Jessica Herman

It's hard to imagine that Chicago-area native Lindsey Boland will be able to call her nearly two-month-old boutique, Habit (1951 West Division, www.habitchicago.com), "under the radar" for much longer. Featuring about fifty small-scale designers exclusive to Chicago, Habit's collection reeks of Boland's impeccable fashion sense.

After finishing a summer-school program at Parsons School of Design in New York five years ago, then interning with Cynthia Rowley and developing her own line called Superficial while working a bevy of temp jobs, Boland didn't intend to open a shop of her own. But when she moved to Chicago two years ago and found few outlets for indie designers, she followed the DIY ethic and made Habit happen.

Among the local designers, whose work composes roughly one-third of Habit's collection, the whimsical Superficial items range from bright tees embellished with fabric animal shapes to a green and white houndstooth-checked cape. Work by Columbia College and Art Institute grads like Alicja Tatina, Abigail Glaum-Lathbury and Anna Ehrler's include sculptural leather wares, untraditional dress shirts and Thai silk jackets with a peplum waist. Menswear includes Dolan Geiman blazers patched with screen-printed images of cars and flowers and simple K Adorable shirts.

Other non-native but notable labels include sleek, futuristic looks by Nature vs. Future, Gorbani's quilted silk jackets fit for an empress and leather handbags by Tulina New York. While many of the items come as handmade one-of-a-kinds, Boland emphasizes that most of the designers, including herself, offer custom designing. The bulk of the collection falls between $100-$700.

Besides showcasing the work of Chicago designers, Boland hopes to encourage a community among local designers by hosting biannual fashion shows, trunk shows, sample sales and monthly mixers.

Tag-teaming with her husband, Andrew Zimmerman (former chef of MOD and chef of soon-to-open Spanish restaurant del Toro), Boland will be winning over Wicker Parkers before she has a sign on her storefront.

(2005-10-25)

Also by Jessica Herman

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