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When the price of gold futures reached record heights earlier this month, it was proof positive that, after a turbulent 2009, investors are seeking comfort in assets more tangible than the all-flighty dollar. Ancient and unbreakable, gold has, after all, outlived all other forms of currency.

The same gold bug is infecting the style world, where creative types are taking their cues from business types. Designers such as Max Azria have paired cocktail dresses with gilded gams this season, while collections from Canadians Greta Constantine and Joeffer Caoc also felt the Midas touch.

Tonight, the Art Gallery of Ontario will give its own nod to the precious metal with a glamorous gold-themed gala in honour of the museum's newest exhibition, King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs.

“[Gold] is the element of the masses,” says Victoria Webster, co-chair of the committee organizing the bash. While the riches that will be displayed at the AGO starting Nov. 24 reflect the golden age of Egyptian royalty, this season's golden moment is more about seeking comfort and stability, Webster says.

“We're getting away from that mindless glitz,” she adds. “And gold can be whatever you want it to be. It's very inviting and accessible. And it represents security – think of wedding bands.”

Nicholas Mellamphy, fashion director of the Room in Toronto, agrees. “It's about warmth. It's about security. I bet that's where the warmth comes from.”

Mellamphy, who points out how fresh the shade looks this season, has stocked the Room with baubles and accessories fit for a queen. Among them are reworked costume gems by Trudelle Laker and gilded pumps by Brian Atwood.

“The icons of the Egyptian era, figures such as Cleopatra, saw gold as such a powerful material, a substance of such worth,” Mellamphy adds. “Gold gives [one] the feeling of something more.”

It's that sense of empowerment that Toronto-based Caoc channelled with his own gilded evening pieces.

“I think of Wonder Woman when I think of gold: the woman who can do it all,” he says. “It's such a symbol of power.”

Webster, who will don a customized leopard-print Greta Constantine gown in gold lamé for the Tut gala, concurs.

“You put on something gold and you feel you're going to stand out, but in an understated way,” she says. “You just feel powerful and regal”

Now that is a wise investment.

On location

From the hammered gold walls to the gilded banquettes, Dolce Social Ballroom in Toronto provided the perfect backdrop for our glitzy pieces.

The latest King Street West hotspot is the brainchild of Travis Agresti, the 28-year-old who previously partnered with Vince Carter to launch Inside Nightclub.

Dolce's slick interior comes courtesy of California designer Charles Doell, who adorned the club with a wealth of gold finishes and textures inspired by reflective surfaces and cut jewellery shapes.

We certainly took a shine to it.

Dolce Social Ballroom is located at 647 King St. W. in Toronto. Visit www.dolcesocial.com for more information.

Tiyana Grulovic