Reader Courtney wrote me this:

Hi Jordan, 

Long time reader here…

I am bit stumped by this necklace, which was my present to myself with my first paycheck after a YEAR of unemployment and subsequent career change.  😀  (my very first frivolous purchase after an entire year of being on a very strict budget!).  And yes, a $35 dollar necklace is probably chump change to many, however after spending the past year worried if I would be able to put gas in my car, keep my cell phone turned on and have money to buy food, being able to finally buy myself something cute to wear is REALLY exciting! 🙂  I think that’s why I was attracted to such a bright, happy looking piece! 

I love the purple silk chord and bright colors, but I am a bit stumped on how to wear it.  I’m thinking almost too much of a blank canvas- only white strapless?  Match it with bright colors?  What sort of neckline due to that silk chord?  Help. 

What sort of outfit do you see with it?  Please guide me, oh ye of stupendous sartorial style!

Cheers and keep rocking, you superstar! 
Courtney 

When I was an actress, I lived 100% paycheck-to-paycheck. If I got a commercial for which I was paid $30,000 in residuals, that was certainly awesome…but it may have been (and probably was) the only job I landed that year. When I got my first steady-paycheck job (as the administrator of a law firm), I remember feeling exactly like this. 

In the summer, I’d wear this with jeans/white tunic/enormous heels or a filmy top and khaki shorts (hair up to get maximum impact from the bow), but I could also see it working year-round with a cocktail or floor-length dress in a strong, ethnic black-and-white print (something very dramatic but with minimal color). These dresses (especially the Camilla & Marc and Black Halo styles) are all gorgeous.

What do you think?

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