"I don't own a pair of jeans," Nancy Bush says. "I wear either a dress or a skirt and blouse every day – unless I am going to the gym." For as long as she can remember, Bush was dressed up from head-to-toe and taught by her mother to care about the way she looks. "Clothes are like friends; they should always complement your appearance," she says. She looks up to such major style icons as Jackie Onassis, Princess Diana, Coco Chanel, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, so she has a tough act to follow. Drawing from their classic and refined style, Bush prefers to wear understated, ladylike ensembles and not to follow fashion trends.
"I have idolized Jackie O. all of my life and collect a lot of her memorabilia," Bush says. "A lot of people say my outfit choices resemble Jackie's."
For more than 25 years, Bush has been involved in fund-raising and event planning for many charities in Bergen County, including The Valley Hospital Auxiliary, where she has served as a president, a board of trustee and a member of the philanthropy committee. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Saddle River branch. Bush is also a supporter of Table to Table, Angels of Hope, Oasis, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the American Red Cross and is president of several private foundations dedicated to educational programs and student scholarships.
"It is very important to my husband and me to give back to the community," she says, "but it's just as important to teach our children to give back and to help others. I have had a great opportunity to use my work experience and skills to help others in the community."
On top of being a full-time volunteer, Bush is a mother of three young boys and the family's rescue dog, Cocoa, and the wife of Jim Bush, senior executive of a Fortune 500 company. Nancy is currently retired from Oppenheimer Funds on Wall Street, where she was the vice president of retirement plans.
Bush enjoys entertaining and spending time in her Saddle River home, which is comfortable, warm and inviting and has many Asian influences and treasures from Singapore, where the family lived for four years.
"Style to me is about expressing your inner self," Bush says. "Beauty is all about loving who you are, being comfortable and confident in your own skin."
Photography by Anne-Marie Caruso.
