bits and baubles

i am not sure why women love jewelry so much. it honestly is most likely the most simple answer. all things usually are. we never let go of the childhood quality of attraction to shiny objects. i, for one, am quite happy to have maintained my love for shiny things. jewelry can "be" a million things too. it can be a fun little thing you see at a street market in any city anywhere, it can be a wardrobe staple, and it can be an incredibly powerful talisman - a little physical link to a point in time on the map of your life. for me personally, to mark an intense moment in life, it's either a tattoo or a piece of jewelry. i feel a need to physically mark these moments - it makes me feel anchored - and i suppose i wear my decorations like the story of myself...

wow - ok, let's come down from there, shall we? let's move to the very practical idea that jewelry can make or break an outfit. a plain white tee and jeans can be brought up to SHA-BAM level with a strong necklace. little black dress can go from conservative (pearls) to bohemian (bangles piled up the wrist as far as you like), and hit every mark in between. and since it's right up top in plain view for all the world to see (as opposed to the glory of a shoe or a bag) it can shout out your style idea immediately. in short, jewelry is a wildly important part of a wardrobe. it helps seal the deal, if you will.

one of my favorite jewelry designers is Ippolita. my obsession began about 2 years ago - and i went on a little bit of a bender. i had just been "downsized" out of what i had believed was my career. i got a nice substantial severance, and i set aside a small chunk of this "blood money" for marking the occasion. with jewerly. (and 2 tattoos). thus began my fixation on Ippolita. it is everything i adore. the shapes are gorge - organic, wavy, sensual. and they throw in every possible amount of stone, so you can go from subtle sparkle to POW depending on your piece of choice. the silver and gold are both lovely - but i am in LOVE with the rose. it is the most amazing color ever - and sets of diamonds beautifully. i am currently attempting to work out a way to justify this necklace... and then to make things simple, if you are in the mode of hinting, they have kindly created a gift page full of delightful goodies.

and now for the best part. A) it's that time of year, that Valentine's day time of year. so you can either hint to another or be in love with yourself and splurge. and B) for the entire month of February - 50% of sales on Ippolita.com go to a relief effort for Haiti. and you KNOW how much i love that. shopping plus charity equals SUPERFANTASTIC. on a site like a friggin candy store of beautiful shiny things, it's nothing short of heaven.