Profile: Nicole Cari

I met Nicole years ago through mutual friends and have always loved her aesthetic. For the past seven years she has worked for Band of Outsiders, where she serves as VP Marketing & Communications – a constant alongside designer Scott Sternberg as the brand continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

Nicole lives with her husband in Echo Park in a mid-century post & beam designed by architect Daniel Dworsky. The home, completely renovated in 2000 and updated with recycled materials and solar power, sits at atop a steep hill and boasts incredible views of the surrounding areas. Inside, the space is serene and welcoming, carefully curated with a mix of meaningful pieces and unique treasures. I hope you enjoy this look inside. XXJKE

Beauty

R+T: What are your go-to beauty products? Why?

Dr Bronner’s Pure-Castile Peppermint Liquid Soap. It makes you feel tingly and fresh, as does my favorite menthol Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue lip balm in ‘Soothing Sorbet.’

R+T: Is there anything special you would like to share about your beauty routine?

Keep it curly. That doesn’t just mean my hair (which I do keep curly), but it’s a way of life and a motto we put on our holiday card. It essentially means to keep things natural and pure.

R+T: What are the 5 products you couldn’t live without?

Well I’d live, but I use these things almost every day and really like them – Kerastase Curl Crème, Mountain Ocean Skin Trip body moisturizer, Malin + Goetz eucalyptus deodorant, Bioderma make-up remover, and SK-II moisturizing cream.

R+T: Bath or Shower?

Both, depends on time and mood.

R+T: What do you sleep in?

Ten undies and a t-shirt.

Health

R+T: Do you have any health tricks?

Sleep a lot, like 10 hours a night.

R+T: What do you do to stay healthy and balanced?

Go on walks, drink red wine, practice yoga, and sleep a lot.

R+T: Do you workout, what do you swear by?

Sort of. I’ll spin at YAS once or twice a month, run a couple of miles occasionally, and take a Kyle Miller yoga class whenever possible. My most consistent form of exercise is probably walking/hiking.

R+T: What do you do to relax?

Drink wine by the fire, watch TV, cook, surf pinterest, page through cook books, play the mandolin, listen to music or more recently Serial.

Decor

R+T: What is your design philosophy for your home?

Keep it cozy. And I like white a lot. It’s so fresh yet calming.

R+T: What are your favorite pieces in your house?

Most of the art on our walls was given or made by friends. I love looking around because I feel surrounded by talent and love.

R+T: What are your favorite home stores?

Lawson Fenning, Lost & Found, OK, and Heath.

R+T: What is your favorite room in the house?

Our bedroom. It feels like a treehouse.

Entertaining

R+T: Do you entertain at home?

Too much maybe.

R+T: What are your tricks for entertaining?

Prepare everything in advance so that I can just chill and enjoy the company.

R+T: How do you set the scene when you have people over?

Winter entertaining is my favorite because the fireplace sets the whole tone immediately. Lighting in general is super important. I like it dark and cozy.

R+T: What is your favorite song/playlist when you have people over?

Pandora stations: Gillian Welch, Thelonious Monk, Mandolin Orange, Sam Cooke, and Jimmy Cliff. Around the holidays though it’s Mariah Carey (Holiday) all day everyday.

R+T: Plated, Buffet, or Family Style for a dinner party?

Buffet and then sit on the floor near the fire and eat around the coffee table, or family style at the dining room table for a more formal affair.

R+T: What are your favorite flowers and where do you buy them?

I’m obsessed with flowers but am really bad with flower names. I like green branchy type stuff and gravitate more towards neutral or monotone arrangements. I buy flowers at Clementine or Cook Book.

R+T: Do you do them yourself or do you use a florist?

I do them myself, but totally admire florists and follow a few on instagram like Moon Canyon, The Little Shop of Flowers, Bloom & Plume, and Hollyflora.

R+T: Who is your favorite florist?

My dear friend Iki, who owns a flower shop in Tokyo called The Little Shop of Flowers. She’s going to do a pop up in Los Angeles in March and hopefully open a permanent shop here one day soon.

Fashion

R+T: How would you describe your style?

A mix of trend and timeless, vintage and designer, but overall easy and comfortable.

R+T: Who are your favorite designers?

Band of Outsiders (seriously), Celine, Chloe, The Row, Stella McCartney, Isabel Marant, Prada, Maryam Nassir Zadeh.

R+T: What are the 5 pieces you can’t live without this season?

I’m pretty obsessed with my Stella McCartney Bryce coat, Band of Outsiders x Olympia Le Tan “The End” clutch, Band of Outsiders shower slides from Resort, COS mock turtleneck sweater, and Everlane v-neck cashmere sweaters.

R+T: What is your uniform?

These days it’s been high-waisted vintage Levi’s, a black or white crewneck t-shirt, and loafers or slides. For fancy stuff at night a jumpsuit.

R+T: What is your newest purchase?

A Celine red leather circular wallet. I think it’s actually a change purse but I use it as a wallet.

Food

R+T: Is there anything about your diet you would like to share with R+T?

I eat a lot of cheese, pasta and pizza. Italian food just makes me happy.

R+T: Do you cook?

Yes. Mainly Barefoot Contessa recipes. Aka I use a lot of “good” olive oil, garlic and kosher salt.

R+T: What are your favorite sites for recipes?

Manger, Pinterest, Canal House Cooks Lunch, Valleybrink Road, GOOP, The New Potato, Rip + Tan.

R+T: What is your favorite recipe?

Italian Wedding Soup & Garlic Bread in the winter and Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano w/ sausage in the summer.

Art

R+T: What is your favorite piece of art you own?

My favorite might be a photograph that our friend Cedric Bihr took, but I also love the portraits that my friend Lauren Ross took, the dried flower wall hanging my friend Iki made, a drawing Ana Kras gave me for my birthday, the Native Line textile above the fireplace, and the dream catcher above our bed by All Hands that my mom gave me many years ago.

Working in Fashion

R+T: Tell us a bit about your journey in the fashion industry… And how it led you to your covetable role with Band of Outsiders…

I never knew I wanted to be in fashion. There’s never really a 5-year plan with me. I just flow. After college I worked at Al Gore’s TV company in San Francisco called Current TV. Since it was a new company we were encouraged to pitch and explore areas that interested us, so I started doing pieces about fashion.

After a couple of years I needed to move to Los Angeles, and my friend Amy Blessing told me about a job opportunity at Band of Outsiders. In a sense it felt like a step in the wrong direction because I was applying to be Scott’s assistant (and only employee) working out of his apartment and leaving a corporate culture where I was climbing up the ladder. But I connected with Scott immediately and knew I had to follow my intuition. Band of Outsiders was going to be a big deal and I wanted to be a part of the growth and journey. I’m going on my 8^th year at Band, but every year has been totally different from the previous one. We’re now a 30-something person company with offices in LA and New York, we have two stores (one in NYC and the other in Tokyo), I’ve helped launch our e com site, produce our shows, events and ad campaigns, control our social channels, and remain “the keeper of the brand” as Scott likes to say. It’s very personal to me.

R+T: PR & Marketing can be exciting and rewarding, but especially so when you believe in the product at the heart of it all… Can you share what it is about Band Of Outsiders that makes this ring true?

I don’t wear Band almost everyday because I have to – I wear it because I really like it. I think we make such cute stuff, and sometimes it’s quite beautiful too. Scott takes something classic and familiar and twists it to make it fresh, easy, and cool.

R+T: Favorite piece or Collection in all your years working with Scott?

I’d probably have to say the Tuxedo Jumpsuit (which is actually available on GOOP right now). I’ve worn that thing to more weddings and black tie events over the years than I can count. It’s still so rad.

R+T: The perfect evening after a long day would include…

A walk around the silver lake reservoir at sunset followed by a cold beer at The Red Lion followed by a pasta dinner at Speranza and then home watching multiple episodes of Californication.

R+T: What is the most rewarding part of your work?

Watching an idea come to life, when it starts as a thought in my head or a conversation in the office.