Bunnai Morishita isn¡¯t sure why women stopped wearing pearls. ¡°Maybe if someone like Michelle Obama wore them it would become fashionable again,¡± he says.
In his office, the 70-year-old head of the Ise Pearl Association leans back in his chair and sighs, reminiscing about a time when Hollywood starlets graced dinner parties sporting pearl necklaces. Mikimoto Kokichi (1858-1954), the man who perfected the method for farming pearls once boasted he¡¯d like to ¡°adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls.¡±
Morishita shares the sentiment. ¡°Pearls and a black dress, like Audrey Hepburn. It¡¯s a classic look. Nowadays, everything is casual.¡±
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