I went to college in the South, and I loved it there. I loved the magnolias, the accents, the friendliness, the fact that people still wear hats to church. To this day I retain a deep affection for Southern aesthetics (not to mention Southern cooking), and one of the most important aesthetic hallmarks of the Southern Lady is a perfectly matched set of pearls. Single strand plus simple pearl studs. My junior year of college, my parents gave me such a set, which has become my “power jewelry” — the jewelry I wear whenever I want to feel grown-up and confident and perfectly put together.*
I was therefore intrigued to read LPC’s post on pearls, where she wrote that she prefers a “punked up” pearl earring to go with a pearl strand. While I love my pearl strand and matching studs, there are regrettably few occasions that are both formal enough and conservative enough to really call for the power jewelry — first day of teaching, Southern daytime wedding, and appointment with a mortgage loan officer are the three that come to mind.** The punked up earrings feel both more festive and more versatile to me, and I vowed to keep my eyes peeled for a suitable pair! And yet, brief internet searching reveals that this may be a more challenging task than I’d anticipated — finding pearl earrings that are “punked up” enough to be interesting (no, a microscopic diamond on top isn’t enough) and yet subdued enough to feel right with a pearl strand is surprisingly tricky. Not to mention, the price of most of them is not quite grad-student-friendly!
These Mastoloni earrings from Nordstrom caught my eye, but are they too conservative?
I adore these pearl-garnet earrings from Turtle Love Committee, but I’m having trouble picturing them with a full pearl strand:
I think the best pair I’ve seen is a vintage pair LPC herself posted on her blog, from Beladora Estate Jewelry:
Can’t you just see Mad Men’s Joan Holloway in these?
Do you guys have “power jewelry?” Do you prefer a perfectly matched set of pearls, or do you like to see it mixed up a bit?
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* I’m 28, but I’ve been mistaken for a college freshman as recently as four months ago. I look young. The pearls help me feel wiser and more authoritative.
** I think you need to be a real, honest, born-and-raised Southern lady to pull off pearls for everyday occasions. It’s something in the genetic code.
A real, honest, born-and-raised Southern lady! Ha, ha. You are cracking me up! I see so many New England women doing their pearl thing, too. I wear faux pearl earrings from F21 nearly every day… big huge ones. I wore them for our wedding, too. I can’t really pull of the trad necklace daily, though… and I’m from AR!
I really like the first two. I’m not such a fan of pearls myself, but I do think they look great on other people. They give a real touch of vintage class that other gems just don’t. I do have a string of freshwaters that I break out for job interviews, but I agree that traditional pearl studs can be a bit overpowering in most settings. You have found some lovely alternatives.
:)
I try to look older on the first day of teaching, too, otherwise all hell breaks looks. I like the vintage ones, too. Maybe you should troll the vintage stores? Then they’d be punky and no one else would have them…
Of course I have a strand of pearls. I am Dallas girl. We wear our pearls to the gym with our matchy Juicy Couture tracksuit (is there really any other way? I think not).
I do not have a matchy-but-not pair of “punked up” pearl earrings and you and the other blog called them. But now I need one. Only vintage, mind! And real. Like a proper Southern lady would ever wear anything but oh the horror!
Thanks for the blog recommendation. She sounds like a much cooler version of me, bless her heart! ;)
I bought a strand of real pearls last year to wear on interviews and they really are my power jewelry. They don’t risk looking fake, they are the perfect length to go with suits, and I truly wear my pearl necklace a lot. Anything I have to wear a jacket to, I add the pearls. They came with pearl earrings, but they are too big for my small earlobes and short hair, so I prefer to wear my tiny diamond studs that Mark got me for Valentine’s day my first year of law school as part of my power-jewelry set.
I got my strand of pearls from Overstock.com and I highly recommend you check them out for earrings – on quick perusal, these – http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Sterling-Cultured-Pearl-Drop-Earrings/2164712/product.html are kinda neat; and these are, I think, punked up enough to work – http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/14k-Gold-Cultured-FW-Brown-Delicate-Pearl-Earrings-8-8.5mm/2566128/product.html
And I just realized that second pair is $82! Sorry bout that!
These are more budget friendly. And still fun!
Love this. The third ones are very funky.
Thanks for the comment. I read a while ago about your stepmom’s mean comments, and I just thought, WTF. Why are people such pricks? But they are. I know it’s not worth it to get upset about it, but it’s hard to follow through.
It *is* hard to follow through, especially when the person being a prick is someone who’s kind of a part of your life (whether you like it or not). I don’t do a great job at not getting upset, as evidenced by the fact that I’m still complaining about that dinner almost 6 months later ;-)
Etsy has a lot of pearls, and though many are too wedding-y, there are a lot of people playing with “punked up” designs. Might be worth a look.
I’m honored. I like the Nordstrom earrings. The Turtle Love would be good for professors of some things. Or, you could look up your local antique jewelry store and go haggle for what you like.
I love this idea as well and I just realized that I tend to do it as well! These might work as a pair of “punked up” pearl earrings: http://tinyurl.com/y9twbd7
I got a special strand of pearls and studs for graduation and wrinkled my face because they were completely not my style. Now I love them for dressed up/adult occasions too, but SoCal isn’t exactly a pearl-friendly everyday environment (luckily I’m marrying into a Texas family, so perhaps there’s more opportunity to wear them soon?)
I loved LPC’s post about mixing them up with sassy pearl earrings. And I adore the first Nordstrom’s pair. I think they would be amazing on their own or as a modern pairing to your single strand. But I’m a sucker for clean lines anyhow.
Y’all (see, there’s my faux Southern creeping in), I am going to ask for more shopping advice on this blog from now on! Thank you to everyone who pointed me to more earrings. Mouse and LPC, I’ve been quietly contemplating a trip to some well-known Boston consignment and vintage stores to freshen up my wardrobe — I’ll keep an eye out for earrings there too.
Oh honey. If you want to talk outlaws, come sit next to me.
As far as pearls, they are appropriate almost any time as far as I am concerned. Why leave your beautiful jewelry to languish alone in a dark drawer when it can be hanging happily around your neck? What a waste of an asset!
Yes, I can spell. I just can’t type. Gold digger. I don’t know what a gold diggerq is.
Haha! I share the same needs, in terms of dressing up for teaching– I still get passed sorority recruitment flyers around campus! Have you seen any funky pearls on Etsy? I swear I saw some nice stuff when I was searching for wedding jewelry way back in the day…
oh and psst- it’s the frmr “Miss Sweet Tea” over here. Writing at http://wordsandhome.blogspot.com these days!
It’s great to see you on the blogosphere again!! :-)