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80s Home >
80s Fashion > Add a Bead Necklace
Add a Bead Necklace
Eighties fashion for women included
jewelry - lots of jewelry. One trend for women and girls included Add a
Bead necklaces. It is actually one of the nicer (or should we say
enduringly tasteful) trends of the 80’s and continues to a much lesser
extent today.
Add a Bead necklaces came in several different forms. They were most
popular in the early 80s and were favored by the slightly preppier crowd,
owing in part to their understated flare. Most of Add a Bead necklaces
began with a gold chain in the length and thickness desired. Then the
concept began in the form of a gold bead, a pearl or other gemstone on the
chain. Add a Beads were used to honor and celebrate many occasions. For
example, it was a great anniversary gift for the husband to the wife. He
gave her the necklace with the corresponding number of beads to years
married on it. Each year, a new bead would be added on to the necklace.
Add a Beads could be given as gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, years
taught, years worked, years volunteered, children taught, years sober and
so forth. It was meant to be built upon year after year. It was often
proudly displayed and a great topic of conversation.
From a marketing standpoint, it was genius. Give the consumer something
that 1 – needed to be built upon every year. It was guaranteed income
every year unless the buyer sluffed off and forget to purchase a new bead
for the new year. 2 – It was a surefire gift every year and the gift giver
didn’t need to come up with any original ideas.
The repetitiveness is what may have caused the trend to slow down a
little. Women got tired of getting only a bead for the necklace every year
at anniversary time. The necklace was one of the few things not caught up
in neon, camo, or extra large in size. The necklaces were dainty and very
pretty. They showed sentiment behind them and were a great gift. Even
though the trend has slowed down, beads are still available in some
stores.
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