Luscious accessories: Pair it with pearls

Diamonds may be a girl best friend, but a jewellery box is nothing without a string of pearls…

A woman must never underestimate the ability of this little creation of mother nature’s to transform any outfit. For inspiration, here’s who has done it best.

First given as a wedding gift to Mary Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VIII, the rare and extraordinary gem was owned by a succession of royalty before being purchased at auction by Burton for Taylor as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Coco Chanel wore pearls every day and taught women the art costume jewellery, mixing genuine pearls with fake pearls. And as she wore ‘opera length’ pearl necklaces, the effect was stunning.

See our posts about Chanel the style icon, her homes in Paris and the south of France, and where to buy new and vintage Chanel items online.

1920s socialite and enigmatic beauty Sara Murphy wore her long strand of pearls to the beach everyday. She would loop them around her back so as not to mar her tan; and, she said, because the sun was good for them. For this, she became a style-setter and muse.

Jackie O also faked it, her $80 famous and much-photographed triple strand pearl choker fake pearls sold at auction for $211, 500.

See more in our Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis style icon post.

Actress and jewellery collector Elizabeth Taylor owns the most famous pearl, La Peregrina. Given to her in 1969 by then-husband Richard, La Peregrina, an enormous, pear-shaped white pearl, was found by a slave in the early 1500s in the Gulf of Panama.

Audrey Hepburn created a pearl sensation in Breakfast at Tiffany. Her little black dress was the perfect backdrop for the six-strand pearl and rhinestone necklace she sported as adorable Holly Golightly.

See more in our Audrey Hepburn style icon post.

As both modern day style icon, Sarah Jessica Parker and her fictional character Carrie Bradshaw knows a thing or two about pearls.

As Carrie, she often flirted with pearls in the series, she traded in her signature gold nameplate necklace for a strand of Mikimoto pearls for the film version of Sex and the City. And as herself, she layered oversize pearl necklaces oh-so-chic in her Gap ads.