Unique finds

Shop at these boutiques, and you won’t be wearing the same thing as every other fashionable Chicago woman

By Amy Williams-Bernstein

Sure, Banana Republic and BCBG Max Azria offer up-to-date styles at affordable prices. But when I shop at these ubiquitous stores, I inevitably see my favorite outfit on hundreds of women across town.

I recently discovered two Chicago stores that will help me avoid this fate. Far from fashion for the masses, Florodora, in the Loop, and Eclectica, in Lincoln Park, are boutiques that specialize in women’s clothing and accessories that savvy shoppers are unlikely to find elsewhere in Chicago. The quality and chicness levels are up there with high-end boutiques, but the prices are not. Dresses, for example, cost a few hundred instead of a few thousand. That’s the advantage of discovering these local up-and-comers.

Florodora
330 S. Dearborn Street
(312) 212-8860
www.florodora.com
The historic Monadnock building is the perfect location for this women’s clothing and gift boutique. Owner Michael Blossom’s grandmother worked in the high-rise office building in 1917, and now the former merchandiser fills his ground-level store with styles he calls “contemporary with a vintage twist.”

Everything in the tightly packed space is unusual and eminently feminine. I was at first confused, then delighted by the clothing by local designer Lara Miller, who specializes in wrap jersey pieces that can be worn multiple ways, such as a dress that doubles as a skirt, in eco-friendly fabrics like bamboo. James Coviello, another local, likes to mix prints. In one sundress, he pairs a bright pink and yellow floral with an olive green and pink trim. When I asked Blossom about his favorites, he pointed out an outfit in the By Francine line that he called “for the adventurous.” It was a lime green textured cotton jacket with cream-colored buttons and a matching tie at the neck that coordinated with a pair of cream-colored shorts with lime-green buttons. I have to admire the woman who’s bold enough to make that statement, but I admit it isn’t me.

The clothing at Florodora is intermixed with an eclectic collection of gifts and accessories, like stationery, bath products, lingerie and hosiery. I couldn’t resist picking up a dainty printed apron and a pair of lace-cuffed yellow rubber cleaning gloves for a friend who’s a fan of everything Anne Taintor. You know, those cards and notepads printed with images of the flawless domestic goddesses of yesteryear who reveal wickedly witty minds? (Still don’t know what I’m talking about? Visit www.anntaintor.com) A wooden display case on one wall holds locally designed jewelry that I found reasonably priced. I purchased a necklace of three small stone pendants on a silver chain for under $50.

On March 28, Florodora turns one year old, and Blossom plans to have an anniversary party on that date. The party will involve a trunk show that will be the first in a monthly series of shows featuring local designers.

Eclectica
1006 W. Armitage Avenue
(773) 697-9929
www.eclectica.com
Eclectica opened in September of last year in a “garden level” storefront — a designation that calls up a cheery image of an entrance set among climbing vines and flowering plants. Instead, it simply means that patrons must walk down a short flight of brick steps to reach the door, then down a few more steps into the shop, which is sunk almost a full floor below street level.

It’s worth the descent to enter this boutique that carries women’s clothing, purses and jewelry. The owner, Vika Brown, carries her own clothing line and that of local designer Orlando Espinoza. Brown’s line, called Vika, consists of simple, elegant dresses, jackets and blouses with up-to-date touches. I was immediately drawn to a black cotton blend three-quarter-sleeve jacket with a pleated belt and ruched collar. Out-of-the-ordinary details, such as pleating on the belt and ruching on the jacket collar, are typical of the Vika line.

Orlando Espinoza, Brown told me, was recently picked up by Macy’s. But, she reassured me, the sleek skirts, tops and dresses in her boutique are his one-of-a-kind creations. Brown showed me her favorite piece in his eponymous line: a black dress with jersey sleeves, a silk body and a jersey hem. I noticed this combination of jersey and silk on a number of pieces in Espinoza’s line. Even more Espinoza clothing will be available on March 8 and 9, when Eclectica hosts an Orlando Espinoza trunk show.

The clothing is arranged by designer on five racks around the perimeter of the wood-floored store. In the center of the room, a jewelry case displays necklaces, rings and earrings from three designers; two are local, one is in New York. Near the back of the store, a shelving unit holds purses designed by Diego Rocha, who’s partial to patent leather paired with fur. One of Rocha’s unique creations is the Queen clutch, an extra large clutch of embossed leather with a suede inner lining. All of Rocha’s bags are handmade and start at around $400.

As much as I love Brown’s classic and slightly off-beat fashion sense, I would not call her store eclectic, as solid colors and simple lines dominate. Brown told me that she named her shop for what she hopes eventually to make it — a repository for designers around the world who reflect their unique cultures. The message I take from this is: Get in now, while Eclectica might still be called an undiscovered local gem.

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