I read a story once...set back in the day when a dinner party was the sort of formal, stuffy boy-girl-boy-girl seating kind of affair that placed loved ones as far as possible from each other and virtual strangers side-by-side. The male protagonist, in an attempt to understand just how socially sticky the impending meal was going to be, turned to his neighbor and asked, "Do you like string?"

A firm "No" stopped the conversation dead..."Yes" had the potential to be disturbing...whilst the answer "It depends what kind of string" suggested that the conversational ball might be kept rolling through the fish course.

I'm not sure what it says about my merit as a dinner part guest but if the question was posed to me today I'd have to say "In necklace form, definitely"...for recently I've been finding myself ogling rope-y jewelery like an overly enthusiastic boy scout tried to go for two badges at the same time. The first was Madewell's brass and rope combo earlier this week...today, it's the similar (though much pricier) model from Philip Lim. Truth be told, the cheaper charms of the metal rope wield the most charm in this instance, but I have the feeling that there'll be more twisted twine tales coming soon...