Asbury Park Zest The Rainbow Issue Summer 2015 | Page 18

AS BU RY PAR K H AS A DE SI GN E R !

Nita Novy

N

ita Novy graduated Duke University, acted on Broadway for more
than two decades, and had two
kids before Nita Ideas, Inc. was born in 1989.
“I knew I had to do something creative,” says
Novy. “I’m a graduate of Duke, where I went
to become a doctor – until I knew I didn’t want
to be a doctor; I just wanted to play one on
TV.”
She also began making children’s clothes
and hats, and while living in Tribeca, sent her
daughter to preschool one day like she would
any other day, wearing one of her handmade
hats. Upon her return, Novy was surprised to
find five orders for hats in her child’s lunchbox.
It might have been the faux Dalmatian fur or
the buffalo plaid that impressed them, but
whatever it was, it was a sure sign of a brand
new and successful business-in-the-making.
Novy took six of her original designs in a
hat box to Barney’s New York. “Within two
minutes I had a meeting with the president,”
laughs Novy, adding, “I’ve always played with
fabric. I designed my prom dresses and a lot
of my clothes.”
Once Barney’s became a feather in her
lovely handmade hat, Bendel’s became the
second bit of high-end validation that encouraged Novy to press on.
“I started the business when my children
were babies because I wanted control,” says
the former actor who has played roles such as
“Rizzo” in Grease and “Sunshine” in Harold and Maude. “I left the theater for other
endeavors, but the theater never left me. I
always sidled up to the costume designer because I knew a great costume could make you
and a bad costume could break you.”
Her segue from theater actor to fashion
designer was a natural one. Starting with a
one room schoolhouse in Milford, Pa. to various

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locations in Millburn-Short Hills, the business
always embraced theatricality, drama, and fun
in equal measure.
As quickly as she gained fame, she began
giving a portion of her proceeds to support
women’s health issues, such as ovarian cancer
research, lung cancer research, and Women In
Need (WIN), among others.
“We believe it is life’s greatest affirmation to GIVE BACK,” proclaims the Nita Ideas
website.
The month of May marks the anniversary
that the company has donated to the foundation, Make a Wish New Jersey. “We’ve been
philanthropic through our whole existence,”
says Novy, who can now look back and laugh
about the nay-sayers who believed she was
romancing an impossible dream.
“Now everything is do-it-yourself,” she
observes. “But 25 years ago, people assumed
I was going to fail because nobody was making patterns by hand. We still cut one piece
at a time. When China started taking over
mass production of everything, particularly

“Her collection seems
to breathe intangible
femininity. It is
almost as if the
rest of the fashion
universe is catching
up with her.”

-The New York Times