Luster For Life December 12, 2000 – Posted in: Press
By STACI STURROCK
Published: December 12, 2000
Palm Beach Daily News
Diamonds may be a girls best friend but pearls are her soul mate- a peerless, perfect match, standing by her in every season, making her look good in any situation.
They’re a favorite of blushing brides and Barbara Bush. Of anchorwomen and academy award-winning actresses. Of Park Avenue socialites and soccer moms. They did as much for Josephine Baker as for June Cleaver.
They’ve never really felt the sting of being the fashion outs, but in the year 2000, they’re undeniably stylish.
Fall’s so-called ladylike look, a throwback to the extra-0femanine and ultra popular 40’s and 50’s simply isn’t fashioned without a sugar dusting of pearls at the throat.
And, in an election year, pearls get the unanimous vote of former first ladies and candidates’ wives. They’re a can’t offend classic.
“There’s a human connection that takes place with a pearl,” says Ki Hackney, who wrote the just published People and Pearls: The Magic Endures with Diana Edkins. “Over and over, people say, ‘They’re alive.’”
They make complexions look more alive, too. “They’re like a natural cosmetic,” Hackney says. “They reflect that light, they reflect your skin tone.”
And once again they reflect the fashion moment.
Famous Ladies and Their Pearls
Ki Hackney and Diana Edkins’ People and Pearls: The Magic Endures (HarperCollins, $40.00) traces the history of style through the language or pearls. Along the way, the authors toast dozens of women (and a few men) who have put a personal stamp on pearl wearing- C.Z. Guest, Audrey Hepburn, Diana Vreeland and even Rudolp Valentino.
We pose this question to Hackney: Which three women in the 20th century have most elevated the prominence of pearls. Her picks:
Grace Kelly – The daughter of a well to do Philadelphia family, Kelly wore pearls as a symbol of tradition- on movie sets, in high society circles and on the day she wed a prince.
“Grace Kelly kind of represented the upper class, but the upper class moving forward in life,” Hackney says “And pearl wearing and tradition and education and breeding at that time. They still recall those things.”
Jackie Kennedy- “She had a style that people could understand and emulate, and pearls were a part of her life.” Hackney says.
This 1951 portrait of Jackie, shot for Vogue, “is one of the most elegant photos of a very, very simple pearl necklace.” Hackney says.
“You can do this with pearls- add a pin, wear them over a tee-shirt on the tennis court… you can mix them with other jewelry. You can’t do that with diamonds.”
Princess Dianna- “She was a girl of the world, a global woman, and her pearls reflected that,” Hackney says. “They were very strong statements in her life (there) at her collar.”
Diana borrowed the idea of wearing pearls from her royal predecessors including pearl crazy, Queen Elizabeth the first and Diana’s own mother-in-law, whose wedding gown was hand embroidered with 10,000 pearls.