Pearls Among Swine

Today I am wearing a ton of pearls. I will leave it to you to figure out the swine part. (be nice,we're friends). My outfit today is pretty basic, since I have to take my mom to the doctor later and I need to be able to lift up her walker and stuff it in my car. Also, since I am just now getting over my cold, I REALLY wanted to be comfortable today. So a nice loose T shirt and a pencil skirt were the answer. Here it is:

My T is a little clingy in this picture, but it looks good in person. Since I work in healthcare, I have to wear hose. Today, the grey ones I am sporting have a giant run down the left leg. The good thing is that it stops right where the skirt ends, so only I know. I McGyvered it by glopping on a bunch of clear nail polish to keep it from going all the way down to my feet. The benefit of working in healthcare is that if I spill, tear, stain, or rumple during the day, I can cover up easily with my exam jacket. The skirt is from J Crew, and the T is Hale Bob. Here is a closeup of the texture and reptiley-ness of both pieces.

The skirt is very metallic all over, and the silver parts of the T are metallic, and you know how much I dig sparkly. I got the T in a store in New Orleans. For one reason or another, I have been to NOLA 7 times. About 3 times in, I discovered this place called United Apparel Liquidators. It's in the French Quarter, on Chartres, past Jackson Square and the Cafe Du Monde. It's a dumpy store crammed with racks. Not elegant at all. But..... there are fantastic deals to be had. I have to control myself in there. If you like a really good bargain on high end stuff, grab a shovel and dig. So what shoes did I wear that also fit the comfy bill?

My Pour La Victoire suede wedges. These are really nice shoes. If they still have this style next year, I'm gonna get the black ones. Now for the pearl extravaganza. First, my necklace.

This is a costume piece that I have had for a while, and I love it. I have also had to McGyver it on occasion, gluing back the big pearls with my secret weapon, Gorilla Glue. It's perfect for filling in a neckline, especially if you have a bony chest like me. I lapsed back into habit today, wearing bracelets and rings on both hands again. I will show you the right, followed by the left.

On the right hand, I have a South Sea Pearl ring and a freshwater pearl bracelet. The pearls are strung on silver wire. It's very dramatic, creepy, and cool. On the left, I have my larimar bracelet and a mobe pearl set in a wide silver band. A mobe pearl differs from a regular cultured pearl in that it grows against the side of the oyster shell, giving it one rounded side and one flat side. A South Sea pearl is a another variant of a cultured pearl. It is allowed to get very large, and they take on the color of the oyster, and can be black, white, pink or yellow.(Speaking of oysters and NOLA,the oyster PoBoy sandwiches in New Orleans are deelish). Here is a picture of the two rings side by side.

Even though they are similar in size, you can see the difference in the shape of the two varieties. I hope you enjoyed this little lesson in gemstones. There will be a test in tomorrow's post. Thanks for stopping by!!!