VF and pearls

[rock_girl]

So I've noticed a theme today with the VF links... pearls, pearls, pearls and more pearls.

Be All and one of the unholy spawn with a strand of what look to be 9mm 20inch strand and a tincup potato pearl necklace respectively

Another one of the unholy spawn in her finest oyster pebbles

Portraits of a godly family snapped by the Verret girls

Hey look, she's gone from a long strand to a short strand a bracelet. Magic!

Some random from a VF thing on the Verret girls' blog

A Verret in pearls

Another Verret in pearls

I know I've seen a lot more VF women in pearls, just can't place them at the moment. To me it seems a little odd... I'm 28 and can honestly say that very few of my peers would wear pearls except to a funeral. I love them because they look excellent with diamonds and I've inherited some beautiful pieces, but I acknowledge I am a little odd. Now, save for Be All, most of the girls wearing these necklaces look quite a bit younger than me. What gives? Is it a VF directive? That a young woman in possession of a broken spirit must be in want a of a strand of pearls? Is it a nod to the past when even the average to low grade freshwaters produced by Chinese farmers today were out of reach of a lot of people? Are pearls a sign of femininity? Or is it just that pearls are so out of fashion amongst the young that wearing them when young is a way to distance yourself from 'the world'?

[Gypsy]

I tend to associate pearls with classic feminine beauty and a Victorian vibe, both of which are very popular in those circles.

[ophelia]

I tend to associate pearls with classic feminine beauty and a Victorian vibe, both of which are very popular in those circles.

THIS!

As I already said in another thread; to me, Lacie Verret looks like she could be a VF postergirl.

[Naga Viper]

They're Simpsons fans?

[Itsnotaclowncar]

I'm 25 and pretty much every woman I went to college with had pearls, although they were in more modern looking settings than the VF crowd. That first set looks like what my dad gave my mom in the early 80s. I've seen a lot of fake pearls in stores over the past few years. They were the go to accessory for conservative occasions. I've got a chunky fake necklace, big fake earrings, that I actually wear and 2 smaller real sets that I don't wear since they look old to me.

ETA: I think the VF women wear them since it's what genteel ladies wear. I just happen to like non colored jewelry.

[VintageJen1984]

I'm 27 and I see pearls everywhere. I have a strand in classic white, a graduated necklace in varying shades of gray, and a quite long black strand (that is very obviously fake--all are fake, but the other two look real) Plus earrings in gray, champagne, and chocolate. I really dig that necklace on the girl in the photo with Beall, I wonder where she got it.

[rock_girl]

I'm kind of surprised. Pearls just are not a big thing in my circle. I'm sure most of my friends have a strand of inherited akoyas desperately in need of restringing, but aside from a really formal job interview or a dead person, those puppies aren't leaving the case. Now, over the top strands of fake pearls were a big thing a few seasons ago, but they were very, very clearly fake and very, very quickly binned.

For me pearls are more of a 1950s thing, when affordable akoyas from Japan were new enough to still be a novelty. Prior to that pearl farmers were still working to perfect their product and natural pearls were so rare that they were mostly favoured by royalty and non-royal types with a crapload of cash. Which is possibly why VF women like them so much. Especially since a good strand of freshwaters can be had very cheaply and these families no doubt have a lot less cash than they want us to think they do.

I'm 27 and I see pearls everywhere. I have a strand in classic white, a graduated necklace in varying shades of gray, and a quite long black strand (that is very obviously fake--all are fake, but the other two look real) Plus earrings in gray, champagne, and chocolate. I really dig that necklace on the girl in the photo with Beall, I wonder where she got it.

The necklace looks like a tincup. They're quite popular and available from a lot of pearl vendors. To my eye the pearls are off-off-round, so despite the size it would be very reasonably priced if you got it in sterling silver.

[constantgardener]

I have a couple of 30s/40s vintage outfits that I like to wear pearls with, usually for a war-themed weekend we hold where I work. But here's the difference - I don't actually believe I live in the 1940s. It's just pretend.

[sparkles]

Ha! I actually love pearls and wear them a lot, thanks to my Etsy bracelet and earring obsession. However, the rest of my normal attire consists of jeans (often with holes), t-shirts, Docs or Chucks, a black leather jacket, hair that's barely an inch long and no makeup. Most definitely NOT genteel, ladylike or Victorian (especially for an almost 60-year-old).

I'm sure this would give the VFers the vapors. YAY!

[acheronbeach]

THIS!

As I already said in another thread; to me, Lacie Verret looks like she could be a VF postergirl.

Yeah, she has the dyed bed-head and trowelled-on makeup thing down pat

I gotta agree - the only time my friends would wear pearls is a funeral or a job interview.

[Iokaste]

The dorm I lived in during college has a costume-party every year and one year the theme was "George Bush's 60th birthday" (he happened to be in Denmark on his actual birthday, that's where the theme came from, we were very much NOT a conservative group of people), anyway all the female attendees who came as right-wing politicians/politicians' wives wore pearls!

I was rather surprised that we all had pearls since I'd never seen anyone wear them before, but it seemed everyone had a grandmother who'd given them pearls when they turned 14/15/16 or whatever age said grandmother felt was "all grown up".

I think pearls are beautiful, but I feel very "stuffy" when wearing them. I think maybe to christans they carry extra significance since the pearl is used in a lot of Biblical imagery, e.g. faith as "a pearl of great price", baptism as "the most precious pearl" (coming out of the water.

[Gypsy]

I think maybe to christans they carry extra significance since the pearl is used in a lot of Biblical imagery, e.g. faith as "a pearl of great price", baptism as "the most precious pearl" (coming out of the water.

Oh yeah, that's probably a big part of it for them too.

I personally love wearing my pearls. I got my first real pearl necklace when I turned 16. They were a modernized necklace though, kinda like that one with the pearl every half inch in one of the pictures only classier, smaller, and in grey. I got my first full chain of then for my 21st. They've been milestone markers for me, and that of course adds personal value to them.

[Deleted05]

Somewhat off topic, but who are these Verrets? Blog please?

ETA: Oh, wait, here we are. They even have a picture of Michelle with a pearl bracelet on, extolling the glories of TTC.

And that womb-man lady, also in pearls.

http://theblessingoflife.blogspot.com/

[VVV]

I have a classic string of pearls that I bought in Japan nearly 30 years ago, and a longer string of freshwater pearls that my husband gave me as a birthday gift. I would wear them a lot more often if I weren't a violinist, but most of my dress-up occasions (heck, most of my blue jeans days too) involve playing the violin, and the pearls get in the way. :(

[mkitten]

I have a strand of pink pearls that were given to me as a gift that I wore with my wedding dress. I think I've worn them once since then. I also have a black single pearl necklace and earring set for interviews. Way too fancy for me, I like what my grandma calls "junk jewelry" and a lot of turquoise & sterling silver.

[mockingbird]

I have a pair of real pearl earrings that I LOVE, they are simple, just one pearl on a stud. Possibly because the studs are real gold and that is one of the few metals that doesn't bother my ears, so I can actually wear them for more than a few hours ;) But I like the look of them too, they are just very "classic" and match pretty much everything. They are at the jeweler now though because one of the pearls fell off lol. Those types of earrings were pretty big at my college. I think it might have been the stone for one of the sororities, so that could be why.

I could see myself wearing a pearl necklace pretty frequently with business casual type outfits (don't have one yet but want one - real or fake lol), but I think I tend to dress somewhat preppy to begin with so that might be why I am attracted to them. I honestly had no idea people think they are outdated! I would agree that they are very feminine and that is probably why the VF women like them.

The girl in the third picture though looks like she is wearing half of a flapper costume, with the multiple strands and the flower in her hair! She looks better in the picture after that where she doesn't have it looped around multiple times. I do like both styles, the illusion one with the pears spaced apart is neat. ETA: Also, I don't like the girl's look who has both a scarf and pearls. It doesn't really work to have a scarf with any type of necklace since they are both around your neck :lol:

[Swamptribe]

Ok, I'm gonna play the adolescent male here. "Pearl necklace" anyone (and please don't make me explain that)

[Gypsy]

Ok, I'm gonna play the adolescent male here. "Pearl necklace" anyone (and please don't make me explain that)

:D

[Destiny]

Ok, I'm gonna play the adolescent male here. "Pearl necklace" anyone (and please don't make me explain that)

Yup, that's the first thing I thought too.

The second thought? Real pearls give these guys something to clutch when they see someone not exactly like them.

[Witsec7]

:D

You are not alone :oops:

But back to the subject. I've got pearls, bags of them, earrings, chokers, ropes, graduated black natural salt water pearls. I don't wear them, I sweat and wear perfume, once a year I'll drag out the black pearls but those are all I ever wear anymore.

[guidedbybobafett]

I've never owned pearls, but my style is sort of decidedly "un-feminine" and I would look really strange in them. I recall my great-grandma wearing them pretty often though, and pictures of her from the 40's show her and my grandma in them a lot.

As a northerner, I think we just missed that boat up here. I know some girls from the south who wear them all the time.

[jjmennonite]

Ok, I'm gonna play the adolescent male here. "Pearl necklace" anyone (and please don't make me explain that)

I am sure Dougy gets lots of these!!! Or at least in his dreams. :lol:

[Jezebel]

When I was in my teens and early 20s (back in the '80s), the only pearls women my age wore were long strings of fake ones, a la Madonna in her Boy Toy era. A strand of real pearls, worn unironically, was just so stuffy and old-ladyish. Lately, I've seen chocolate pearls strung on gold wire (in a similar style to the tincup necklace that girl with Beall is wearing) that I liked, as well as some chocolate pearl earrings, but ladylike strands of pearls? I still can't find them fresh, modern, or interesting. The will always make me feel like I'm wearing my grandmothers' jewelry, and not in a good way.

So it doesn't surprise me that the sheltered virgin daughters of people my age are wearing pearls. :lol:

[Advocate]

THIS!

As I already said in another thread; to me, Lacie Verret looks like she could be a VF postergirl.

She pretty much is. Her family goes to every imaginable VF conference it seems. Definitely towing the partty line.

[Megan]

I've always associated pearls on young-ish women with the south. I feel like the girls I know who pledged sororities in the south always are wearing pearls in photos they post on facebook. (All early/mid-twenties). I also think they were popular cotillion gifts for the (WASPy) girls who did that in my junior high.

(while I felt left out of cotillion when everyone talked about it in class, I am so glad I didn't suffer through that now! I'm pretty sure it was combined with purity ball nonsense.)