Last week I gained a pair of beautifully unique Kate Spade earings.

The minute my mother dropped them into my hand, I stifled a small squeal in my mouth and smiled to myself, just the name alone made my ears perk up.

From that moment on, the Kate Spade earrings never left my body. They were the first things I put and the last things I parted with. Some nights, most nights, I'd forgot to remove just to find them laying in my bed, their crystalline rings staring up at me as if they knew how much I cherished them. And I'd wake, find the missing pair and put the them right back on.

These Kate Spade Earrings matched perfeclty with my aquamarine Kate Spade Cedar Street Magnolia crossbody. Eversince the moment it'd arrived in the mail, a birthday gift from an Uncle, it filled a whole in my wardrobe and perhaps my heart as well. My first grown-up handbag accompanied me to every function, every event, every party. And it never ceased to make me feel like a woman: dignified, sofisticated and elegant (when I was neither of those things).

One day, I woke up, eager to find my Kate Spade earrings gazing up at me with their crystalline rings, yet there was only one to meet my eye. The left ear, still empty yearned for the earring that I could not find. For the rest of the day, I was too busy to notice it's absence. Then, the next day came and consumed by other matters I found much more important like going to the movies and painting my nails, the left kate Spade earring remained missing.

Nearly a week passed before I noticed the travesty of my mistake. A friend had pointed out my lack of earring, and then it hit me. I searched my bed, pulled apart my pillows, and scavenged under the frame. I paced the floors, retraced my steps, and dissected the kitchen counters. Sadly, there was no earring, and even sadder than the loss of cherished jewerly was the loss of an even greater, beloved figure.

Kate Spade left the world the day I'd realized what I'd seemingly left behind. At the time, I was confused and saddened by her death like most. How could someone so successful, so iconic, hang herself with her own Kate Spade scarf?

The truth is Kate Spade was a person, she was human, a fact I'd never truly realized until now. Idealizing designers, stars,and celebrities as an ethereal presence can be easy especially when the only thing you know is their name and their brand, leaving their face unidentifiable.

Putting a face to the name of my favorite brand caused me to want to learn more about the women whose life was allegedly picturesque, but like most, it wasn't. She struggled, she recovered, and she struggled some more. Maybe the fact that she survived so long is a testamenet to her strong will, but I know there is so much more she could have given to the world if not for that final death.

After hearing the news, I stopped looking for the earring. Maybe it'll turn up in a few weeks, a couple months, or never again. Now I don plain, flower earrings with a fake jewel in the middle. I look at my right Kate Spade earring, and can't help but frown. It will never be complete without its other piece.