Carolee's 1980s output hit squarely at the height of the Preppy fashion wave—buttoned-up, clean-lined, and pearl-obsessed. These earrings are a hallmark of the era’s obsession with status-signaling polish, borrowing just enough from traditional fine jewelry to read as elevated, but without crossing into evening wear. Their oversized scale and clip-on format were also a direct response to changing silhouettes in power dressing—big hair, bold shoulders, and jewelry that didn’t whisper. Carolee’s faux pearl work from this decade was especially prominent in department store campaigns and corporate gifting, which further fueled the association between pearls and professionalism.