For Kim Nye, looking good is all in a day’s work.
As vice president of Saks Fifth Avenue at Somerset, Nye has “200 fashion critics” advising her, ready to give her ensembles a thumbs up or down.
“Whenever I wear color, people compliment it,” she says. In addition to her base of black, she’s drawn to red, brown, orange, and her personal favorite — Spartan green (she’s an MSU grad with a degree in business and accounting).
With that academic background and a lifelong love of fashion, it’s appropriate that Nye has spent her entire career at Saks. She began with the Executive Training Program and worked her way up.
Nye’s success has a stylish foundation. “In high school, I was always dressed; I never wore jeans,” she says. She recalls a summer spent in London when she bought a light-blue bell-bottom pantsuit and high platform shoes with red stripes that matched her top, and the kids at school “thought I was from Mars,” she says. “It didn’t bother me if I dressed differently from everyone else.”
A wife and mother of two, Nye describes her personal style as modern with a designer influence. “I definitely have a few designers I lean toward because they fit my body type,” she says. Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, and Giorgio Armani are among her favorites. “I wear a lot of suits — skirt suits in particular,” she says.
She’s also careful to complete her look with the proper accessories. “It’s important to have the right shoe with your outfit,” she says. “I’m very sensitive to that because that’s the business I’m in; we put people together.”
Her own shoe wardrobe includes Gucci and Jimmy Choo, and recently, Christian Louboutin. “I finally got Louboutins in my store,” she says.
During her New York City visits, which come several times a season, Nye updates her own look based on the trends. This winter, she’ll be wearing tights and boots, because they “fit with me and fit the trend,” she says.
A company woman, she says 98 percent of her wardrobe comes from Saks. For golf-course wear, she says she buys her “true” gear at the Forest Lake Country Club pro shop in West Bloomfield Township, where she’s a member and frequent player.
But it’s Saks that dominates her closets at home. She groups her clothing by category — suits with suits, jackets with jackets, and so on. Then, “I colorize it by light to bright to dark,” she says. “I merchandise my closet like we do in the store.”
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