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I didn’t grow up on the Riviera. Picasso never admired the way I slung my pearls over my tanned back, like the beautiful Sara Murphy, who told him that she wore her jewels backwards at the beach because it was good for them to get some sun.
Nevertheless, Sara and her husband Gerald Murphy were big influences on me. These glamorous Lost Generation expats lolled around France in the 1920s, hung with Scott and Zelda, and showed off their inimitable beachy style—not just those legendary pearls, but striped marinière shirts, sarongs, and espadrilles.
But ok! Just because she was marooned in Massapequa, did not mean that Lynnie did not have her own singular beach look. Lido Beach might not be Antibes, but I was as fiercely dedicated to my own idiosyncratic beach aesthetic as any random louche aristocrat. Did I not substitute a conventional bathing suit with a Danskin long sleeved leotard? Did I not cover this tribute to Isadora Duncan with a thrift shop 1950s housedress? Was my hair not tied in a kerchief from Pierre Deux, which many decades ago sold French Provencal fabric on Bleecker Steet, and where I bought scarves during my cherished trips to Manhattan?
And of course, back then I loved jewelry as much as I do today, though there was admittedly always an ephemeral quality to summer jewelry. The seashell with the fortuitous hole that allowed it to be strung around your neck would crack; the thin chain bracelets wrapped around your ankle always got lost in the dunes.
Which is why the summer jewels featured here are a far sturdier lot, crafted from precious metals and flaunting genuine gemstones. And though they may feature colorful sailboats, cartoonish fish, and fiery suns, they are meant to be worn all year round. Talk about Christmas in July—these treasures can bring a bit of July to the snowiest holiday season.
