A basic guide to retail in Chicago
Written by TFN Writer: Ollie Roloff
In 2024, locally curated boutiques stocking independent designers from around the world are few and far between in Chicago.
Sure, you could go to one of the many department stores that may stock that one particular brand you’ve been interested in, but their slim selections aren’t catering to the consumer interested in truly learning more about the clothes they love.
Let’s say you’re in Chicago and you wanted to go look at some (perhaps even purchase) pieces by Bode and Kiko Kostadinov. You could go to Nordstrom, where a sales associate trained to help older customers find their Gucci and their Fendi can show you to the handful of items you’re looking for that the retailer might have in stock. Or you could go to Notre in the West Loop, a shop that specializes in smaller designers like Bode and Kiko, where any sales associate would be happy to show you and talk about the large portions of these designers' latest collections they have in stock.
Sadly, Notre has been the victim of multiple break-ins as recent as January 2024, and their extensive brand catalog appears to be slowly dwindling, as the shop has yet to renew accounts with a number of designers. The sad reality is that the future of Notre is unclear, and closure would be devastating for much of Chicago’s fashion community.
Along with Bode and Kiko Kostadinov, Notre tends to stock brands with softer, refined takes on contemporary fashion, like Needles, Thom Browne, Craig Green, etc.
Just around the corner, a similar shop called SVRN (pronounced “sovereign”) stocks the darker, more avant-garde side of contemporary fashion. This is where you’d go for brands such as Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, Vetements, and the like.
Both Notre and SVRN roughly serve the same audience of men and women seeking a curated selection of niche designer clothing and have quite a bit of brand overlap, each stocking Margiela, Dries Van Noten, Wales Bonner, Jacquemus, and certain Comme Des Garcons sublabels, among others.
Independence, located near Ukrainian Village, is Chicago’s resident supplier of Japanese denim, stocking the finest indigo dyes from Kapital and orSlow. This shop also stocks numerous Japanese brands inspired by vintage, outdoor, and military aesthetics, like Engineered Garments and Nanamica.
George Greene is located on Oak Street in Chicago’s Gold Coast. They are the only retailer of Chrome Hearts in the city. ‘Nuff said (they also stock brands like Off-White and Zenga).
RSVP Gallery in Wicker Park stocks a few brands worth mentioning like Martine Rose and Human Made. It’s also worth mentioning that Virgil Abloh played a key role in opening this shop.
Again located in Wicker Park is legendary Chicago sneaker shop Saint Alfred, a store with an illustrious collaborative history, working with brands such as Asics, New Balance, and Adidas. While they may specialize in footwear, they do carry unique selections of streetwear and Japanese designer apparel from Stussy, Undercover, and Visvim.
Wicker Park is also the home of Chicago’s Supreme store, the opening of which was an undeniable rite-of-passage for the city’s burgeoning fashion scene.
And while they aren’t retail shops, I should acknowledge the key resale shops in the city. 2nd Street is a popular spot specializing in second-hand designer and vintage pieces with two Chicago locations. Round Two and Boneyard are reliable sources of pre-owned and deadstock sneakers and streetwear.
These stores all play an important role in facilitating Chicago’s fashion zeitgeist. They serve the community as physical locations where like-minded individuals can discuss common interests grounded in fashion. It also gives visitors a unique opportunity to examine garments they may have only ever seen online, garments that may only be accessible in a few other cities in the country and even around the world. It’s important to support these retailers and keep them in business, because Chicago’s fashion scene would look very different if it weren’t for the folks behind these stores dedicated to putting Chicago on the map within the world of fashion.
Stores depicted in images in the order that they appear:
Notre in the West Loop, SVRN, Independence, display of Chrome Hearts pieces at George Greene, RSVP Gallery, Saint Alfred, Supreme.
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