PEARLS OF WISDOM: WISE AND WONDERFUL WAY TO A LOVELY AFTERNOON

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Buzz about a popular pearl jewelry event returning to Corsicana begs the question, “Pearls, still?” The answer: “Yes, please, and more.” This year, pearls are trending in national fashion and celebrity-sighting magazines, approving of your grandmother’s single-strand oyster pearls tangled up with long, loopy ropes of cultured pearls in non-configuring shapes and colors. In other words, anything goes – the rules are few.
For your event calendar: Pearls of Wisdom, October 2, 12 noon at the Cook Center. The fundraiser for Kinsloe House has hundreds of thousands of dollars in pearl jewelry designs on display and also for sale, but everyone in attendance at this event will leave with a free pair of pearl studded earrings. The catered lunch with global pearl producer Mike Brennan provides a tutorial on the history and allure of pearls and how to wear and care for them while assistants model jewelry (yes, you can wear it this way!) and deliver raffle prizes to audience winners. A Champagne bar heightens the afternoon, and a special appearance by “the Dutchess”, a ready-for-her-close-up Rolls Royce, will welcome arrivals, polished for a social media post. $45 a ticket; VIP tables of 8 for $500. http://www.kinsloe.org/events
Pearls continue to reinvent themselves and their fashion relevance, and arguably few accessories command the same attention and respect. After all, they have been coveted for thousands of years, when first discovered inside the shell of an oyster and used for decoration by the Romans and Egyptians as far back as the 5th Century BC (Chinese records mention them earlier still).
A speck of pure irritation slips into the mollusk’s shell and is layered with nacre, the inner shell layer, until a polished iridescent orb rests. Something is confusing about this defiant nature’s work. How can pearls, born out of months and months of uncomfortable chaos, be so pleasing to see, touch, and wear? It’s a mystery.
Now, cultured and lab-grown pearls make the production process available, affordable, different, and bold. While Corsicana’s Cook Center is not the catwalk at New York’s Fashion Week or the parade entering the Met Gala, attendees of Kinsloe’s popular event will not disappoint in fashion, flair, and lots of pearls. (And they won’t be clutching them.)
The Cook Center, Kinsloe House Pearl Committee, and Riverfront Capital Strategies support Kinsloe House and Pearls of Wisdom. The fundraiser supports scholarships and other community-supported efforts. RSVP by September 24 to reserve a seat online or call 903-874-5791 for information on where to purchase tickets. No tickets will be sold at the door.