The French Gypsy – Fashion made in Panama City
It is hard to describe Mary Lee Grays’s creations. They look reminiscent of another era, romantic, intricate, there are many facets and layers, and they are truly unique.
Mary Lee about her creations:
“My design style is modern, Victorian, hippy. I hope that people will wear my clothing and be happy, feel good, and be carefree. I hope my designs will bring back memories of “the day” or create new memories. I want my clothing to have the flair of feminism and be a means to self -expression. I use all natural fabrics and mostly linen, cotton, and wool. I love vintage lace, buttons, and crochet. I love to hunt for unique items to incorporate into my work. Each garment has its own personality and character – feminine to sassy.”
She recalls her mother being the most influential in her interest to design clothing. “I love fabrics, lace, and threads. Growing up I would have a vision of what I wanted to wear and had a strict idea how a piece of clothing had to look like. My mother would make it happen for me. She has missed many nights of sleep to make my dreams come true.”
Mary Lee about her work:
“I do not have formal training in design and clothing construction, but I come from a family where sewing was always a part of our lives – I would call my mother a sewing artist. Everything I know about sewing I know from her. My interests were strongly influenced by my upbringing and my family and I love gardening, canning the vegetables that we grow, fishing, growing plants, and flowers. I enjoy the beach, and reading. As a child my father always took my brother and me fishing. My parents have been married for 38 years.
About her strong will to sew:
“When I was 11 years old my mother had an old Singer sewing machine and I was not allowed to use it unless she was home. Well, every day after school my brother John and I would be home for an hour by ourselves before our parents got home. My brother is 3 years younger than I am. My mom would always give me all her scrap fabrics. We were supposed to be doing our homework right after getting home from school. Well, instead I would run to my parents’ room with my bag of scrap fabric, I would open the bedroom window and make my little brother sit outside the window and be my lookout while I sewed. When my parents would get home he would signal me to wrap it up so I would not get caught. It used to make my brother so nervous, he was always afraid we would get caught. We only got an hour of TV everyday so in exchange for his cooperation I would give him my hour of TV every day.”
My personal goals are to continue creating something that others will enjoy. I love the thrill of seeing someone enjoying something I have created – it never gets old. I am striving to build a business that I love and enjoy, but I also want to create a profitable business. My goal is to make a living with doing what I enjoy doing… but above all I like to continue to draw personal satisfaction from my work.”
A note from Mary Lee’s mother:
Mary Lee grew up in Nebraska, Kansas, and Georgia. As a girl she was involved with the Girl Scouts, Brownies, and various school activities. She has always been creative and learned to knit, crochet and sew at an early age, drawing her inspiration from her mother, grandmothers, and aunts. She developed her own style very early, and it continues to develop. She has always challenged me to make unusual garments for her. My greatest joy in my life was being able to design and sew for Mary Lee. I learned to sew by making doll clothes by hand with a needle and thread. My mother sewed on a treadle sewing machine, as did my paternal grandmother. Mary Lee has become my inspiration to me. She was diagnosed with MS 5 years ago and after several years of being in pain, and even after having more problems develop and with all her medical issues she has managed to build her skills and we are working together on her creations. We both have very similar taste and style, even though we are very different.”
[box type=”shadow” ]Mary Lee lives in Panama City Beach with her husband Jack Bennie and their two schnauzers Amos and Priss. Her parents are LeRoy, a retired marine and Alice Versemann, a teacher, live in Georgia. Mary Lee’s brother is attending technical college and is studying automotive technology.[/box] To find out more about MARY LEE GRAY and THE FRENCH GYPSY visit: http://www.thefrenchgypsy.com
Photography by Savannah Jane Photography