Delightful Discoveries - The Jet Set 08.18.10

Referring to my feature color of the day as jet black initiated a slew of questions and a subsequent dare from my smarta** husband about where that color got its name from, since I couldn't completely answer his questions off the top of my head - at least not with any assuredness that I was correct! So, I did my research and for him and those of you who wonder what differentiates jet black from regular black, here's the deal!!

Jet black refers to the purest, most absolute of black colors. And yes, for you theoretical purists, I know that black isn't anymore of a color than white is, but work with me here...lol. So why jet? Well, jet is actually the name of just one of many black stones used in jewelry and other stone carving crafts. Unlike many stones that we think of when we think of black stones, like onyx or black obsidian, which usually have to be dyed to achieve a uniform black coloring, jet is absolutely black, deriving its density of color from its primarily carbon composition. It is basically fossilized wood from a species of Araucaria (the monkey puzzle tree) and is found in very limited quantities in just a few areas of the world. Perhaps the world's finest specimens of jet come from the UK where they are mined, cut, and polished to an extremely high gloss and marketed as Whitby Jet. Word of caution though, jet is actually flammable - just like its cousin, charcoal!

Now that we know where the term "jet black" comes from, let's take a look at the sizzling array of black items that I selected from the huge number of your nominations!

Start with some basic black fashions -


Fairy jacket with flower fairy from 3Elfen
Vintage 80s Tuxedo Black DEEP-V Dolman Jumpsuit from lolitavintage
Long Sleeve Evening Dress-Made to Measure from DecadentDesigns

Consider some accessories -



Reversible Lace Bra coverup THE PEEKABOO from Ninisboutique (I think this is a great way to take clothes from office to evening when you don't have time to go home and change! )
Madeline Black Pleated Clutch from PiecesbyJen**
Tall gladiator boots, black, sz. 7.5 - 8 from meredithwaterstraat

Add a piece or two of jewelry...


OOAK Black Jade Macrame Bracelet from MelanieMiljan
Black Tubular Beadwoven Peyote Triangle Earrings from randomcreative
Linear Energy Black and White Banded Agate Necklace from MysticWynd

and then find something that will make you smile!


Boo Halloween Black Bibdana from WhiteRabbit7
Here Kitty Kitty Baby Hat from TheCheekyGirl
BLACK CAT BATTING AT A BLACK BUTTERFLY METAL YARD ART from widgetmaker

Sorry for the late post today - I was working on a new venture (more about that tomorrow!) and then I was having an incredible amount of issues with both my 'puter being slow (working with a lot of photo and graphics files makes our indexing program wonky at times!) and blogger being feisty! Hopefully tomorrow won't be a repeat when I'm getting ready to post my feature of this brilliant bright green!

Looking forward to seeing you all then!