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I’ve been writing about fashion for the Reader since 1999, and every now and then I have to remind myself of how things have changed since then. There were just a handful of boutiques stocking independent designers and fashion-forward styles—if you wanted a bigger selection, you had to go to New York. (There weren’t many online shopping sites back then either.) Shopping off Michigan Avenue meant Lincoln Park and Lakeview. Local designers were largely dependent on the dailies, direct mail, and word of mouth for publicity.
Fashion affects everyone in one way or another. Retail is a large part of the city’s economy—not to mention a major industry worldwide. And more than that, we all (or most of us, anyway) have to wear clothes every day of our lives. If you believe art and aesthetics are important, as you surely do if you’re a Reader reader, why not the aesthetics of how we choose to present ourselves to the world?
