Sales Check
 

September 2007

09/25/07

New Jewelry Boutique in the West Loop

My Precious
Erin Gallagher, a local line of pretty jewelry, has opened its first stand-alone boutique at 1017 West Lake Street (312-492-7548, egjewelry.com). The line has been available at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and boutiques around the city for the last few years, but Melissa Bocker, the company’s business director, says she and Gallagher (who is also Bocker’s cousin) missed interacting with customers. “We like to find a stone that matches the person,” she says. The jewelry, made using rare semiprecious and precious stones such as green amethyst or rough ruby gems, is sold in two lines. Items from the more affordable studio collection—which uses sterling silver and 14-karat...

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09/18/07

For Sale, Again, in Naperville

Discount Duds
Get threads at up to 80 percent off retail at Clothes Mentor (582 S. Route 59, Naperville; 630-355-0009), a new resale store dedicated to brands often seen at malls, such as Gap, J. Crew, J. Jill, Chico’s, and Ralph Lauren, among others. “When you walk in the front door, you would never know it’s resale,” says owner Elaine Krieger, who also owns five Plato’s Closet teen resale stores and two Once Upon A Child children’s resale stores. “Our customer may never have shopped resale, but she wants value for her money.” You’ll find items such as an Ann Taylor knit top for $10 (retail price $60) or Talbots jackets for $15. Better organized than a thrift store and targeted to women over 30, Krieger’s boutique is also...

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09/11/07

Threadless, Now In Store

Fit to a Tee
The viral-marketing geniuses at online T-shirt purveyor threadless.com opened the doors yesterday, Sept. 10th, at their new Lake View bricks-and-mortar location, Threadless (3011 N. Broadway; 773-525-8640, threadless.com). The Ravenswood-based company has created a unique business model: Threadless.com runs an ongoing T-shirt design competition—designers submit and consumers vote. Seven new styles and two reprints, on average, are released every week and printed in limited quantities of 1,500. (More than 750,000 votes are cast every week, and  around 100,000 T-shirts are sold each month, according to Threadless.) The site grew slowly by word of mouth, and the store has followed suit by putting a Threadless logo in the...

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09/04/07

Greener and Cleaner in the West Loop

Ms. Green Jeans
The West Loop boutique Pivot (1101 W. Fulton Market; 312-243-4754, pivotboutique.com) has merged eco-friendliness and high fashion. “I want people to see nothing has to be sacrificed in terms of fashion,” says owner Jessa Brinkmeyer, 24. Everything in the store—from the clothing to the recycled fixtures—is made using environmentally friendly materials and processes. The merchandise is surprisingly stylish; we found a sexy tank made from bamboo from Brooklyn-based Sans ($197) and an organic cotton shirt dress by Nature vs. Future with a modern asymmetrical button front. Dressier options include the metallic hemp silk tank ($246) from U.K. brand Ciel and Linda...

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