A new women’s clothing boutique in the Hemingway District aims to offer fun, casual, everyday wear from designers all over the world.
Only She, which opened March 18, fills the spot formerly occupied by Bramble, which closed last year.
Only She owner Terri Vizzone, who also owns the more upscale Urban Style Emporium in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, was a multi-store buyer for Bullock’s and Macy’s before opening her own boutique more than 20 years ago.
Retail is in her blood, she said: Her father had a clothing store on the Magnificent Mile for decades, and her brother was part owner of Spauldings, a longtime clothing shop in Oak Park.
“Retail is really a love or a hate. You have to really love what you do,” Vizzone said.
Until she moved here last September, Vizzone was the only member of her family not living in Oak Park. Opening a new store wasn’t really on her radar, but when the former Bramble space became available, Vizzone jumped on it.
“I really, really liked this space a lot,” she said. “I was like, ‘That’s it, I love it.'”
Upon moving in, Vizzone said they gave everything a coat of white paint and distressed the wood floors. She wanted to keep the space feeling clean and airy to ensure the focus would be on the clothes.
“It already had a really great energy,” she said of the space.
Vizzone stocked the shop with modern, casual, machine washable pieces, and also sells accessories like jewelry, scarves and handbags. Prices range from $88 to $400, although Vizzone said most things are in the lower half of that range.
“Women’s clothes change constantly,” Vizzone said, pointing to the seasonal nature of fashion and the trends inspired by what’s seen on the runways. “If you have a passion for that, you’re all about watching that.”
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Takara Beathea-Gudell, whose closed her boutique on Marion Street to spend more time designing clothing and accessories, will do trunk shows at Only She. Beathea-Gudell has known Vizzone for 25 years, and said she’s a good soul who will bring amazing clothes to the community.
“This is the answer that Oak Park needs for fashion, for women of a certain age,” Beathea-Gudell said. “It’s everything that I think Oak Park women are going to be looking for.”
Twenty percent of sales generated from the grand opening, spanning from the evening of March 19 through March 22, will fund the Oak Park and River Forest Infant Welfare Society.
“We want to be an interactive part of the community,” Vizzone said.
Viktor Schrader, economic development manager for the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, said Only She joins a number of other female-owned businesses with strong missions in that block, including Lively Running and Nora’s Shoe Shop.
“She seems very energetic and very passionate,” said Jim August, owner of The Irish Shop, at 100 N. Oak Park Ave., and president of the Hemingway District Business Association. “We look forward to new energy.”
Allison Bethel, of Forest Park, checked out the shop with a friend during the grand opening event March 19. Upon first impression, she called the store “very cute.”
“And I like that it’s kind of boutique-y. It’s not Macy’s, everybody won’t have [these clothes],” Bethel said.
Only She, located at 115 N. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park, is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 708-406-6717 or visit http://www.onlyshe.com.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.