From Chappell Roan to Zendaya: How Stars Are Styling Pearl Necklaces Right Now

There’s something happening with pearls, and it has nothing to do with the red carpet. The pearl necklace – once the preserve of formal occasions and your one of the most classy fashion accessory- has quietly become the off-duty accessory of the moment. Celebrities are wearing them to the airport, to coffee runs, layered over vintage tees, and tucked under oversized blazers. The pearl isn’t just back. It’s been completely reinvented.

Here’s a look at how today’s biggest stars are making the case for pearls as an everyday essential — and why the rest of us are taking notes.

Zendaya: The Art of Understated Cool

If anyone has mastered the off-duty pearl, it’s Zendaya. Spotted multiple times running errands in Los Angeles with a delicate layered pearl necklace sitting over a fitted white tank top, she makes the combination look effortless — like the pearls were always meant to be worn with wide-leg denim and flat sneakers. Her approach is minimal and precise: one or two strands, close to the neck, letting the pearl speak without competing with the rest of the outfit.

What Zendaya understands intuitively is that pearls work as a neutraliser. Where gold can read as dressed-up, a pearl necklace adds texture and softness without formality. It elevate a simple look without changing its category.

Chappell Roan: Maximum Pearl Energy

Chappell Roan operates at the opposite end of the spectrum – and it works just as well. The pop star has been seen stacking multiple strands of varying lengths, mixing pearl sizes, and wearing them with everything from band tees to theatrical coats. Where Zendaya whispers, Chappell shouts, and the pearl necklace is always part of her maximalist vocabulary.

What’s interesting is that the pearl absorbs both approaches equally. It’s one of the few jewellery styles that can read as restrained or extravagant depending entirely on how you wear it. Chappell’s pearl moments prove that there are no rules — only proportions and confidence.

Hailey Bieber: Pearls as Street Style Staple

Hailey Bieber has done more for the pearl necklace’s street style credentials than almost anyone. Her formula – model-off-duty casual layered with unexpected jewellery choices — consistently features pearl necklaces worn close to the collarbone, often alongside a thin gold chain or two. The result is effortlessly cool in a way that feels accessible rather than aspirational.

She’s also the reason the “pearl with a leather jacket” moment became a full trend. It shouldn’t work on paper, but it absolutely does in practice – the contrast between the jacket’s toughness and the pearl’s softness creates a tension that feels modern and current.

The Freshwater Pearl Difference

Not all pearl necklaces are created equal, and the celebrities getting this right are almost universally reaching for irregular freshwater pearls over their more formal perfectly round counterparts. Freshwater pearls have a subtly irregular, organic quality – a slight variation in shape and lustre that gives them a more relaxed, lived-in feel compared to the perfectly round pearls associated with formal jewellery.

That texture is exactly what makes them work so well in casual contexts. Cult of Sun Jewelry, for instance, has built their range of freshwater pearl necklaces around exactly this quality – pieces designed to feel wearable every day rather than reserved for special occasions, sitting as naturally with a dress as they do with a simple white tee.

Sydney Sweeney: Vintage Pearls, Modern Context

Sydney Sweeney has leaned into a slightly different pearl aesthetic – one that references vintage glamour without replicating it. She tends to wear longer strands, sometimes knotted or loosely layered, creating a slightly retro feel that’s filtered through a very contemporary lens. Her off-duty pearl moments often appear alongside other vintage-inspired pieces: a silk slip dress, a structured cardigan, Mary Janes.

It’s a more romantic interpretation than Zendaya’s minimalism or Chappell Roan’s maximalism, and it’s particularly relevant if you gravitate toward vintage or feminine dressing. The pearl necklace becomes the anchor piece rather than the accent.

How to Actually Do It

The reason the celebrity pearl moment is translating so successfully to everyday wear is that it works across almost every personal style. A few principles worth taking from how the stars are doing it:

• Layer without overthinking. Two or three strands of different lengths – or one pearl strand alongside a simple gold chain – almost always works. The key is varying the lengths enough that they sit at different points on your neckline.
• Wear it with the unexpected. The strongest pearl looks right now pair the necklace with something that has no business being near pearls: a hoodie, a leather jacket, a crisp white shirt with the collar up. The contrast is the point.
• Let it be the only thing. When in doubt, let the pearl necklace be your one piece of jewellery and keep everything else bare. One well-chosen piece always outperforms three competing ones.
• Don’t save it for occasions. The celebrities getting this right are wearing pearls to the grocery store. The more you wear them, the more naturally they sit – and the more they start to feel like a natural part of how you dress.

The pearl necklace has earned its place in the everyday jeweley rotation – not because fashion said so, but because the women leading the conversation right now have made it look genuinely good in real life. That’s a harder thing to fake than a red carpet moment, and a more convincing argument for adding one to your own collection.

FTC Disclaimer: Keep in mind that I may receive commissions when you click links and make purchases. However, this does not impact my reviews.