HERstory | Christina Carr
Christina Carr is the Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Charleston
Every morning I open my jewelry box, comb through the many options, and choose an accessory that best matches my ensemble. The jewelry box is actually a jewelry armoire and it belonged to my grandmother who needed an entire piece of furniture dedicated to her large collection of jewelry. I called her Nanaw.
When Nanaw died, we emptied the armoire, along with several dresser drawers filled with jewelry, and spread the items out on the dinning room table. Myself, my mom, aunts, sisters, and cousins sat around the table taking turns picking pieces of jewelry. Some of it was what Nanaw referred to as the “good stuff”, the pearls, fine gems, etc. But most of it was costume jewelry representing the styles of each of the nine decades she lived through and every holiday a year has to offer. Just picture the perfect bejeweled Santa lapel pin. We each walked away with more than enough jewelry to remember her by.
Nanaw believed that proper Presbyterian manners were a must, one should always be dressed for the occasion, and the beauty parlor was sacred ground. She never left the house without her hair styled and set, lipstick on, nails manicured in a color to match Barbie’s pink accessories, and jewelry to perfectly coordinate with her outfit.
She had red hair when she was younger but as it greyed, she decided blondes did have more fun! The red hair gene, however, meant light colored eyebrows. When she hit her mid-70s, she decided she was tired of drawing them on as part of her make-up routine, so she had them tattooed on. Yes, my grandmother was microblading well before it was trending on TicTok.
With bejeweled Santa, tattoo, and Barbie references, I may have painted the picture she was tacky. Let me be clear, she was not tacky. She was proper. She was classic. It was the perfect shade of pink polish, and the eyebrows were done by a specialist who was not cheap!
My grandfather owned a successful insurance agency, and she was his secretary for many of those years. That meant she was the face of the company, the greeter, and the hostess. She was also president of the Charleston Pilot Club and active with leadership of women’s organizations at Bream Presbyterian Church. All of those roles required she be dressed for success, and she always was.
Nanaw grew up poor, worked for everything she had, and believed in holding herself to a higher standard. She transitioned into womanhood during a time when your Sunday best was a real thing and fashion standards required more than black leggings and sneakers. I loved to hear stories of her shopping at the Diamond department store in downtown Charleston – she wouldn’t dare go unless pantyhose and white gloves were in place before leaving the house.
It’s funny how history repeats itself, even in jewelry trends. I wear some of her things and they look brand new because she always took good care of them but also because I could walk through a store now and find a matching set. Some pieces are timeless just like she was. When I get a compliment on my jewelry, it’s a treat for me to reply, “This is old, it was my grandmother’s.”
The armoire not only holds Nanaw’s hand-me-downs. It holds jewelry I inherited from my paternal grandmother, special pieces given to me by my parents, the perfect shade of blue boxes from my husband, pearls that are set aside for my own daughter, important photos and mementos, and a scrap piece of the wallpaper that used to hang in my Nanaw’s bathroom- don’t ask, I just loved it and it’s a core memory.
When I open my jewelry box, I am reminded of the all the beautiful women who have given me examples of how to embrace life as a confident, goal oriented, loving, and fulfilled woman. Each day, I remember I have Nanaw standards to live up to and it motivates me to do my best, wearing the right jewelry, of course.
So, from Nanaw and me, to you- “Some occasions call for diamonds, some for big cheap earrings, but a string of pearls will never let you down. When in doubt, go for the ‘good stuff’.”