online and Getty images.

 

[Julide]

Melania's fabulous earrings and Nancy Reagan and her gold and some beautiful ruby earrings.

 

[Julide]

One more of Nancy Reagan though she is not wearing much jewelry, Mr. T has enough for both of them!!!

 

[Julide]

And another picture of Jackies pearls.

 

[Julide]

Excellent article of the jewels of FLOTUS and the meanings behind them.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/561935

 

[anitalilac]

I want those pearls! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

 

[Julide]

Thanks for looking!

 

[Julide]

Some of Melanias jewlery that I hope to see close ups of sometime!

 

[Julide]

And Jackies starbursts brooch. According to a couple of articles this was a piece Jackie bought herself while in the White House. She sold or traded a set of diamond leaf brooches that were a wedding gift from Joe and Rose Kennedy.

 

[pamella]

Thank you so much for starting this thread, Julide! It is a sparkling "feast for the eye"!!

 

[Julide]

Pamella You are most welcome!!

 

[Julide]

 

[Julide]

Photo credit; More magazine.

 

[BigPurseSue]

Thank you for starting such a great thread, Julide!

I want a starburst broach like Jackie's.

The story I heard about Jackie's pearls--and of course so many stories about her jewelry are apocryphal, and many stray a bit from the truth--is that while she was campaigning for JFK she was wearing her real pearls, as all proper ladies did. She and the other Kennedy women were holding luncheons and teas for women to get out the vote. Someone--I think it was someone on JFK's staff--told her that since she was trying to woe women of lesser means she might want to tone things down a bit and consider wearing faux pearls instead of real ones. So the faux pearls, specifically ones from Kenneth Jay Lane, became her signature piece.

Since then KJL has gifted faux pearls to all the first ladies. Although I believe Barbara Bush has been the only one to wear them regularly.

O.k., feel free to correct me on anything I got wrong in this story.

Jackie was a good friend of Kenneth Lane, wore a lot of his jewelry, and was one reason why his costume jewelry became so fashionable in the '60s.