2012 April | NMdaily

Beauty

Burn After Reading: Jason Wu Orchid Rain Candle by Nest Fragrances

Posted 04.30.12 by Kristen Spaulding

Designer Jason Wu selects an outfit that best represents his debut scent, Orchid Rain.

Internationally renowned fashion designer Jason Wu is known for feminine dresses. “His Spring 2012 runway had every one of his pretty and precious Wu-isms all present and correct – delicate lace, sparkling embroideries, fluttery feathers galore,” wrote Vogue’s Mark Holgate. For the first time, this Spring, Wu extends his feminine design aesthetic into a debut scent, Orchid Rain – in a candle.

Wu partnered with NEST Fragrances, a leading home fragrance manufacturer to bring his signature scent to life. According to Wu, Orchid Rain combines white orchid – the Cattleya orchid – with nashi pear, pomegranate and goji berry. The fruity-floral essences are enhanced with blonde birchwood and hints of pink pepper and coconut.

The sophisticated, custom-designed porcelain candle vessel features Wu’s signature print in a bisque finish, and it’s topped with an elegant gold-plated lid. The exclusive grey, black and white orchid-floral petal print debuted last fall at Wu’s Spring 2012 show.

Find Jason Wu for NEST Fragrances at NeimanMarcus.com or Neiman Marcus stores.

Shop cosmetics and fragrance during the Scent Event at NeimanMarcus.com and NM stores to receive gifts and samples, through Sunday, May 6.

Categories: Beauty » Bath & Body, Beauty, Beauty » Fragrances | Tagged Jason Wu, Jason Wu Spring 2012 Collection, Nest Fragrances, Orchid Rain

Lifestyle // Men's

Chair Collector Santiago Gonzalez Can’t Sit Still

Posted by Sarah Bray

Santiago Gonzalez at NM Dallas-NorthPark

Santiago Gonzalez is a chair collector who doesn’t like to sit still.

“I am a very curious person,” Gonzalez says, standing in the handbag department at our Dallas-NorthPark store. “I can’t stay in one place too long. I get itchy.”

Gonzalez, the son and CEO of Nancy Gonzalez, has collected chairs since he was 18. His collection consists of over 600 seats.

“I was always obsessed with chairs. I don’t know why,” he says of his collection that starts with pieces from the 1930s. ”This is a very curated collection with a conservator. They go from Jean-Michel Frank and Eileen Gray to Marc Newsom.”

A rainbow of Nancy Gonzalez crocodile clutches in Martino Gampers’s “Chair with Shelves” in the Nancy Gonzalez showroom in NY.

A rainbow of Nancy Gonzalez crocodile clutches in Martino Gampers’s “Chair with Shelves” in the Nancy Gonzalez showroom in New York.

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Categories: Men's » Accessories, Lifestyle » Culture, Leisure & Travel, Men's | Tagged Nancy Gonzalez, Santiago Gonzalez

Men's

What’s Inside: Matthew Singer’s Dopp Kit

Posted 04.27.12 by Jean Scheidnes

Matthew in the Dallas flagship

Matthew Singer is going places. As our men’s fashion director he not only travels the world’s fashion capitals every season, he also hosts events at our 42 stores and shuttles frequently between New York, where he resides, and our headquarters in Dallas. He can’t look bedraggled in any of these situations; therefore he has to have his dopp kit nailed down. (Dopp kit, if you’re wondering, is gentleman speak for a toiletry bag.) So what’s in there?

For starters, a whole lot of Jack Black: Eye Rescue, Texture Cream, Beard Lube, Hand Healer, Face Buff and the “life changing” Post Shave Cooling Gel.

Jack Black dominates.

“I used to use Eye Balm but the Eye Rescue has antioxidants and peptides, and it’s less sticky,” says Matthew. “I’m brand loyal, and I like how it looks all together inside the medicine cabinet. It’s tidy.”

He’s loyal to some drugstore favorites too: Jergens, Complex 15, Crest, Secret… Wait, Secret?

“That’s the secret. It’s the best I’ve found. I only go for the Powder Fresh scent, and for some reason I always get the last one on the shelf.”

Two more essentials: an emery board and a set of Wurkin Stiffs collar stays. “One of my all-time favorite products.”

Wurkin Stiffs Power Stays

Shop travel accessories and men’s grooming at NeimanMarcus.com and Neiman Marcus stores. A Rigs and Bancroft D-ring belt is our gift with your full-price regular spend of $250 in the Man’s Store (in stores only) now through Sunday, April 29.

Categories: Men's » Accessories, Men's » Grooming, Men's |

Women's

Store Soirée With Stacey Bendet of Alice + Olivia

Posted by Sarah Bray

NM's Jim Gold and Stacey Bendet

Stacey Bendet’s collections are dipped head-to-toe in color and so is her personality. Last week the petite designer behind Alice + Olivia stopped in our Dallas-NorthPark store to host a color-filled fête complete with buckets of candy, towers of cake balls, trays of glitter cupcakes and swirls of sugar-rimmed blood orange margaritas.

The candy bar at the Alice + Olivia party

Sugar-rimmed margarita

The designer’s sweet tooth — gummy peaches are her fave — extends to her label’s playful, eccentric, upbeat sensibility. It all began a decade ago with a pair of pants. Bendet, a web designer at the time, couldn’t find the right pair of flairs, so she decided to settle her style cravings and sew her own. Nicknamed Staceypants by her friends, she was often seen rollerblading through New York City in that first pair of bold striped bell-bottoms that instantly became iconic of the brand.

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Categories: Women's » Contemporary Fashion, Women's | Tagged Alice + Olivia, Fancy Pants, NorthPark, Stacey Bendet, Store Scene

Women's

New at NM: DL1961 Premium Denim

Posted 04.26.12 by Kristen Spaulding

The Glamourai's Kelly Framel in DL1961 Premium Denim.

Colored denim has quickly become a classic wardrobe staple. The vibrant runway-inspired washes are no longer specific to Spring and Summer fun. Chromatic looks continued on the Fall runways, since then transitioning into denim – think shades of seafoam, cerulean and clementine.

DL1961 Premium Denim

One of our new favorite denim lines is DL1961. The New York-based company is on a mission to create “the perfect fitting jean.” According to the company, the jeans are made with the innovative 4-way stretch XFIT Lycra denim – a fabric that not only molds to each individual’s body but also boasts 90% shape retention. No wonder celebrities and trendsetters alike were spotted sporting the line at Coachella in Indio, California.

“DL1961 jeans have become my go-to travel staple. They seem to have some sort of magical 360-degree stretch in them — meaning they stay comfortable even on intercontinental flights!” says The Glamourai’s Kelly Framel.

Shop DL1961 Premium Denim at NeimanMarcus.com or select Neiman Marcus stores.

During the Savvy Chic Event, an exclusive bangle set is our gift with your $350 purchase in women’s apparel or accessories. Through Sunday, April 29.

Categories: Women's » Contemporary Fashion, Women's | Tagged Coachella, Colored Denim, DL1961, Kelly Framel, Premium Denim, The Glamourai

Women's

Bloggers Wear: The YSL Arty Ring

Posted by Sarah Bray

Annabelle Fleur, Viva Luxury

Fashion bloggers have their fingers on the Yves Saint Laurent Arty ring. The rock’s bohemian-luxe design was inspired by Rive Gauche style and pays homage to YSL’s haute jewelry collection. The gold-plated oval stone ring, which runs a gamut of stones from turquoise to tiger’s eye, is the of-the-moment status symbol amongst the online trendsetters and fashion week set.

LA-based blogger Annabelle Fleur, of the blog Viva Luxury, wears her turquoise Arty ring with metallic silver nails, an armful of neon friendship bracelets and the Marc by Marc Jacobs Bob’s Memphis Colorblock handbag.

Annabelle Fleur, Viva Luxury

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Categories: Women's » Jewelry, Women's | Tagged Arty, Bloggers Wear, Fashion Bloggers, YSL, YSL Arty Ring

Women's

Currently Coveting: Tom Ford Cat Eye Sunglasses

Posted 04.25.12 by Kristen Spaulding

Tom Ford Nikita Cat Eye Sunglasses $360

Spring’s feline influence started last year, on the catwalk, in Paris. Remember the Givenchy Fall show? Panther-printed pencil skirts, felt hats with ears and cat-eye spectacles. Yes, it was quite the spectacle of spectacles on the catwalk — thick black frames to colorful lacquers. Since then, the retro-inspired cat-eye silhouette has been spotted on celebrities and street-style darlings alike. With summer quickly approaching, Tom Ford’s Nikita cat-eye sunglasses are quickly becoming the epitome of this classic trend. The sleek exaggerated frames are the perfect accessory to summer’s retro-inspired bathing suits.

Shop Tom Ford at NeimanMarcus.com and Neiman Marcus stores.

During the Savvy Chic Event, an exclusive bangle set is our gift with your $350 purchase in women’s apparel or accessories. Through Sunday, April 29.

Categories: Women's » Accessories, Women's » Designer, Women's | Tagged Cat-Eye Sunglasses, Retro Shades, Sunnies, Tom Ford

Women's

Conversation With: Alexis Bittar

Posted by Ken Downing

Alexis and Ken

Ken Downing: Alexis, I am such a big fan of you and your work. I don’t think many people know that your career in fashion started very early. You were a teenage retailer!

Alexis Bittar: You’re too funny, but it is true. It was 1982, I was 13 years old, pre-MTV. There was no such thing as the vintage clothing craze there is today. I would sit on the corner of Astor Place and 8th Street, outside the Cooper Union, and sell vintage clothes and jewelry. I would buy old clothes by the pound, can you imagine?

KD: Who bought from you in those early years?

AB: Punk kids, for the most part. They were attracted to my look. I had “outfits” and orange hair… it was all about the Thompson Twins and that whole era. I would create looks from my vintage finds. My favorite was a rockabilly look with a police jacket that I bought from Patricia Fields. Pat and I are still friends. I think she is an amazing woman.

KD: Pat is a stylist supreme, her work on Sex and the City still influences today. So when did you give up your retail quilt and start designing?

AB: I started designing jewelry when I was 20, recreating jewelry from vintage pieces. It was very New Wave. Debbie Harry of Blondie was a huge influence in my work; she actually bought jewelry from me on the street. So did Lauren Hutton.

More is more and less is a bore.

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Categories: Women's » Jewelry, Women's | Tagged Alexis Bittar

Beauty

New at NM: Guerlain Terra Azzurra by Emilio Pucci

Posted 04.24.12 by Lindsay Rogers

Guerlain Terra Azzurra by Emilio Pucci

Good things happen when the beauty and fashion worlds collide. And now we can look forward to “Guerlain by Emilio Pucci”, arriving in stores in May. The collaboration draws its inspiration from summertime on the Italian Riviera. The collection utilizes a signature print, revived from the archives: “Winter Capri,” a blue flower interlaced with swirls and flames.

The lead character in the collection is the hybrid Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder & Blush. The compact is made of ebony-colored wood and comes in an accessory pouch printed with the Pucci motif. The powder itself is also embossed with the Pucci logo and contains four colors that combine to universally flattering shade. You can look sun-kissed by using the bronzing shade all over the face or blend the three blush shades for contouring on the cheekbones. This is bronzer and blush, together in one beautiful package.

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