At RSVP Gallery in Wicker Park, the high life is what the owners, employees and customers highlight, literally. With neon colors lacing the store from the front door to the back wall, customers will find it easy to lose themselves inside the store. This unique space offers more than just product, but also an experience; a gateway to a lifestyle in which people see and value an artist’s vision instead of merely reading a label to see if they recognize the name. Marc Moran, Partner/Owner, said he envisioned “an idea of creating a higher-end version of what was then a street-wear boutique, to be something that offered more exclusive product that was hard to find in Chicago, let alone the United States.” This idea evolved into several other stages and has now become one of the leaders (no pun-intended) in the Chicago style scene. They have even been featured on Yves Saint Laurent’s online publication, along with many other highly regarded publications.

Written by Amy Nguyen

Sofia, formerly Sofia Vintage, is a hidden little gem in the Gold Coast neighborhood, and has garnered much success during its short time in existence. Their success and strong following has led us to select them as our featured boutique of the week.

Written by Christopher Free

This week’s Boutique feature is DNA 2050, DNA is considered the “Ultimate Destination for Premium Denim” and is conveniently located at the 900 shops building across street from the John Hancock on Michigan Ave. This denim lovers dream boutique carries over 30 brands of denim from G-Star, 7 For All Mankind, to Nudie and the list goes on. They also carry multiple washes, from dark denim to light stone to fades of blacks and grays, and of course there are various styles, trends and fits available, such as: straight, boot, loose, slim and skinny fit. Not only does DNA 2050 have a brilliant display of denim stacked from wall to wall, this boutique carries cozy, stylish sweaters, t-shirts, hoodies, plaid shirts and trendy fall coats that will be sure to keep you warm and looking good this fall season!

Founder Iraklis Karabassis, a part of IK Retail Group – stated, “DNA 2050 came about as we recognized a gap in the contemporary market for quality, trendy concepts for men and women in a multi-brand environment. Our goal is to be the ultimate destination for the trendy denim shopper in every market we enter.”

DNA just had its 1 year anniversary of being located at the 900 shops building, so we thought it would be cool to have a look inside, pick a few outfits and have a photo shoot! Originally we were just going to select two outfits for the feature, but we ended up choosing four looks. Since there were simply too many great things to chose from, to shoot only two would have been an injustice to both DNA 2050 and our viewers. Besides that…I love this stuff! I wish I had time to shoot more but unfortunately, ladies, this feature is for the men. Sorry, but we will have too revisit the boutique to feature the women’s section another time. However, for now please enjoy the photos and keep DNA 2050 in mind for a place to shop for the special man in your life.

Let us know your thoughts!

All photos presented in this feature were taken by Christopher Free, clothes provided by DNA 2050, clothing modeled Ryan Kennedy.

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