Jessica Herman

After eight years of dressing Chicago's fashionable females with her whimsical selections, Robin Richman decided to indulge men with impeccable taste for attire, too.

If not for the forest green and fluorescent pink faux-hawk knit caps with clumsy, oversized tassels in the center, you might assume that the back end of Richman's recently renovated boutique (2108 North Damen) was the store's stock room. Closer inspection of the men's section reveals high-waist, moleskin sailor pants custom-made for Richman by a shoe store in Paris; Walter Van Beirendonck's bright shirts awash in repetitive shapes that resemble robots and googly eyes; Richman's hand-knit sweaters in jewel tones; and offbeat dress shoes by Cydwoq and Trippen.

If Richman's prices seem too rich for your gift budget, consider accessories in the $100-$200 range, which hardly qualify as consolation prizes. Infused with as much wit and humor as the rest of the collection, the store-labeled wares include vintage dog-tag necklaces (we're talking collies, not soldiers) and vintage velvet bowties hung from ball chains. Other highlights include Christophe Coppen's bronze belt buckles molded in the shapes of a nose and a mouth, black leather gloves that appear partially dipped in silver paint, colorful Antipast socks and silver jewelry by Gati.

Don't wait long if you think you might fancy pants for the winter. Richman begins hauling in the spring collection mid-January.

Robin Richman hosts a one-day anniversary sale with a 25-percent discount on everything in the store on December 1 from 10am-8pm at 2108 North Damen, (773)278-6150.

(2005-11-29)

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