Every other Thursday, The FADER asks employees and employers at our favorite shops around the world what their most cherished in-store item is for our column Staff Affections. This week, Liz Raiss caught up with Chicago boutique Sir and Madame, to talk La Rocca Royal Gallery's one-of-a-kind luggage pieces.
What were Sir and Madame's origins? My wife and I started a store originally called Sole Mates Chicago. It was kind of a sneaker, consignment, street wear boutique. As we got older and started having kids, we wanted to do something we felt reflected ourselves more, so we decided to open Sir and Madame, a boutique in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago. Sir and Madame focuses more on contemporary streetwear and classic clothes, things that stand the test of time rather than fast fashion.
How does that idea of classic clothing suit your customer? Everything is classic with a twist. We want to have classic stuff but have fun with it as well, which can be in how you wear it, how you’re styling it. But I figure we’re a little bit more for the slightly older crowd that kind of knows where they’re at and doesn’t change their style up when their favorite artists does. So we’re kind of for that original, established kind of person.
Can you tell me a little bit about the La Rocca Royal Gallery book bag and tote? I found La Rocca Royal Gallery at a Japanese showroom that we were actually considering to represent our in-house brand in Asia. As we were talking, I was looking through some of their other brands they carry and I was came across the brand. We like the fact that they’re made in Thailand out of vintage textiles and old army textiles. They use a lot of bandanas, tents, shirting fabrics, all reused military stuff.
How do your customers respond to the bags? People love the look of the bags. They're fun. It's camo but it’s a fun camo with shearling on it. We like to do the classic stuff but just have fun with it so it falls right in line with what we do. It's probably the most exciting accessory line we have coming in this fall.
So what’s next for Sir and Madame? We’re doing a lot of pop up shops now. Within the store we’ve been hosting brands that we carry and some up and coming brands to showcase those. We’re semi-landlocked so the influence isn’t as big as it is in New York or LA, from outside. We just want to bring in these brands and present them and showcase them and just up their reach.