I Am What I Wear

I have a lot of jewelry. A LOT of jewelry. I buy jewelry regularly. Pendants, earrings, bracelets, rings, necklaces, brooches, etc. I am very democratic in my collection. There are some common themes, though, and I thought about that this morning as I donned my costume to meet the day.

I don’t buy gold. Not that I can’t afford it, I can. I have sufficient resources as a single, childless person, to buy gold jewelry. I don’t buy it or wear it because I don’t like it. I don’t particulary like the way gold looks in jewelry. Despite its value, I find gold to be somewhat showy, tacky, artificial. It doesn’t match well with the stones I like or the styles that appeal to me. I find that it doesn’t allow diamonds to demonstrate their dazzle. It is the stuff on the cover of National Geographic magazines, but less often on the body of the living as part of the dowry of the dead.

Now silver…Aahhh…silver. The color of ice made metal. Crisp, clean, none of the earthy ties in color possessed by gold. It is above the Earth. It is clouds and stars and sky. With its reflection, diamonds reach their maximum brilliance. It does not compete with stones for attention. It willingly takes a supporting role. It showcases both simple and complex forms and is very well suited for the clean lines of modernistic styles.

Silver suits well my skin. I have pale skin with pink tones. Gold competes with me, it does not work for me. Gold makes me look more pale than my norm. It calls attention to my lack of color. It ridicules my cold features. It points an accusing finger at the slivers of ice entombed in my eyes. It is the flame working to melt the ice sculpture that is my body. Silver laughs with me, not at me. Silver allows my colors to bloom like a field of wildflowers. Silver makes my eyes dance like moonlight on a frozen pond. Silver contrasts with my hair, which, ironically, is golden. My one concession to the call of the Earth’s palette would drown a piece of gold; silver alone is visible. Silver makes me come alive, gold disparages my life. Sort of a no-brainer ain’t it…