miss b loves....pearls(Part 2)...... style icons and how they wear their pearls

Pearls symbolise understated elegance and class and have been strung around the necks of style icons over the decades. Screen goddesses in Hollywood movies and celebrities have certainly reinforced the glamour of pearls........

Coco Chanel, in the 1920s, gave pearls their iconic style status and she was rarely seen without her signature strings of pearls ..... 

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"A woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls" Coco Chanel

In the 1950s Marilyn Monroe wore a strand of Mikimoto cultured pearls given to her by her husband Joe DiMaggio while on honeymoon in Japan (and she famously wore them at the divorce court a year later too!)

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Grace Kelly preferred the tight, single strand pearl choker......

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"I favour pearls on screen and in my private life" Grace Kelly

In 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' Audrey Hepburn wore a striking brooch embellished multi-strand necklace.......

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Jackie Kennedy in the 60s often wore pearls .......an essential item of her polished, lady-like look. Several pieces of her simulated pearl jewellery originally worth a few hundred pounds sold at auction in 2010 for over £50,000!

"Pearls are always appropriate" Jackie Kennedy 

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Elizabeth Taylor preferred a little more opulence ........and she owned La Peregrina, one of the most famous pearls in the world, a Valentine's Day gift from Richard Burton. This huge pearl has a fascinating history having belonged to Mary I of England! 

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In the 1990s, the late Princess Diana often wore one of her favourite pearl chokers.......

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Diana wore a stunning grey gown covered in pearls for the renowned Mario Testino shoot in 1997.....

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......and she again chose a pearl choker with her famous black dress (which became known as the 'Revenge Dress') by Christina Stambolian.

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More recently, Michelle Obama has regularly shown her penchant for pearls.........

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Sarah Jessica Palmer, as Carrie Bradshaw, wore long strings of cultured Akoya pearls in a number of scenes in 'Sex and the City'. Following Coco Chanel's advice? Ropes and ropes of pearls.....

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When Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, wore faux pearls (£48 from Heavenly Necklaces!) at the Diamond Jubilee, an on-line frenzy followed and they instantly sold out!

Kate's faux pearl earrings

Of course a discussion about pearls would not be complete without Queen Elisabeth, rarely seen without hers .......the epitome of ladylike style........

Queen Elisabeth in 2010

Spring 2014 ....Karl Lagerfeld recently paid homage to Coco Chanel's signature pearls with a selection of accessories including a 'headset' style necklace with oversized pearls replacing the earpieces ......

"My favourite thing is the new necklace like an earphone, it's two huge pearls but in fact it's very flattering because the huge pearls give a flattering light on the girl's face" Karl Lagerfeld

Chanel Spring Summer 2014

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Often handed down from one generation to another whether natural, cultured (or even imitation!) pearls continue to fascinate people from across the globe and they have adorned chic women throughout time ....

Our enduring love of pearls continues and no matter how many adjectives are used to describe this lustrous gem ...... feminine, elegant, classic, classy......

They are simply .....timeless.

If you missed 'Pearls' Part 1 including the V&A Pearls Exhibition and my own 'collection' click here