Customer Watch: Accessorizing with a French Twist

The French twist is an elegant, sophisticated hairstyle, variations of which are plentiful at most every red carpet event and formal affair from a high school prom to the Academy Awards. No doubt in large part to a series of current print ads by Prada, French twists once again appear on the fashion radar screen, this time as a chic hairstyle worn with elegant daytime apparel. 

     [Image from Prada print ad]

This look highlights a graceful neck and calls for adornment of the ear lobes. In the Prada ads, ubiquitous with the updo is a pair of dangling pearls or pearl-like drops.

The drop earrings balance the height of the hair but, at the same time, are not fussy. They are as controlled as the hairstyle. The best earrings for this look add polish. While the drops are quite large and have movement, they also are restrained in design. Here is a variation of the look in an ad by Dillard’s featuring a dress by Tahari ASL:

The earrings seen in both of these ads are reminiscent of the earrings seen in the film “The Girl with the Pearl Earring.” As noted in the film, notice how “light in the shadows of the neck brings the eyes.” This style of earrings has an inherent elegance. They will look beautiful even when the hair comes down.