As with so many people today, Edwidge Danticat is waiting to hear news about her family members living in Haiti. She knows some of them are alive but has yet to hear from others. My heart goes out to her, and to everyone in her situation.

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” That is one statement to live by, especially when coming from the legendary Coco Chanel.

While living in Europe I was left with no choice but to pack only one Little Black Dress. Just thinking about four months with only one LBD filled me with anxiety. But little did I know, that single Little Black Dress was more than enough.

With all your curves or lack thereof, with your laugh lines and hard-won wisdom, you truly are beautiful. In your quest for youth—and believe me, I’m right there with ya—don’t let go of the woman you have become.

When you think of pearls, chances are at least one of the following adjectives will come to mind—prim, proper, traditional, reserved. For whatever reason—perhaps it’s the June Cleaver effect—pearls have developed a reputation as the go-to accessory for occasions where a woman wants to look modest, respectful, and polite.

It all started in the 1930s when Coco Chanel, the French designer of “all things glamorous” stated that “Elegance is Refusal”. Her fine jewelry offered the first glimpse of haute couture for women, the vibrantly feminine woman who considered herself ‘powerful while ladylike’. Her fashion jewelry designs were the first ventures into “high-low” fashion whereby exquisite jewels were combined with other stones to add interest and to bring the price point for one or two pieces of fine jewelry out of the “royalty only” range. In many ways, she set a bar that continues to stand. Coco Chanel’s most famous fine jewelry included elegant pins and bracelets.

And while it certainly can be, the meaning behind a personal piece of jewelry doesn’t have to be that deep. Coco Chanel pinned a white camellia to her lapel simply because it was a flower she loved. According to Chanel’s website, she “adored the camellia for its almost geometrical roundness and the regular perfection and classic order of its pure white petals.” Now a symbol of the French fashion house, the camellia adorns some of the most jaw-dropping pieces of Chanel’s fine-jewelry collection, in the form of rings, pendants, earrings, and watches.

This was the point where I said who cares? I like to wear tons of jewelry. And I receive compliments on my quirky style all the time. People are always coming up and touching my pendant, picking it up, flipping it around in their hands or jangling my heap of bracelets which sounds like a wind chime. I think it’s all in how you wear what you wear, not how much of it are you wearing.