Dressing Appropriately for Housecleaning

Housecleaning is the theme for ESN this week.  And although I have no housecleaning items that would help you with any of those mundane house chores it did get me to thinking about our 1950's counterparts and the next thing I knew I was thinking of Margaret Anderson from "Father Knows Best", and June Cleaver from "Leave it to Beaver",  and Donna Stone from the "Donna Reed" show and of course who could forget Harriett Nelson from the "Ozzie and Harriett" show.  I don't know how clean these women's homes were but they sure dressed for it.  Clean, fresh ironed apron over a clean, fresh ironed dress with kitten heels (I bet they even wore hose!), hair, makeup and lipstick perfect!  And let's not forget... wait for it.... the PEARLS!  You cannot clean house without wearing pearls.  Of course, I don't think I ever witnessed one of them actually cleaning house, although I think I did see June or Donna yield a vacuum cleaner once. I'm going to give wearing pearls a try this week-end, if I decide to clean that is, and see how much it helps.  I don't have any white pearls in my store but I do have a lovely black bead necklace that might just do the trick if you want to give cleaning with pearls on a try.  They come with a pair of dangle earrings too, heck go all out!  So visit Le Petit Marche and check out this lovely set.

Lovely Gray Black Color Sea Shell Bead Necklace and Earring Set

And if gray/black isn't your color, check out what else I  might have that suits you to clean house.  Go ahead, dress up to clean!

Pearl Jewelry

The English word pearl comes from the French perle. Who doesn't love Pearls?   They've been around for centuries. Everyone from Mary Queen of Scots (and those before her) to Barbara Bush, (and those after her) donned a pearl necklace at the very least.   Remember Johannes Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" painting?  (or the movie with Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson, if you've not had the pleasure of seeing the real thing). Although white, and more recently black, are ever popular, there is now a wide range of colorful hues to accent any wardrobe.  Pearls come in eight basic shapes: round, semi-round, button, drop, pear (or what has come be known as teardrop) oval, baroque, and circled.

There is of course the highly coveted natural pearl, then there is the cultured pearl.  But did you know that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference without gemological x-ray?  Unless of course, you end up with some crappy poorly made "fake" pearl with no luster.

The value of the pearls in jewelry is determined by a combination of the luster, color, size, lack of surface flaw and symmetry that are appropriate for the type of pearl under consideration. Among those attributes, luster is the most important differentiator of pearl quality according to jewelers.

All factors being equal, however, the larger the pearl the more valuable it is. Large, perfectly round pearls are rare and highly valued. Teardrop-shaped pearls are often used in pendants.  (ref:Wikipedia)

There are also lots of religious references; Hindu, New Testament, Islam, Hebrew and others that regard pearls in many of their religious ceremonies and find them fine and admirable.

I myself cannot afford lovely white natural pearls but I do have some lovely pairs of cultured pearl earrings and necklaces.  And now I offer some good quality cultured highly lusterous Big teardrop earrings in about 4 colors.   Here is a pair of Big Teardrop South Seashell Bead Earrings in coffee color (it's a light to medium roast I think!) :)  Visit Le Petit Marche to read more about each pearl item.