We recently paid a visit to PAPER's midtown office—where Mickey Boardman, gave us a quickie tour and modeled his favorite necklaces. In our sitdown below (more like kneeling before the king of kitsch, knee-deep in necklaces), Mr. Mickey chats to us about his lifelong romance with his accessory of choice. "If you dress like you’re doing something fabulous, you are doing something fabulous," honey.
Shop all necklaces here!
JEANINE CELESTE PANG: What’s your first memory of a really great necklace?
MICKEY BOARDMAN: I used to be a shopaholic—a flea market-obsessed person. I remember once being at Screaming Mimi’s, and seeing a a chandelier-like necklace. I thought it was the most glamorous thing I’d ever seen in my life—silver and very shiny. It was just costume, with a very '60s or '70s Scandinavian jet set-feel. I was 25 and I thought it was the most amazing thing. It's everything I love—it moves and makes noise. I love jewelry that makes noise, so people can hear you coming!
And the transforming power of a standout accessory?
To me, if you’re wearing that kind of jewelry, anything is glamorous—whether you’re going to the supermarket or you’re poor. If you dress like you’re doing something fabulous, you're doing something fabulous. I used to wear an everyday uniform, which was sort of all polyester or fake fabrics, and then layer a big, drippy necklace over it and a patterned pant hacked into clam-diggers. (I also used to love wearing swimsuits as underwear, because I felt like I was on vacation.) The whole thing is sort of making yourself believe you’re someplace fabulous—with your accessories.
How many necklaces have you amassed over the years?
Hundreds. But the thing is, it’s sort of like you have that old aunt or neighbor lady that collects frogs, and she really just had a couple of frogs, but everyone just goes, “Oh, she’s the frog lady.” I also do this charity sale every summer at Screaming Mimi’s and the money goes to this charity called CITTA, which builds schools and clinics in India and Nepal. So, I get the same thrill getting rid of them for charity as I do amassing them.
It’s the kind of thing my mother and I bond over because she’s a bit of a shopaholic and has given me tons of her Joan Rivers for QVC jewelry, may she rest in peace but Joan would be on and I would call my mother and be like, “Oh, did you see this necklace?” or “What about this?” and my mom was like “I already have it” or “I ordered two.” So who would have thought, after the difficulty that it would be Joan Rives QVC jewelry that would bring us together?
Would you say a beautiful necklace trumps beautiful clothing?
Well, it’s tough because I actually wear a lot of sparkle things and I find that if you have a really crazy, shiny shirt on, it’s hard to put a necklace on top of it unless it’s something very simple, like a long gold chain with a big, giant jewel. You need to have a prop
Shop all necklaces here!
JEANINE CELESTE PANG: What’s your first memory of a really great necklace?
MICKEY BOARDMAN: I used to be a shopaholic—a flea market-obsessed person. I remember once being at Screaming Mimi’s, and seeing a a chandelier-like necklace. I thought it was the most glamorous thing I’d ever seen in my life—silver and very shiny. It was just costume, with a very '60s or '70s Scandinavian jet set-feel. I was 25 and I thought it was the most amazing thing. It's everything I love—it moves and makes noise. I love jewelry that makes noise, so people can hear you coming!
And the transforming power of a standout accessory?
To me, if you’re wearing that kind of jewelry, anything is glamorous—whether you’re going to the supermarket or you’re poor. If you dress like you’re doing something fabulous, you're doing something fabulous. I used to wear an everyday uniform, which was sort of all polyester or fake fabrics, and then layer a big, drippy necklace over it and a patterned pant hacked into clam-diggers. (I also used to love wearing swimsuits as underwear, because I felt like I was on vacation.) The whole thing is sort of making yourself believe you’re someplace fabulous—with your accessories.
How many necklaces have you amassed over the years?
Hundreds. But the thing is, it’s sort of like you have that old aunt or neighbor lady that collects frogs, and she really just had a couple of frogs, but everyone just goes, “Oh, she’s the frog lady.” I also do this charity sale every summer at Screaming Mimi’s and the money goes to this charity called CITTA, which builds schools and clinics in India and Nepal. So, I get the same thrill getting rid of them for charity as I do amassing them.
It’s the kind of thing my mother and I bond over because she’s a bit of a shopaholic and has given me tons of her Joan Rivers for QVC jewelry, may she rest in peace but Joan would be on and I would call my mother and be like, “Oh, did you see this necklace?” or “What about this?” and my mom was like “I already have it” or “I ordered two.” So who would have thought, after the difficulty that it would be Joan Rives QVC jewelry that would bring us together?
Would you say a beautiful necklace trumps beautiful clothing?
Well, it’s tough because I actually wear a lot of sparkle things and I find that if you have a really crazy, shiny shirt on, it’s hard to put a necklace on top of it unless it’s something very simple, like a long gold chain with a big, giant jewel. You need to have a prop