The Look: Karina G top, $175 @ Bluebird Boutique; Rag & Bone leather legging, $650, and Alexis Bittar earrings, $145, both @ Bumbershute; Miu Miu shoes and David Yurman watch, Jennings’s own
Photo by erin smith
When Nicole Jennings met her now-husband at a sixth-grade band concert, she had no idea how it would shape her life. Today, as the wife of former Viking Greg Jennings, Nicole has been able to use her sports connections to create a business where the significant others of pro athletes donate their gently used clothing and accessories for resale with a portion of the proceeds going to charity.
As owner of the online and brick-and-mortar store One Posh Closet Concierge Boutique, Nicole is one part clothing buyer, one part personal stylist, and one part closet organizer. So it’s ironic that she uses a styling app to curate her personal wardrobe and enlisted the help of a professional organizer to design her closet. “It’s the lowest priority on the totem pole,” she admits. “I usually just throw and go.”
Despite expressing a laissez-faire attitude toward her own wardrobe, Jennings created a serious closet when she and Greg built their new home in Edina. While Greg, who studied architecture in college, helped design the majority of the house in collaboration with an architect and an interior designer, Nicole focused on creating her dream walk-in closet, complete with movable shelves to allow her to easily transition the space to accommodate summer’s sandals to fall’s knee-high boots.
“I had to take an inventory of everything I own,” she says. “I literally had to tell the closet organizer how many shoes I had, how many purses I had—it took a long time.”
The Look: Statement-making designer handbags and shoes dominate Nicole Jenning’s enviable closet.
Photo by Erin Smith
Originally from Michigan, the Jennings moved to Wisconsin after Greg was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2006. Seven years and one Super Bowl title later, Greg was signed to the Vikings and the couple moved to Minnesota. After two seasons he signed with the Miami Dolphins, but his family—including four children now between the ages of 3 and 10—stayed behind, an experience that was chronicled in the YouTube docu-series “Jennings Journeys.” Recently, Greg retired from football, and the couple now calls Minnesota home full time.
The self-described “mompreneur” founded her boutique three years ago after the birth of her fourth child when she struggled with not being able to find anything to wear. “At the age of 30, I felt like I was ‘just’ a mom and a wife with no personal identity,” she says. “I love being a mom and a wife, but I never wanted to feel like that was all there was. I had always been ambitious, a shoe lover, and interested in fashion, and I didn’t want to lose the essence of who I was.” After multiple pregnancies, the clothing in Nicole’s closet spanned sizes 4 to 14, and included a number of designer pieces that still had tags on that didn’t fit. “I knew that I couldn’t be the only woman who felt this way,” she says.
One Posh Closet’s sales and styling services have benefitted several health- and youth-focused charities, building on Nicole’s decade of experience in philanthropy as the president of the Greg Jennings Foundation, which funds various educational resources.
Jennings is currently hoping to move One Posh Closet’s storefront from Bloomington to a new location in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood and has plans to open a kid’s-only spinoff. She is also expanding the brand to add a selection of new high-end apparel and accessories alongside its
resale merchandise.
Nicole’s personal style itself is an ongoing evolution. She’s as likely to wear her hair in long braids woven into a topknot as she is a short, edgy cut with hot-pink streaks, and her outfits range from sleek and sophisticated to rock and roll. “I can rock a business suit if needed, but I can also wear ripped jeans, a white tank, and a leather jacket with no problem,” she says. “I am a fashion daredevil.”
Photo by Erin Smith
Nicole Jennings’s Style Crib Sheet
On her favorite designers
A dedicated fan of high heels, Nicole loves Saint Laurent and Christian Louboutin for style and Jimmy Choo for comfort, while her favorite handbags are by Chanel, Céline, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès. But when it comes to clothing, she eschews labels: “I buy what I like and what fits my body well.”
On her go-to accessory
“An amazing handbag can turn your leggings and oversized tee into a stunning look,” she says. “It creates so much attention that the rest of the outfit is an afterthought.”
On her beauty regime (or lack thereof)
“Honestly, I don’t have a skincare routine,” she says. “I don’t wear makeup on a daily basis, and when I do, it’s professionally done.”
The Look: Humanoid sweatshirt, $270 @ D.NOLO; Alexis Bitar earrings, $145 @ Bumbershute; Hudson jeans, shoes, bracelets, and watch, Jennings’s own
