Stephanie Sack

By Sarah Alo

Like many women, I love shoes. But like many, I have trouble finding a pair that satisfies the quadruple whammy of shoe needs: comfort, style, affordability and—most importantly—availability. Especially for us women of substantial foot size, it’s rare that a store carries larger offerings, let alone in the sale section. But let us all rejoice: Bucktown’s new boutique Violette, 2031 North Damen, offers all that and more.

Owner Stephanie Sack says she has had a fantastic response since her opening at the end of May, in part because customers from her plus-size clothing boutique, Vive la Femme, have been pleading for shoes.

Violette only carries shoe sizes 7-12, and specifically stocks up on larger sizes. “I’ve been finding clothes that didn’t exist for nine years, so I knew I could find shoes too,” Sack says. She feigns outrage at the thought of carrying smaller sizes. “I don’t open a business to ape what others do, I open a business to set the standard.”

Over the years at Vive la Femme, Sack’s heard regular customer requests for lingerie, wedding and shoes; she found shoes to be the most democratic. “Vive is for the stylish women of size in Chicago, and Violette is for the stylish women of Chicago,” Sack declares. Read the rest of this entry »

At first glance, Kathryn Kerrigan seems like just another tempting shoe store in Bucktown. However, once you step past the all-glass storefront you’ll notice that the boutique is a bit grander than all the others. Literally, bigger is better at Kathryn Kerrigan; the store only carries shoe sizes 9-13.

Have you ever noticed how, at a sample sale, all the frenzied women are battling for the size sevens, eights and nines while it’s all calm and collected in the size-twelve aisle? Although the majority of women do wear sizes seven-to-nine, as the new store’s owner Stephanie Sack puts it: “women of size are an underappreciated and overlooked market.” And Sack is capitalizing on this notion. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Friday night and the sounds flowing off the DJ’s decks easily drown out the traffic outside the doors on Milwaukee Avenue. But the noise doesn’t seem to faze the boisterous crowd of sneaker heads, hipsters, bloggers and beauty queens gathered within, checking out the new wares and, of course, each other. Just like another shoe-release shindig for the St. Alfred’s regulars, perhaps, but we’re a long way from Niketown,  tiger. This is Nike+St. Alfred’s coming-out party.

The global shoe giant and the Chicago sneaker mecca have teamed up in a promising retail collaboration that’s taken over the Hejfina space next door to Saint Alfred’s storefront on Milwaukee Avenue, starting this Thursday, and lasting through this summer’s World Cup, at the least. The pop-up shop offers selective Nike sportswear, most notably its licensed soccer gear from competing countries, Saint Alfred x Nike Co-Lab pieces and exclusive artist collaborations. Read the rest of this entry »

2145 N. Damen, (773)727-9846, personalprivilege.com, myspace.com/personalprivilege (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Goods: Trendy casual clothing and accessories for men and women. Owner: Celebrity stylist Tracy Lemke has created her own store, Personal Privilege, and she promises to dress you the way she’s dressed athletic superstars like White Sox player Octavio Dotel, Lakers player Shannon Brown and Cubs player Carlos Marmol. Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to look like a star when you party, then Tracy Lemke might be able to help you out. The former celebrity stylist has created her own store, Personal Privilege, and she promises to dress you the way she’s dressed athletic superstars like White Sox player Octavio Dotel, Lakers player Shannon Brown and Cubs player Carlos Marmol. With a selection of flashy, funky clothes for the club scene and more conservative, classy clothes for everyday, Lemke’s collection has a mix of styles that she claims can suit every personality and every occasion with brand names like J Steger that she says are hard to find anywhere else. Lemke declares that it is her mission to give customers a special shopping experience, where they can get everything they want with a personal touch. “The reason we call this store Personal Privilege is that I want to personally help customers put a whole wardrobe together, and give them a more personal experience than they can get at other places,” Lemke explains. Read the rest of this entry »

By Marla Seidell

John Fluevog has angels on the soles of his shoes.

Urban Angels, that’s the name of this particular mid-calf boot, which like the Fluevog stores, hit their twentieth anniversary this year. In addition to the angels stenciled on the soles, there’s a personal message from Fluevog inscribed: “Resist all things, including Satan.” Soles are made from biodegradable Hevea tree latex soles. “Really comfy,” notes Fluevog.

Judging from his rock-star appearance—dark blue denim, a red, white and blue button-shirt with a pattern of stars at the center, tousled strawberry-blond hair, Prada sunglasses on top of head, and a thin line of white goatee on his chin—you wouldn’t think that Fluevog, designer and creator of cult-status funky shoes since the mid-eighties, is the kind of guy to stamp spiritual phrases and angels on his products. Read the rest of this entry »

1525 N. Milwaukee, (773)342-2623, g-star.com (No Ratings Yet)
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Goods: Menswear, womenswear and accessories. Designer: G-Star Raw Owner: New York-based Denimwall Inc. operates the New York, Boston, Miami  and Chicago stores of this European brand. Read the rest of this entry »

1539-41 N. Milwaukee, (773)772-1983, fluevog.com
Goods: Men’s and women’s shoes Designer: John Fluevog Owner: The Vancouver-based designer John Fluevog has a handful of stores in North America. Read the rest of this entry »

1519 N. Milwaukee, (773)227-5300, 2711 N. Clark, (773)296-1000, 1730 Sherman, Evanston, (847)492-9400 crossroadstrading.com
Goods: Men’s and women’s gently used apparel, shoes and accessories. Designers: Marc Jacobs, Diesel, Express, Nine West, etc.—the stores stock all types of brands, as long as they’re contemporary and in good shape. Read the rest of this entry »

With a new year, a new president and a new era on the horizon, there’s never been a greater time for change—just ask Verse Chicago owner Kortnee Doss. Inhabiting the space formerly known as Via Firenzi, Doss greeted 2009 with a moniker switch, a complete remodeling and open arms.

Taking over the Eurocentric Wicker Park boutique in July 2008, Doss had her work cut out for her. Plagued by very red and “very dated” walls and decor, Doss called upon her fiancé and interior designer, Ruben Quiza, for help. Less than six months later, the place was hardly recognizable. “He did everything,” she gushes. Ripping up the carpet to expose the hardwood floor and painting over the red with more subtle blacks and whites, Doss and Quiza opened up her space with lighter colors and fewer walls. But the changes didn’t stop there.

Infusing the shoe-heavy stock with more apparel and accessories, Doss has revamped both the focus and the concept of the store. Channeling what she calls a “Portobello market,” she has combined a collection of modern indie, quality-driven labels like Bill Tornade and Terra Plana with great vintage pieces from brands like Rockett Mansion. “What we had to do is kind of dissociate ourselves from the other store,” she says.

Accordingly, Doss had to revise more than her stock. She’s also been striving to improve the store’s image by making a positive name for herself and Verse in the local community. Featuring up-and-coming Chicago designers like Anna Fong on Thursday nights, Doss has implemented a weekly showcase to help local fashion. She also has plans in the works for a Fair Trade deal through the Peace Corp that would offer ladies trendy handmade items, like long socks. “Girls like those,” she says. She would know—she’s somewhat of a fashion expert. With both British and American degrees in fashion design and marketing, Doss has worked for big names like Guess, Gap and even Mr. “Project Runway” himself, Christian Siriano. “He’d come in and be like, nuh-uh, that does not go together,” she recalls.

Now taking the opportunity to “spread her wings and fly” on her own, Doss and Verse are still in transition. Unable to completely evade the economically driven retail recession, she has at least put her spare time to good use. Together with intern Justin White, Doss delves into every aspect of fashion in store downtime, from who they’d like to dress to what tights and boots would look good with a new item. “We’re like style incubating over here!” she jokes. “That’s what we love to do.” (Nicole Briese)

Verse Chicago, 1821 West North, (773)486-4434