Costume Jewelry and Coco Chanel

So it's taken me a while to shake the funk that I was in. Nothing much has changed...going to work still feels like I am sinking in quicksand. I wish I would hit the lottery so I could quit....or find some bazillionaire who would supporting me while I explore and expand my skills and talents. Don't rich people do that...discover and support writers and artists. If ya'll know of anyone like that....send them my way.


So....my work has been referred to as "costume jewelry".... as in I don't buy "costume jewlery". Am I being dissed??? I always thought of costume jewelry as that cheap plastic stuff that you buy at K-Mart. Wikipedia describes it as fashion jewelry, junk jewelry or fake jewelry. Costume jewelry is jewelry that is made of less valuable materials including base metals, glass, plastics, and synthetic stones, in place of more valuable materials such as precious metals and gems. Costume jewelry is usually inexpensive, and often flashy. Its main use is in fashion, as opposed to "real" (fine) jewelry which may be regarded primarily as collectibles, keepsakes, or investments.


So I'm thinking I should be insulted. But I'm not. Primarily because I have no more rage in me....at least for now. I spewed it all two weeks ago. Also...if you do a search for costume jewelry on the intranet you will find that Coco Chanel is credited with creating costume jewelry. I know Coco Chanel created .... the little black dress, the Chanel suit, the perfume ... but I never knew about her life....until now. She was tough. She was born in the poorhouse and her mother died when she was 6 years old. Her father abandoned her to relatives. She went to Paris at the age of 16 with a millionare calvery officer. She opened a hat shop in 1914 and branched out to include clothes. She took up with a wealthy polo player in the 20's and also had a thing with the Duke of Westminster. From these two she was given jewels....which she copied and started her costume jewelry line. BTW...she turned down a marriage proposal from the Duke by saying "There are a lot of duchesses, but only one CoCo Chanel". During WWI she had a love affair with a Nazi officer and spent 15 years in Switzerland in somewhat of an exile. She came back to Paris in 1954 and worked until she passed away in 1971.


The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud. ......Coco Chanel