Alas, after many a day of this SoCal Indian Summer researching kokoshniks (both traditional and tiara) as well as the Winter Ball…February in St. Petersburg? Could it not be the polar opposite of Southern California Indian Summer? Well, geographically yes…but that’s not the point!

The point is I started seeing kokoshniks everywhere, especially after compiling all of those visual aids. You’re welcome! (I’m pretending to be a self-righteous bia-tch today, play along.) It began when I looked down at my Belle Époque coasters (I made them myself, crafty bitch that I am). This lovely lady stared back at me.

(Long blink…Mom told me not to use the computer in my contacts for extended periods of time…) Is she wearing a kokoshnik? Nah…just my eyes playing tricks on me…like when I spent extended hours playing Tetris or Dr. Mario in sixth grade and started to see shapes when I closed my eyes. Then again…this is an advert for something taking place in Prague and this poster was done by the original father of Art Nouveau/Art Belle Époque: Alphons Mucha. Mucha was a fellow Bohemian.  Guess that explains why I was always drawn to his work, even when I had no idea what it was called. Aw, heck, let’s throw the whole darn advert up. If I could read the caligraphy, I’d run it through a translator to get a rough idea of what it’s promoting.

anyone able to read scrolly Czech?

I continued to see Russian-themed halos around the actors on TV, people at the gym, the cats…then this afternoon, an interesting follow-up to Friday’s “unsold” diamond-and-garnet kokoshnik. (I told you I was going to inquire. I saw some of you clicked the link too! Anybody else send an email? ‘Fess up?)My inbox held some delightful news:

I hold three truths to be self-evident: (1) Ms. Pietsch did not know whether the name “Nicole Elizabeth” was masculine or feminine. (2) Still not sure if this should be my “starter tiara” or not. Garnets aren’t even my birthstone…I do like pink though. (3) Either a fundraiser (bake sale?) or a minimum price acceptable from Bukowskis must to be established should I proceed.  The asking price is less than my college education was and a fat load of good that did me…I could have a Lamborghini with all the bells and whistles for what’s contained within the circumference of my ears. Nobody can see that. At least this beauty could rest atop it…and it would look much more impressive.

(In case you can’t tell, I didn’t sleep much last night. I’m on a vampire cycle again.) Do you think they’ll take $500? I mean, it’s just sitting there…it is an auction. I guess auctions don’t work like the Diamond District in Manhattan. Anyhow…it’s three in the afternoon now and STIFLING. I shall leave you with the last of my kokoshnik graphics, until tomorrow, gang!

[Left] the one you missed at auction: Princess Marie Louise’s Pearl, Diamond & Sapphire Kokoshink Tiara, [center] the Westminster Blue Enamel Kokoshnik Tiara, [right] Fabergé Blackened Steel Tiara

kokoshniks: not since “Attack of the Brooches! theme week” have my dreams been haunted