If you keep up with magazines or blogs that cover jewelry, you’ve likely seen the headline, or some variation of it, at least once: “These aren’t your grandmother’s pearls.”
The article will feature an updated, contemporary take on the pearl strand necklace, or pearl earrings, something that takes the “older,” outdated style and gives it a facelift that is more in line with today’s style and trends.
It’s a great idea, not only for designers to play with and reinvent a style or jewelry trend that once was popular, but also for consumers to have a fresh, revived look to embrace.
Recently, however, I’ve been doing it the other way around.
A little backstory: my great-aunt Hilde, who was born in Germany and moved to the United States before I was born, was a woman of impeccable style. She favored Burberry and Chanel and when we went shopping at Bloomingdale’s the women at the Clinique makeup counter would comment on her flawless skin and handsome purses.
Aunt Hilde elicited attention wherever we would go, and there was no end to strangers telling me how beautiful my “grandmother” was (Aunt Hilde was my grandmother’s sister, and having no children of her own, she fawned over all of us incessantly.) She was a stylish, sophisticated woman, and when she passed away in the summer of 2008, I was devastated.
My grandmother and mother took me to her house a few weeks after, where they not only gave me what Aunt Hilde had left me but also allowed me to walk through the now-quiet halls and pick out anything of hers I wanted to have. After choosing special items of furniture that reminded me both of my childhood and of her, I was allowed to look at her jewelry.
At the time, I didn’t have an exceptional interest in jewelry; I had a few necklaces I rotated, but my “collection,” so to speak, was meager at best. So I took a select number of pieces--mostly jewelry I felt would bring me a strong reminder of Aunt Hilde--put them in boxes, and forgot about them for five years.
When I moved last October, I stumbled across this jewelry in the midst of unpacking. At the time I had been with National Jeweler for nearly three years, was notably more interested in fashion and jewelry, and looked at these pieces with a refreshed, discerning eye.
Now, I wear Aunt Hilde’s old pieces constantly, which prompted the title of this blog. These are your grandmother’s--or, more specifically, my great-aunt’s--pearls. I take
these vintage and perhaps even outdated pieces and dress them up with trendy and casual outfits to create a truly unique style that I can happily call my own.
My favorite is this coin necklace, which I can wear with almost anything. I usually pair it with a solid color dress, although it really dresses up a jeans-and-T-shirt look as well. (Please excuse the images … a photographer I am not.)
These shell-shaped gold-colored earring eluded me for some time, but I found they work well with black outfits, which more or less are my daily uniform living here in New York, and floral shirts for a “resort” look. I once shied away from jewelry so big, but now I wear these babies like they’re the Crown Jewels.
These pearl hoop earrings were another pair I was somewhat hesitant about at first, mostly because they are so far outside the realm of jewelry I usually wear, and because I’ve never seen a style like this paired with an outfit. Now, I can’t take them off; when I wear a dress with a sweater and want a sweeter look, they’re my go-to.
My newly beloved seed pearl earrings. These add a feminine touch to any outfit, and when paired with a pastel- or light-colored, flowy shirt (like this one from Levi’s), I feel positively chic.
The best part about this jewelry is no one else has it. So if you’re lucky enough to have your grandmother’s, great-aunt’s or mother’s jewelry, wear it. Pair it with a current, trendy outfit, and you’ve created a style that truly is all your own.
Here’s to you, Aunt Hilde. Your amazing sense of style lives on.
