Nightcap: The Look of Lounge
Los Angeles–based designer Carisa Brambles developed a reputation for her easy, breezy personal style as a sales rep for labels such as Tocca, Beth Bowley and Young Fabulous & Broke. She translated that beachy vibe into her own label, Nightcap Clothing, launched in February 2006.
With an aunt and uncle in the fashion industry, Brambles grew up among rolling racks, samples and bolts of fabric. Her aunt Cynthia Dugan was the owner/creator of the Unique Buying Office before launching her eponymous jewelry line, and Brambles’ uncle Tadd Zarubica is the founder and designer of Denim of Virtue.
Nightcap’s tagline, “Long Live the Dream,” is a fitting sentiment for the ultra-comfy clothing as well as the designer’s fulfillment of her own fashion dream. Her concept for the line is a blend of contemporary sportswear and loungewear.
Manufactured in Los Angeles, Nightcap designs feature 100 percent Supima cotton with lace trim or raw edges. According to Brambles, some pieces were inspired by nightgowns from her grandmother’s closet, offering a subtle vintage flair. The designer cites her target age range for the line as 18 to 35, and she makes a point to have a few styles each season that “everyone can wear.”
The “Fairy Slip” and flirty cotton shorts are among the sexier pieces in the line. The versatile “Robe Dress”—which can also be worn over pants, tied in the back or front, or left open as a cardigan—has become Nightcap’s signature piece. For Fall 2007, the “Robe Dress” is offered with new lace trim and coconut-button bell sleeves. Other highlights in the Fall collection include a cozy hoodie jacket (a combo of the robe dress and the hoodie dress), high-waisted short overalls, leggings with a foldover waist, and a lace-trimmed camisole. Brambles also introduced an imported burnout eyelet fabric from Japan and a Supima pointelle fabrication. In addition to black and white, new colors include midnight blue, petal, seafoam, olive green, soft yellow and charcoal gray.
Wholesale prices range from $40 to $83. Among the Southern California retailers carrying the line are Blonde in Santa Monica, Lulu in Manhattan Beach, Planet Blue and Planet Blue Essentials at the Malibu Country Mart, Jen Audrey in Calabasas, and Fred Segal Fun at Fred Segal Santa Monica. Japanese store LaLa PLAN also picked up the line recently. For more info, visit www.nightcapclothing.com or e-mail info@nightcapclothing.com.
—Dena Smolek
