Business Beat is a series by MyRye.com contributor Robin Thrush Jovanovich. She is the president of the Harcourt Jovanovich Foundation and the former publisher of The Rye Record.
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Young mothers searching for summer dresses with a little sparkle, grandmothers looking for chic accessories to add a little pizazz to their tried-and-traditional outfits, every woman hunting for something other than a little black dress. For the past 23 years, fashionistas of all ages and tastes have depended on Hayden Maitre, manager of Great Stuff in downtown Rye, to help them build and edit their wardrobes.
As one of her longtime “dependents,” I can attest to the fashion heights that Hayden can help you attain. If you dash in the store just before closing, needing a last-minute birthday present, a thank-you gift, or a beach coverup that your mother-in-law, who’s arriving that night, won’t find scandalous, she’s on it. Hayden always seems to know what you are looking for, even if you don’t.
The great thing about shopping with Hayden is that she’s patient, witty, and truthful. While she’ll never tell you that you resemble a baby beluga in that puffy top or those slacks you can’t pour yourself into, she deftly guides you away from unflattering fashions.
After hours, Hayden discretely helps clients change up their clothes closets seasonally, find just the right top or bottom to create a new look, slim down their collection because they are moving, downsizing, and even shop in their own closet.
As a woman who loves fashion and has traveled a great deal in her professional career — she began as a buyer at B. Altman & Co. and went on to help women and men dress for success for two decades — Hayden also knows the art of packing. If you are heading off for a weeklong European vacation, call Hayden, who will help you bring that oversized and hard-to-haul suitcase back up to the attic and fold everything into a carry-on bag.
The process only takes a few minutes. When Hayden arrives at a client’s home, she’ll typically remove half of the dozens of outfits and separates piled up on the master (primary!) bed. While she’s there, she may gently suggest that the time to donate anything that you’ve had since college is now.
Hayden has the knack for taking everything apart, putting it seamlessly back together, and liberating women from overstuffed closets. She isn’t boasting when she declares that she and the rest of the sales team at Great Stuff are “stylists.” The shop carries an eclectic mix and very few of any one item so you’re unlikely to show up at the party wearing the same thing as the hostess.
“Our philosophy is ‘We’ll work with you to buy good.’” She added, “That’s why so many clients have become good friends.”
The bad news for Great Stuff regulars is that Hayden Maitre is retiring at the end of the month. She lights up talking about the places she’ll go and having the luxury of time for the first time in ages. Her first stop is Paris, where her son lives and where she lived and worked. The city of lights is also where her pottery was included in a noteworthy show, and she plans to take up both pottery and watercolor painting again.
The good news is that Hayden will still make house calls.
