By Nicole Briese

It’s a bittersweet year for Saks Fifth Avenue. 2009 marked a momentous occasion for the company—eighty years as one of the premier department stores in the city of Chicago. But 2009 also brings the departure of one of the company’s key resources, when special events manager and fashion director Nena Ivon retires.

This Friday will see the end of an era. A 53-year-long era during which Ivon reigned supreme as the go-to fashion maven on high at Saks Fifth Avenue.

“Everyone thinks I’m gonna be hysterical,” Ivon says. “I’m perfectly fine. I’m actually kind of excited.” Dismissing an old quote in which she said that she’d do her job until it wasn’t interesting anymore, Ivon says she’s leaving to expand her other interests—and to rest. “I wanna write the book, I want to research for school… I’ve always done charity work, I’ll be able to do more of that now,” she muses. A retirement will also mean more time for friends and family. “I’ve never had the holidays off!” she says. ["I've] had to put people on my schedule to be with them. It isn’t that it’s no longer interesting, ’cause it is..it’s been a really exciting time, it really has, but I think one gets to the point where one goes, okay, what else do I want to do?” Read the rest of this entry »

These and many more questions await you, but the polls close at midnight tonight so sharpen your mental pencil and get over to http://newcity.bestofchicago.sgizmo.com to get started!

In the process of fact-checking and updating our semi-annual print edition, we confirmed that the following boutiques have closed or are closing: A Cooler Planet, Ciao Bella, Eva May (moved her designs into Mr. & Mrs. Digz), Grace, Guise/Chic, Hip Fit, Hejfina, Mint Boutique, Only She (reincarnated as Urban Style Emporium in a new location), Pivot, Plein Aire, Revolver, Soko Fashion, Untitled closed its Evanston store and Verse closed its Bucktown location with plans to reopen in the West Loop next spring.

Updated 10-30-09

The Chicago Marathon is a serious business, and its apparel is no exception. For the second straight year, Nike is producing all of the offical fashion and  footwear for the event, with a product line targeted at runners, their friends and general Chicago fans. Last year, Nike offered up a series of looks largely consistent with its clean, forward-looking Nike Running line, but for this year, the label’s designers endeavored to create a collection more internally unified and one that reflects their take on the Chicago aesthetic. The result is surprisingly retro-looking, with vintage typography and imagery, like the merch that might have been created for the 1976 marathon, if they had Dri-Fit then, or a Chicago marathon for that matter (the current race started the next year).  Note, for example, the font-crazy Chicago map that adorns several of their shirts, or the groovy “Love, American Style” vibe captured in one of the women’s shirts.

In the footwear category, Nike’s also launching a line of shoes designed in homage to various major world marathons (Amsterdam, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, London, New York, Rio—Rio!—San Francisco, Tokyo), with Chicago getting a smart-looking coal black Lunar Glide variation with baby blue highlights and elements taken from the Chicago flag. It’s almost enough to convert shoe destroyers (runners) into sneaker collectors. (Brian Hieggelke)

Official Chicago Marathon apparel is available now at local running stores, Niketown, Nike.com and will, of course, be around the race on Sunday.

Division Street boutique Gamma Player, owned by world-renowned DJ and music producer Jeff Mills and his wife, Yoko Uozumi, have just launched an art project disguised as a limited-edition t-shirt. A collaboration with Tokyo menswear label Rozalia Scartissue, the shirts are inspired by Oscar Niemeyer’s iconic Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum in Brazil, while drawing a line back to Mies van der Rohe’s work here in Chicago and the early minimalism that infuses the work of all parties involved. Mills has recorded a special CD soundtrack to accompany the project, which comes included with the shirt in a smartly designed package that augments the whole thing. Mills’ atmospheric techno provides a musical foundation to the otherworldliness inherent in Niemeyer’s UFO-like museum design and a message inside the shirt from Mills hints at new life forms in the hidden waters just off the coast of Niteroi. That being said, the shirt stands on its own as a fine bit of fashion, and comes in four different designs, with three different colors, for $80-$90. (Brian Hieggelke)

Available at Gamma Player, 2035 West Division, (773)235-0755, or online at axisrecords.com

A sunny Saturday afternoon and you, clueless you, think it a nice day for shopping for a new pair of kicks. You arrive at Saint Alfred’s, that Wicker Park sneaker shop you’ve been hearing about, and find the security grate closed. Oh no! Has the economy taken them out too? A couple of teenagers, immaculately attired and topped out in LDRS hats, seem unperturbed; they take advantage  of the large Saint Alfred logo painted on the outside of the grate to take some snaps in front.

Silly you: the action here was all last night, when the latest edition of the Nike Air Yeezy releases kept the crowd of sneakerheads at sway till round about four in the morning, after opening at 12:01am. Yeezy is a ultra-limited-edition series being designed by hip-hop star and renowned clotheshorse Kanye West, and the “limited” part means forget about it, they’re all gone (though trading on eBay north of $600 a pair, up from $215 list, but even retail upcharges from there). But don’t despair your oversight: many of the two dozen or so who camped out, some for two days, at Saint Alfred’s (or Leaders nearby) for the black-on-black edition went home shoeless—the store had less than twenty pairs in total to dispense. You’ve  got at least one more chance to rock like ‘Ye, when the third color combination, the  “Net/Net” (pictured) gets released the first week of June. You may want to get in line now. (Brian Hieggelke)

Pictured: Blue Dress: Calvin Klein, Grey Dress: Taylor, Black Skirt: Forever 21, Coin Purse: Vintage Jacket: Taylor, Yellow Pant: J.Crew, Jeans: Henry III Generation, Long Red Sweater: J.Crew, Green Sleeveless Top: J.Crew, Vintage Clutch, Red Beaded Dress: Collette Dinnigan, Ilse Jacobsen rain boots, “Amelia” necklace from erin gallagher, Mar-a-Lago bag from Lilly Pulitzer

Gregarious and polished, public relations entrepreneur Liz Kores’ personality is reflected in her closet of preppy silhouettes combined with spunky color palettes. Ever a pragmatist, Liz isn’t afraid to admit that comfort and the versatility of each piece in her closet do help define her personal style.

She proudly attests to having inherited her mother’s ability to “sniff out a sale.” And she often combines designer label with inexpensive items. “This isn’t something new with the economy,” she smiles as she reaches for a pair of Manolo Blahniks and pairs them with a skirt from Forever 21.

A perfect example of Liz’s aesthetic is the classic shirt-dress with creative volume by Nuj Novkahett she purchased at SHE Boutique. It’s preppy with a flippant flare and shape. Liz snipped the dress with a vintage belt and added tights and boots; in summer she’ll wear it with bare legs and ballet flats. Another noteworthy wardrobe addition is a gift from her younger sister. It’s a black vintage clutch with a fabric rose and signed on the inside in marker. But the coolest part is that the rose is from Liz’s childhood collection of hair bows that her sister found while visiting their parents and added to the clutch. (Interview and photos by Kari Skaflen) Read the rest of this entry »

Barney’s is known as a fashionista’s mecca. If you’re a style hound, you already know this. Even if you’re not a style hound, you should know this. Unlike the fashion-forward collections, though, Chicago’s Barney’s location had always been a bit drab and outdated. Enter: the ultimate makeover.

The clothing’s not the only thing to ogle at this Rush Street location. While the new six-story space is engulfed by natural light gleaming in from the multitude of windows, what’s more impressive is the layout. Step in to the middle of the store (near the Balenciaga counter) and look up to discover layers of floors swirling to the ceiling. Each floor is much more simplified that its predecessor and entirely different from New York’s maze-like location. Read the rest of this entry »

Barneys New York opens its six-story colossus today—nearly twice the size of the old store—with free champagne and doughnuts. 10am-7pm.  It should be a fashionista frenzy. We’ll have more once we get a peek inside, but here’s a detailed description directly from the press release:

BARNEYS NEW YORK OPENING NEW CHICAGO STORE

FACT SHEET
Barneys New York’s bigger, bolder, even more gorgeous Chicago store will open its doors in April 16, 2009. The new six-story luxury emporium is located at 15 East Oak Street, just across the street from the original Barneys New York in Chicago.
Read the rest of this entry »

The French cuff shirt is a beautiful thing, a throwback to times when dressing for men was as thoughtful as it is for women, when elegance had not yet given way to the vulgarities of “casual.” Their recent resurgence gives testament to a growing disdain for the mono-macho-culture that has predominated since. Of course, there’s one group who’ve never forsaken the French cuff, and that’s Wall Street financiers and those who emulate them. They’re not so popular these days, either, which is why we love these CTA token cufflinks so much. Combining the natural beauty of these classic relics—the tokens were in use from 1922 to 1999—with the proletarian symbolism of their heritage, they offer us a way to embrace beauty while sending a clear message of where our heart is—and isn’t. (Brian Hieggelke)

The CTA token cufflinks, from designer Tokens and Coins, are available at Cufflinks.com for $75.