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...and why every woman needs a Power Necklace

SHANE WATSON

WHO is to say when the chair of the Partygate Committee, Harriet Harman, decided on the all-black outfit she wore to grill Boris Johnson. But any woman aged over 45 will know it started with The Necklace.

This thumper of a solid link chain, thick enough to anchor a cruise liner, will have been the key element and the only non-negotiable. This is a Power Necklace and it is what every woman going into battle reaches for — whether it’s in the boardroom, on the front bench in court, or meeting the new wife of the ex over tapas.

By appearing wearing a necklace that is big, bold, unbreakable and very much on the fashion money for Spring 2023, Harman is following in the footsteps of Power Necklace pros including Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, 73 (rarely seen without a collarbone-caressing necklace you could see from space); fashion icon Iris Apfel (now 101 and likewise legendary for her big jewellery); and the late, legendary former Vogue editor Diana Vreeland.

Coco Chanel was never without her pearls, of course, but today’s Power Necklace is something tougher and chunkier, and women in positions of power are drawn to it for several reasons.

For a start, a brute of a necklace is a bit like protective armour: go for my jugular if you like, it says, but I am prepared. The opposite of delicate and discreet, it suggests the wearer is tougher than she looks and not to be

underestimated. A bit like a mayoral chain, a Power Necklace sets you apart from the crowd and gives you an air of authority or at least a certain confidence.

And, last but not least, it’s a neck distracter. You might think that a middle-aged woman wishing to deflect attention from her neck (often her least favourite feature) would be wise to steer clear of necklaces, but, on the contrary, the Power Necklace is like a rampart that protects and deflects.

A choker never really works on an older neck, but a high-lying necklace solves the problem of a bare throat and chest by leading the eye elsewhere.

The Power Necklace really comes into its own when the dress code is plain and serious.

Everyone following Gwyneth Paltrow’s trial in Utah will have noted that she arrived in court on day one in a cream cashmere polo neck looking plain but, on reflection, a bit après ski.

By day two, she’d sized up the situation and donned a cream belted cardigan with a solid double chain necklace nestled inside the open neck. It was a Power Necklace by any standard, perfectly suited to the situation.

A wisp of a chain with a diamond solitaire would not only have been very pre-2020 — jewellery has just got bigger since the pandemic — but entirely ineffective as a protective barrier against the slings and arrows of the counsel for the prosecution.

A polo neck was a reasonable call, but, on reflection too much a reminder of that day on the slopes, just too ski casual. A silk scarf tied at the throat might have worked, but would have lacked the necessary glint of hardware that says the wearer means business.

Theresa May was a big fan of the Power Necklace when she was Prime Minister and Margaret Thatcher preferred the throat covering pussybow blouse. (Likewise, it’s not called a helmet hairdo for nothing and Harman has taken a leaf out of Anna Wintour’s book on the hair front while Gwyneth’s is getting more severe by the day).

The Power Necklace is not to be confused with a statement necklace which might be strings of beads or paste or a fabric flower attached to a choker (a look for spring). As the name suggests, statement necklaces are fashion statements, but Power Necklaces have a more serious purpose.

Like Anna Wintour’s power bob and sunglasses, they’re part of the older woman’s arsenal.

You may never have worn a necklace but, one day, you’ll find yourself on the eve of a crucial meeting, trawling websites, looking for collarbone-grazing necklaces with impact. It’s a rite of passage.

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2023-03-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

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