Weeks ago the fashion industry and bloggers alike flipped for Givenchy’s couture collection.  Seriously, I don’t think I’ve seen so many people simultaneously blog about how amazing something was unless you count the recent freak out over those ACNE shoes.  Oh yeah, you know the ones.

These images have really stuck with me so I decided to do some investigative research at the library to see where Riccardo Tisci possibly drew from.  Though the clothes are obviously not inspired by India it is hard to deny that the gold hardware isn’t.  Thanks to a very cool librarian named Olivian, I got to check out some large reserved books on the subject of jewelry from all over the world.  One was entitled Ethnic Jewelry [cringe, insert "ethnic" discourse here] and the one that was truly remarkable was entitled Indian Jewelry.

The above jewelry collage features Nineteenth/early Twentieth century pieces which are now housed in the National Museum in New Delhi.

Claire Daines was one of the few girls who made teenage angst feel real in the nineties.  Over the past 10 years we haven’t seen much of her and it makes us sad because red-heads are rare in Hollywood and so are actresses with depth.

What a pleasant surprise to open the new issue of ELLE DECOR and see Claire looking back at me, looking beautiful in her fabulous gold Gucci jewels.  She’s been found and we don’t want to lose her again!

What is Black & Gold…?
Know Fashion Intel. Look inside my bag.

clockwise from bottom left: Blackberry Curve in Pale Gold, Lipstick Queen Honest Politician, Yves Saint Laurent Y-Mail Black Patent Coin Purse, Marc by Marc Jacobs Magazine Clutch, Tom Ford Black Orchid VOILE DE FLEUR, Chanel Limited Edition Gold Fiction Nail Polish, Chanel Prescription Eyeglasses, Forever 21 Gold Aviators, Moleskine Cahiers Journal, Kikkerland Gold Pen

P.S. My lovely boyfriend bought me that YSL wallet for my birthday.  It is possibly the most wonderful thing I’ve ever owned.  I am a huge stationery collector and letter writer – it was absolutely parfait!