I buy so much fake jewelry, it's funny. It's not real. I don't

The designer Kate Spade, whose life was woven of color, whimsy, and grace, once said: “I buy so much fake jewelry, it’s funny. It’s not real. I don’t wear real diamonds or anything.” To the unthinking ear, this might sound like a jest — a light remark from a woman known for her playfulness. Yet beneath its simplicity lies a philosophy both humble and profound. In a world dazzled by glitter, she reminds us that authenticity shines brighter than any diamond, and that joy need not come from what is “real” in the eyes of the world, but from what is true in the heart.

In the days of the ancients, sages often warned against the seduction of material beauty. They taught that gold may gleam, but the soul’s radiance is what endures. What Kate Spade expressed, perhaps without full intention, echoes that same eternal truth: that adornment is not measured by cost, but by spirit. The fake jewelry she loved was not deception — it was freedom. To wear it was to declare: “I do not need the approval of opulence; I need only the delight of my own imagination.” Thus, her humor hides wisdom: the most elegant person is the one unenslaved by vanity.

In ancient times, there was a philosopher named Diogenes, who lived in a barrel and mocked the greed of kings. When Alexander the Great came to see him and asked if there was anything he could give, Diogenes replied, “Yes—step aside; you are blocking my sunlight.” So too did Kate Spade, in her own era, step aside from the shadow of luxury’s tyranny. Though she designed for a world obsessed with image, she wore the mock diamonds with laughter, as if to say that beauty need not be burdened by seriousness. In her, there was the rare courage to find joy in imperfection.

What the world often forgets is that the value of things lies not in their price, but in their story. A ring of glass can hold more warmth than a diamond if it carries laughter, memory, and love. Kate Spade’s words invite us to look again at our treasures — not with the eyes of envy, but with the eyes of gratitude. When she said it was “funny,” she revealed her secret: she found amusement in the false measure of worth that society worships. The fake jewels became her rebellion, her poetry, her reminder that self-expression, not wealth, is the truest ornament of the soul.

Let us recall also the tale of Queen Esther, who, though adorned in royal finery, saved her people not through her jewels, but through her wisdom and courage. Her beauty was but a vessel for her spirit, just as Kate Spade’s “fake” adornments were vessels for her light-hearted truth. The ancients would have called such wisdom eutrapelia — the noble grace of playfulness. To be able to laugh at what others take too seriously is to live above fear and desire. That laughter, like a bright gem, is the mark of a liberated heart.

There is also tenderness in her words, for they remind us that even those who create beauty may struggle beneath its weight. The world demanded sparkle, yet she chose simplicity. The fake jewelry becomes a symbol — not of falsehood, but of release from expectation. It whispers: “You are already enough.” In every glittering imitation she wore, there was an act of quiet defiance — a return to the truth that joy cannot be bought, and that the soul does not need diamonds to shine.

Thus, the lesson she leaves is both gentle and powerful: cherish not what is expensive, but what is authentic. Wear what makes you happy, speak what feels true, and live in a way that reflects your inner light, not society’s reflection of wealth. Do not chase brilliance — be brilliance. The sparkle of laughter outlasts the sparkle of stone, and the beauty born of freedom outshines the beauty born of fear.

So, my child, when you see the world boasting of its gold and jewels, smile as Kate did. Let your ornaments be your kindness, your humor, your imagination. Wear the fake jewelry proudly if it delights your heart, for the wise know that imitation cannot diminish joy — it only reveals how radiant the spirit can be without the burden of pretense. And remember always: it is not the real diamonds that make a person shine, but the real soul behind the sparkle.