Windy City Style with Nationwide Appeal

It’s true that New York is a mecca for the fashion industry and home to many of today’s top designers. However, it’s not fashion’s only home, as budding designers everywhere aim to create their own vivid styles, making their imprints on the fashion landscape.

This is especially true of the Chicago fashion industry, which is booming with more than 250 designers and over 300 boutiques, nearly 40 of which came together on July 20 and July 21 for the Chicago Sidewalk Sale. Now in its fourth year, the Sidewalk Sale draws many Chicagoans downtown to peruse the various booths filled with different styles of clothing and jewelry to appeal to a variety of tastes.

Jennifer Tuite, private events coordinator for the Chicago Department of Cultural Events, was the coordinator and organizer for this year’s event, managing it since the first year. When talking about how the sale began she said that “The Mayor decided he wanted to have a fashion program to support local designers and keep them here in Chicago. So we sent out a call for local designers and have been adding new ones to the program every year.”

The designers themselves were all uniquely different, too. One booth was hosted by Pretty Afrika, a fashion design house led by a mother and daughter duo, Madam Theresa Obeng Sam and Sandra Aya. They started the company in 2007 and have been designing ever since. Today, they are driven primarily by online sales, appearing periodically at events like the Sidewalk Sale to sell their unique clothes, handbags, and pieces of jewelry. Sandra also said that 30 to 40 % of their sales come from outside Chicago.

Nearby, designer Anna Hovet had another story. Originally a designer for baby clothes, she was laid off from her corporate job in 2008; then she went into business for herself. Today, Anna sells her clothes wholesale, landing great success with the popular Chicago-based boutiques Akira, as well as additional stores in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Her clothes, a mix of sporty and sexy, are mostly comprised of solid colors and very cozy fabrics, which can easily be dressed up or down.

However, it was not just women showing off their designs at the Sidewalk Sale. A trio of young men, Brandon Breaux, Juan Alvarez, and Jon Waisman started their t-shirt design company, Ends Wealth Corp, initially as a side project. With a name derived from a mix of making ends meet (“Ends”) plus well-being or abundance (“Wealth”), the guys team up to create men and women’s shirts that, with bold colors, fitted styles, and quality fabrics, are also fun and satirical in nature. While the guys had a host of shirts at their booth, you can get a look at a sample of their work on their website. The guys have two main accounts and mentioned that most of their shirts are sold locally.

While these are just a handful of the designers that were available, these and others can be found on Chicago’s main fashion page: www.chicagofashionresource.com. Many of the designers do sell online and have great galleries that showcase tons of quality styles. With some of these designers on the loose, it may be time for the New York market to look out. Chicago is definitely another home to quality, distinctive fashions.

Consider surfing the city’s and some of the designers’ sites. You are bound to find something you like!