Karl Lagerfeld makes hay with a show inspired by Marie-Antoinette’s Hameau (the pastoral retreat where she used to take her lovers), and Alexander McQueen offers a cerebral take on evolution, playing with alien, insect, and sea creature themes…. Plus the most bizarre shoes I’ve ever seen…
Season-Free Styles
Knowing she wanted to spend her life designing clothes, Shernett Swaby (her last name rhymes with baby) launched her first collection, a line of underwear for men and women, at age 19. “I did it as a way to make money to create the stuff I wanted,” she says. Within a year, the underwear sold in…
Paris Fashion Week ended last Thursday, which means that Chicago retailers from boutiques like Ikram, Blake, and Chalk are on buying appointments placing orders; our Fashion Director Stacey Jones is planning her upcoming shoots; and I’m here with a roundup of the show highlights. Overall, the recession was palpable in what was a safer and very chic season. There are still terrifying shoes on…
Music to Our Ears
While working as a massage therapist for a handful of big-name spas, Chicago native Lizzie Harris decided she could do it better. The entrepreneur waited a year and a half for “the right moment,” and, despite the economic recession, recently opened her first business venture, Spa La La (2300 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-772-5252, spalalachicago.com), in Bucktown. “I figure if I can…
All in the Family
In the early ‘90s, Susan Lurie opened her first boutique in the northern suburbs. Named ENAZ (444 Central Ave., Highland Park; 847-433-6466, enaz.com), which stands for energy, nature, attitude, and zest for life, the shop catered to the busy mom. Within time, however, Lurie’s three daughters—Melinda Kaplan and Lena and Samantha Lurie—joined her management team, and the shop expanded its collections to include…
Fulton Market’s latest newcomer offers something many Chicago boutiques don’t: clothing for both sexes
A roundup of October’s sales, store openings, and shopping news
Starting when she was 18 and an engineering student at University of California at Berkeley, Julie Liu taught herself how to design jewelry. Her hobby of creating necklaces, rings, and earrings for friends and family grew into a word-of-mouth business. Eventually, Liu quit her job as a hedge-fund manager and, in July, opened a jewelry boutique at the Northbrook Court mall. Located on the upper level of the Neiman Marcus corridor…
Calling All Denim Junkies
The multi-designer denim boutique DNA 2050 (900 N. Michigan Ave., 3rd floor; 312-944-0040) returns to Chicago with a new home at the 900 Shops on Saturday, September 19th. The store originally opened a temporary location in Lincoln Park from September 2008 through May 2009. “[It] was a pop up shop for us to test the…
Rich, textured velvet accents
