From Kamala To Harry, The Pearl Necklace Has Gotten A Subversive Update
As ubiquitous as the colors red and blue, pearls are synonymous with First Lady fashion, first appearing on Martha Washington and later canonized in political fashion history by Jacqueline Kennedy and Barbara Bush. Lisby cites pearls’ popularity as being related to both “respectability politics and personal display of austerity.” He says, “[As] a FLOTUS, their role is to act as a canvas to their partner's policies. For them to dress in fashion choices that overshadow their partner's platform, instead of complementing it, has been traditionally seen as uncouth. Therefore, if you look at many of [their] fashion choices over the years, it's very restrained, comparatively, to what was avant-garde or fashionable during their time.”
While Kennedy Onassis became known for wearing the traditional single-strand white pearl necklace of her predecessors, Bush popularized pearls of the costume jewelry, faux, three-strand variety from Kenneth Jay Lane. And then, from 2009 to 2017, Michelle Obama made her mark in her signature double strands. Despite the slight variations, all these looks have signified an understanding of tradition and embodied understated elegance. “Some First Ladies, like Jackie Kennedy and Michelle Obama, were fashion icons in their own right, but the fashion they wore did not veer into overshadowing their partner; thus, in my purview, among other accessories, pearls became a staple symbol of subtle display of style,” says Lisby. “Also, there is a high level of presence one must display to be a FLOTUS as representative of the United States, and from where I stand, pearls easily translate that required display.”
The accessory continues to be a silent uniform of sorts for women inside the White House, ranging from Hillary Clinton to Nancy Pelosi — now, though, with a modern twist. In addition to the double strands, Obama frequently sported contemporary styled takes on the accessory, which involved layering strands on top of strands for statement looks for the more formal White House events. Rep. Ayanna Pressley — who in 2018 became Massachusetts' first Black woman elected to Congress — has likewise opted for oversized styles. But the person who has most come to embody the pearl’s place in politics today is Kamala Harris.
The trend is not limited to just politics or women. The proof is in the number of famous men who have taken a liking to the traditionally feminine accessory, more associated with Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s than music arenas like Madison Square Garden. Most notably, Harry Styles created a spike in demand for the accessory after styling the pearl necklace a variety of ways for his Fine Line press tour earlier in the year. Other musicians, like Shawn Mendes and Jonas Brothers, have likewise sported the timeless style statement recently, as has fashion designer Marc Jacobs.
Men wearing pearls is not a new trend by any means — Pharrell walked in pearls for Chanel back in 2016, ASAP Rocky sported necklaces and a ring to a Dior show in 2018, and Billy Porter dripped in pearls for NYFW in February of last year. And it goes further back than even the last half a decade.
“If you see paintings depicting royalty or the aristocracy from the 18th century and prior, you can see that pearls were often embroidered in their clothing. Obviously, some artists took their own liberties to embellish, but it was commonplace for aristocratic men to be seen wearing clothing embroidered with pearls during various periods in fashion history,” says Lisby. “Today, when I see Black musical artists or style icons wear pearls, I think it's subconsciously an evolution from the gold chain in some ways. For many years, we've all seen a very specific experience of the Black community associate the gold chain to prosperity and therefore adopting it into their style if they can afford it. I think in a way, the pearls are a natural transition of that symbolism, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see younger artists 15 years down the line don pearl necklaces regularly.”
While, in the past, men frequently wore gender-nonconforming accessories and silhouettes to the kind of events and performances where statements outfits were expected, now celebrities like Porter, Styles, and Jacobs are pushing gender norms by wearing heels, nail polish, and pearl necklaces in their day-to-day life, rather than just the Met Gala. Lisby sees this as “a sign of the broader culture changing to solidifying that there is a space of gender-neutrality in society and that gendered constructs when it comes to fashion should be dismantled.”
That said, there is no denying that the pearl necklace is experiencing an evolution of sorts, with the accessory moving away from a fashion statement symbolizing tradition and establishment to one of modern sensibility and transgression. And so, no, you might not be wearing your grandmother’s pearls — or maybe you are, and you’re sharing them with your boyfriend.