Jewelry Brands to Know, Styling Ideas, and More from Our Fashion Buying Director
Poll goop employees about who has the best jewelry game at the company, and the most common answer you’ll get—after Gwyneth, of course—is Olivia Nathanson Danilow. Which is not surprising: As goop’s fashion buying director, she oversees the curation of our style shop, and keeping up with what’s new and cool across all categories is a big part of her job. She also works closely with Gwyneth on our G. Label jewelry collections.
What is surprising is the path she took to get here. “This is crazy context, but I actually started at goop doing customer service nine and a half years ago,” says Danilow. After successfully closing a few thousand cases (“I was our number one rep!” she jokes), she moved to the buying team as a merchandising assistant, where she began to slowly take over some smaller categories—jewelry being one of them.
“Gwyneth is such a jewelry lover, so it’s been a fun journey to work on it with her and really build the category,” she says. “In the beginning, we only had a very small number of brands. We have majorly built out this part of the business in the last nine years.” Ahead, Danilow talks through her go-to stacks, why she has only the standard single piercing in each ear, the items currently on her wish list, and (so much) more.
A CONVERSATION WITH OUR BUYING DIRECTOR
How do you curate new brands for the goop shop?
I collaborate super closely with Gwyneth—she was actually just slacking me about the Q2 assortment refresh before this call—and her personal style inspires a lot of what we carry on goop. It’s fun because we both have such a passion for jewelry. We both like to push the boundaries, and we understand that styles develop. Sometimes we’re both really into color; right now, mixed metals and silver are big. Jewelry is an evolving trend business, the same as ready-to-wear or handbags and shoes, but we try to balance those trendier pieces with classic ones—things that, even if they’re cool right now, you’re still going to want to wear in 5, 10 years. We also try to have a mix of price points in our assortment. For instance, if you don’t want to invest in a massive gold hoop earring, the Jennifer Fisher ones are great. I wear those all the time.
SPINELLI KILCOLLIN STELLA RING, goop, $8,600; JENNIFER FISHER X GOOP 2.5″ GOOP HOOPS, goop, $425; JANE WIN GILVER STATEMENT CHAIN, goop, $198; JENNA KATZ EMERALD PYRAMID RING, goop, $10,200; RENATO CIPULLO MEDIUM POMPEII NECKLACE, goop, $8,600
First real piece of jewelry you remember owning?
I have this gold nameplate necklace that says “Olivia” with two little diamonds over the i’s. It’s sort of like the Carrie Bradshaw one. I must have gotten it when I was around 12. I wasn’t bat mitzvahed, but it was during that stage when everyone was gifting sweet pieces of jewelry. I wear it every single day, and I still get so many compliments on it.
Most special piece in your collection?
My mom got me a pearl necklace from Tiffany for my 30th birthday, right before my wedding. I wear it all the time. It’s such a classic, and pearls are also so on-trend right now. It’s one of those things that I’ll be able to pass down, but it’s also fun to wear every day.
Everyday jewelry lineup?
I always have three bracelets on: the Cartier Love bracelet (also a gift from my mom); this FoundRae charm bracelet with the true love charm, which was a gift from my husband; and this very thin gold chain. When my husband and I first started dating, we got matching permanent bracelets—I have a gold one and he has the same one in silver.
I also always have a pair of earrings on, usually huggies or little diamond studs. I will switch my earrings if I’m going out for dinner or to a work event. But for sleeping and working out and everything else, I always have something in. And then my Olivia necklace.
From there, I’ll layer on depending on what I’m wearing, like my pearl necklace or a chunkier chain or my watch. Right now, I’m really into putting the Fiene ear cuff with the Tate in the same ear, and then a huggie or diamond stud in the other.
SOPHIE BILLE BRAHE PETITE PEGGY NECKLACE, goop $2,625; G. LABEL BY GOOP FIENE YELLOW GOLD AND PAVÉ EAR CUFF, goop, $650; FOUNDRAE SMALL MIXED BELCHER EXTENSION CHAIN NECKLACE WITH SPARK AND MINIATURE CREST MEDALLIONS, goop, $6,785; G. LABEL BY GOOP TAIT PAVÉ EAR CUFF, goop, $995; JENNA BLAKE MINI MARINER RING, goop, $1,900
How many piercings do you have?
I always joke with our vendors—for being such a jewelry lover, it’s ironic that I have only one hole in each ear. My mom was just so strict about piercings when I was growing up, and for some reason it stuck. I did get my cartilage pierced at Claire’s during my freshman year of college because I wanted to rebel…but it got infected and closed in two weeks, so that was total karma.
Do you ever plan your outfit around the jewelry?
Definitely—especially for weddings or black-tie events. Like, if I want to wear a special necklace, I’ll try to do a V-neck or something a little lower-cut so I can show it.
Rules for a ring stack?
I don’t like wearing rings on all my fingers; I’ll usually do two next to each other or on every other finger. And since I’ve gotten married, I only wear rings on my right hand—I feel like I can’t put anything else [besides my wedding ring] on my left.
In terms of combinations, I go through phases. I used to love stacking lots of pavé eternity bands, either in different colors or all white. But more recently I’ve been into chunkier gold pieces: Right now, I’m wearing the Sydney ring from the first [G. Label] collection—the square one with the little diamond in the corner—on my ring finger, and then I’ll stack this chunky band that I made for myself on top. I really love that stack, so I usually play around with that as my base.
For a long time, I would add my green Sorellina pinkie ring with my husband’s initial on it (people are obsessed with that ring—I always get stopped about it), but for whatever reason right now, I’m into stacking my middle finger, so I’ll do my Vram ring with the little ridges and this nautical Jenna Blake ring on top. Or my Spinelli. Unless the ring is super thick, like the Sorellina, I like to stack two to make it a little chunkier.
Questions to ask yourself before making a big purchase?
As I get older, I feel like all my purchases are becoming more meaningful, not just the big ones. For instance, even that Sorellina ring, which I love and took me all of two seconds to pull the trigger on a few years ago, would take me months to decide on today. I don’t know why. I guess I would ask myself, What scenario would I wear this in? And what would I wear it with? How much do I really love the piece, and can I see myself wearing it often?
I’m actually having trouble with this right now. This is so silly, but I never got a 30th birthday present from my husband. And like, who even cares? Our life is a present. But now I have a few birthdays banked, and I don’t know what to get. I’m into wearing special pieces more casually—maybe not to the gym or office, but to dinner? Why not. I think that’s cool and fun. I love a beautiful tennis necklace or larger diamond studs. I’ll probably go for a nicer piece that I can wear in my everyday rotation.
What does your storage setup look like?
I have a little tray on top of my vanity where I keep things that I wear every day laid out nicely. And then, for my wedding shower, my girlfriends got me a pink jewelry box with my new initials on it. I have that next to the little tray with special or more delicate pieces in there, in soft pouches.
Cleaning tips?
Honestly, the only piece of jewelry that I clean is my engagement ring and sometimes my diamond earrings if the stones look cloudy. But it doesn’t matter to me if my gold pieces look a little worn. I like that they look loved.
One new designer or brand you love?
Renato Cipullo is new to the goop shop, and I have a serious crush on our assortment. It feels retro and modern at the same time, and the craftsmanship is incredible. I have my eye on the Piazza Corso Ring—I’d love two so I can stack them on my pinkie.
A designer or brand you’ll always go back to?
G. Label Jewelry. Those are my everyday statement pieces that I love to layer with everything.
Pie-in-the-sky wish list piece?
Anything from Jessica McCormack would be the dream—I’m obsessed with her entire collection. I think what she does is so original and cool. It’s such a crowded market space right now, so I’m really conscious of original designs and authentic work.
G. LABEL BY GOOP DEVEN LINK NECKLACE, goop, $2,500; SHERYL LOWE RAINBOW GEMSTONE NECKLACE, goop, $1,050
The jewelry trend you’re loving right now?
I would say color—either something like this Rainbow K ring or the Sheryl Lowe gemstone necklace. I think it’s fun to add a pop of color here and there.
Jewelry on the beach—yea or nay?
I’m pro jewelry on the beach as long as it’s secure. I wouldn’t wear my ear cuffs or my rings or anything like that, but I wear my Deven necklace to the beach all the time.
