Hestia is Elizabeth Taylor.... Day 2: Bling

Today's Elizabeth Taylor challenge is to wear Big Jewellery.

One might only remember the names of less than a handful of her movies, but we ALL remember the jewellery, right?

When her jewellery was auctioned at Christies, it raised a staggering £100,324,209.  The woman might have had dubious taste in men, but her taste in gems was unsurpassed.

Today's challenge will be tricky because I'm fresh out of plate-glass-shattering diamonds and mahoosive pearls that could sink The Bismarck. I do not own anything remotely approaching the Taylor Burton diamond.  

But I DO shop at QVC.....

The concept of 'put it all on and take one piece off' was alien to this woman.

Taylor owned the most magnificent diamond ring (she eventually had it turned into a pendant because it was so HEWGE and tricky - and downright dangerous - to wear). 

The stone was a gift from a repentant Richard Burton after he had insulted her hands. 

There is a famous story that Princess Margaret and The Burtons were at a dinner party together and Princess Margaret said: “Is that the famous diamond? But it’s so large—how very vulgar!” “Yes,” said Elizabeth, uperturbed. “Ain’t it great?” Elizabeth then asked whether Princess M would like to try it on and she said that she would and she slipped the Krupps Diamond onto her finger.  “It doesn’t look so vulgar now, does it?” commented Elizabeth dryly.

I haven't got anything like the Krupps diamond kicking about, even in the worst excesses of Juno-sourced gems from QVC, but I decide soldier on gamely and put on the biggest pair of gold earrings that I possess (pressie from Tartarus from the Gulf many years ago, when he too was compelled to make jewellery reparations for bad behaviour, exactly like Mr Burton).

I found a massive pale green pendant on a choker and slapped that on too.  It's not even semi-precious, it's just a nice big bit of green something or other.

I realise that it's quie fun going through the different bits and bobs that I've got.  There are things in these old biscuit tins that haven't been worn since the 1980s - just costume stuff, but fun.  Why do I wear the same pair of earrings every single day? Dear Liz would have rather died than tip up in the same emeralds two days on the trot!

This morning I redid the heavy eye-makeup from yesterday and headed off to...... the fish shop and library.  Liz and I live like twins, TWINS I tell you!

In the fish shop I bought two slices of haddock.  In the library I tried in vain to find a biography or autobiography of La Taylor.  I could find the Richard Burton Diaries, but not anything focussing on the lady herself.  I put in a request for a copy of a biog.  It is being flown in posted out from the metropolis of Lochgilphead.

Unfortunately, it was bitter cold today and I was zipped up to the tops of my ears, encased in a scarf (which kept catching on my big earrings) and a trapper's hat.  I looked more like Deputy Dawg than Liz Taylor.

But I did manage to watch a documentary about her on youtube and, you know,  I think that I quite like her.  Not if she was after your husband, of course, but she came across as having a great sense of humour - despite a lot of health issues and heartache.

I am resolved to have more fun with jewellery - it doesn't all have to be discreet and tasteful (see: Butler and Wilson on QVC).

Today's Elizabeth Taylor Challenge was to wear Big Jewellery - I wore the biggest bits that I own, but they were still paltry compared to Elizabeth's stuff.  I'm betting that this revelation doesn't surprise you :-D

The weather was so cold that no one would have noticed even if I'd been wearing her actual gems.   Well, certainly in the fish shop no one noticed my jewel extravaganza.  And in the library we were too busy trying to find a book with Elizabeth Taylor on the front.  And when we DID find it, it turned out to be Vivien Leigh.  People are always getting us mixed up!

Onwards to Day 3:  The Wigs.......