STYLE FILE
COURTESY NEIMAN MARCUS
For the person who has everything, Jacques Fath's museum quality collection of huate couture dresses and sketches is offered for $3.5 million.
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Neiman has bag of gifts for those who have everything
For those not content with mere diamonds and designer togs for Christmas, Neiman Marcus goes out of its way every year to search for original gift ideas for those, good or bad, with a couple million dollars to spare.
The 80th edition of The Christmas Book is out, and along with such basics as crystal stemware, snow globes and chocolates, you'll find 12 pages devoted to "Extraordinary Gifts," like $1.764 chartered space trip for six aboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipOne, a back-yard water park worth $100,000, or a pencil skyscraper by The Art Guys, at $6,000 for a 20-inch version, or $40,000 for a 7-footer.
Vehicles are always popular, and this year, the retailer is selling 50 2007 BMW M6 convertibles for $139,000 each. The cars go on sale Oct. 18, and are likely to sell out in less than an hour.
For those who already own a fleet of BMWs, there is the environmentally friendly alternative, a three-wheeled vehicle called the Twike, a "human-electric hybrid vehicle," which means it runs on battery and pedal power, able to hit 55 mph on flat ground.
The fashionable crowd can dream about the possibilities associated with the Jacques Fath archives. The promising designer who launched the careers of Hubert Givenchy and Guy Laroche had a couture salon in Paris from 1937 until his death in 1954.
Fath had kept meticulous records of his designs, and his archive is being offered for $3.5 million. The museum-quality collection includes three Fath haute couture dresses, and 26 volumes of original sketchbooks featuring more than 3,400 couture designs.
NM is hoping that a benefactor will want to purchase this gift to endow a museum or university to inspire a new generation of designers.
COURTESY NEIMAN MARCUS
Your pet can feel at home with furniture of his own.
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For the sports set, a "Sports Celebrity Dream Package" will be up for auction Nov. 7, with a minimum bid is $250,000. The gift is tickets to six high-profile sporting events and lunch with six past superstars: Troy Aikman, Magic Johnson, Wayne Gretzky. Proceeds will go to the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, which supports school programs to combat domestic violence.
And let's not forget the pets. To luxury pet homes, suitable for furry, four-legged creatures, will be offered. Designed by Marco Marosini, the retro Nomad, which looks like a mini RV, rolls along for transport. At $5,000, it features an interior rug and coordinating wallpaper. Meanwhile, Good Life is a minimalist 44-inch crystal case ($7,000), for pets that like to see and be seen without messy involvement. Your pet can watch over household drama from its own plush armchair crafted from Italian leather.
The most expensive item in The Christmas Book is a $3.8 million membership at The Club at Castiglion Del Bosco, a collection of villas set in Italy's Tuscany region amid the ruins of a medieval fortress. There are 120 memberships available, which can be passed down in perpetuity for future generations to enjoy.
Copies of the book are $15 and can be ordered by calling toll-free 1-800-NEIMANS (634-6267). The book can also be viewed online at www.neimanmarcus.com.