Seriously twisted

Oh, Gay Boyer. Gay Boyer is not only a talented designer but was also a family friend, with an eponymous collection of jewelry, clothing and accessories. Her collections erred on the conservative, yet glamorous side, and my mother was a huge fan. She most have owned close to 100 of her pieces. After my hippie freakout "gap year" my mother welcomed me back home with open arms and helped me secure a day job at Gay's studio in Manhattan. I went from Birkenstocks to Ferragamos, and tie dye to plaid, and guess what? It was awesome. It was really fun to re-invent myself. Gay was so kind to give me a chance, and I really enjoyed dressing up and going into the city everyday. That being said, when my time came to take advantage of my deferred college enrollment I was ready to fly.

Many, many years passed before I was engaged, but as her only daughter, my mother was over the moon with the idea of dressing up (and dressing me up) for engagement parties, showers, and ultimately my wedding. At the time Gay was making a line of semi-precious stone and pearl jewelry, and my mother bedecked me in all manner of it. This natural pearl twist necklace is simple and elegant, and can be worn with many outfits. What can I say, I am a sucker for pearls, and believe they are terribly underated.

I think Gay may have sold the company, because when I google it now, it comes up as 'Boyer New York.' While perusing the current website, I found that the pieces are being sold at two places that have special meaning to me (and did to my mom) The Village at Cross keys In Baltimore, (where we used to pal around together in our free time before moving to NY), and Mildred Hoit In Palm beach, where we spent every year visiting my grandparents, before they become too ill to make their annual trip.

As a woman business owner myself, I now see Gay in an entirely new light. How cool was it that she had a showroom on 7th avenue, and was a business owner/wife/mother in the 70's and 80's?

Here's to you!

xo