September 14, 2007

Mention “Chicago style” and more people will still think of pizza, hot dogs, or grammar and punctuation than sartorial flair. But the profile of designers who choose to base themselves here has never been higher—the New York Times and The Today Show covered the growing local industry this summer, Elle featured Lara Miller on its Web site, and Lucky is in love with Eskel. A number of local designers are opening their own boutiques, including jewelry artist Erin Gallagher in the West Loop and clothing designers Vika Brown in Lincoln Park and Beth Lambert of Scarlet Designs on Oak Street.

Oh, and some of us local yokels actually know how to wear nice clothes too. To prove it, we invited a dozen regular Chicagoans with singular style into the studio and asked them to create an outfit on the spot from clothes and accessories provided by local designers and retailers—combined with some of their own favorite items, of course.

Fall Fashion Obi Nwazota

Obi Nwazota, the 38-year-old owner of Orange Skin, a design firm and high-end European furniture showroom, was born in Nigeria and travels the world for his work, which has no doubt influenced his cosmopolitan style. He leans toward items not readily available elsewhere, which is why he likes to shop at Gamma Player, a Wicker Park boutique specializing in lesser-known European and South American designers. Nwazota prefers something well made with a narrow continental cut or some sort of interesting detail, be it a suit or a T-shirt. He chose this green-and- white shirt from the London-based line Ocha and Garth for its pop-up breast pockets and slim fit. He also went for Nudie boot-cut jeans with a belt by local line Tuyere—the giant brass buckle made the outfit. Nwazota’s wearing his own 70s-inspired Oliver Peoples glasses, a bracelet he got in Laos, and a silver ring made for him in New York that incorporates a rare stone from Africa.

Where to buy

Shirt, $310, at Gamma Player
Jeans, $275, at Guise
Belt, $185, at Habit

Fall Fashion Ashley Siple

“Amelia Earhart would be my fashion model,” says Ashley Siple, 25. A former curatorial assistant at the Museum of Contemporary Photography who’s headed for London to study at the Courtauld Institute of Art, Siple likes “pea coats, trench coats—anything that has to do with sailing or aviation.” Her choices here are a little more glam but still show a feminine daring and confidence. Siple says the Abigail Glaum-Lathbury skirt, which is slightly hitched in the back and has a striped silk lining, was an obvious choice: “The bustle is something that should have another heyday,” she says. She also liked playing with the wide lapels of the boxy one-button asymmetrical wool jacket by Serpico. “You can wear it open, closed, hide everything, kind of secretly show everything.” The platform shoes are by Kathryn Kerrigan and the fur muff is Siple’s own, purchased on a trip to Iceland; the animal-print felt hat is by Marjorie Marshall Design. Oversize hoop earrings help ground this retro look in the present: “Marlene Dietrich wouldn’t wear hoop earrings,” Siple points out.

Where to buy

Skirt, $215, at Habit
Jacket, $465, serpico-collection.com
Shoes, $210, kathrynkerrigan.com
Hat, $150, mmdesignshats.com

Our selection initially gave Argelia Chavez pause—she’s into “tailored, clean lines” and most of our clothes were outside her comfort zone. But the 29-year-old fourth-grade teacher decided it was “good to challenge myself” and ended up putting together an ensemble she was surprisingly happy with: Abigail Glaum-Lathbury’s cropped linen pants with a pocket lining in a contrasting color, a pair of brown leather riding boots by Kathryn Kerrigan, and a gray faux-fur jacket with leather cuffs by Agga B over her own gray turtleneck from Old Navy. “Everything else was so simple—that jacket was a nice contrast,” she says. Her own black knit cap from Discovery adds a touch of sporty spice, while a brown faux-fur muff by Agga B (which has a zippered compartment for keys and cash) ratchets up the posh factor. “I think it helped make the outfit,” Chavez says.

Where to buy

Pants, $168, at Habit
Boots, $260, at kathrynkerrigan.com
Jacket, $430, at Gamma Player
Muff, $170, at Gamma Player