Fashion divas on a budget can breathe a sigh of relief. Club Monaco, a Toronto-based retailer whose clothes already hang alongside Gucci and Prada in New York closets, opened its doors this weekend in Chicago.
Club Monaco, in the 900 N. Michigan Ave. building, offers fundamentals in the spirit of the Gap-white shirts, cargo pants and tank tops-but builds to long tailored skirts, French cuff shirts and sleek sheath dresses. Think agnes b. meets Banana Republic.
“It’s not basics, it’s fashion basics,” said Suzanne Yalof, senior market editor for fashion at Glamour magazine in New York. “All the editors wear it.”
She said they go there for items that stand out in designers’ collections in a given season – say a snug turtleneck with three-quarter sleeves or a pencil skirt – then they find an embellished item or two elsewhere.
“They fill in the gap between special pieces and basics,” Yalof said. “They take the most basic, modern shape and sell it at a great price.”
That equates to a below-the-knee skirt for $69 or a pair of chinos for $49. At first glance on the rack, the clothes may look as modest as their price, but the cut and fabric subtly secure the seal of chic.
Club Monaco’s advertising says it edits the trends.
“Club Monaco is about an under-design, an under-interpretation of what is going on,” said Joe Mimran, president and CEO of Club Monaco. “It’s about being a fashion Zeitgeist.”
The store tries to reach a design-driven audience, but Mimran likes to say it moves across the fashion class. It is hugely popular in Canada, where it opened its first store in 1985, and has expanded to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and beyond. A Seattle store is next after Chicago.
These clothes aren’t for everyone. Canadian club patrons tend to be in their teens, but the store skews older in the U.S., Mimran says.
These aren’t necessarily the clothes you’ll have in your closet a decade from now either, said Bernadette Morra, fashion editor for the Toronto Star.
“You are going to get the right shoulder for the season or the right jacket,” she said.
Morra said she shops at Club Monaco before traveling to the European fashion shows, where she is scrutinized head to toe. The appeal is the look and the cost: literally one-tenth of runway fashions, she said. Store stock changes often to stay fresh too.
The company has a team of more than 25 designers, primarily in New York, and a few in Toronto, but don’t assume they are knock-off artists, Mimran says. “I think people have a misperception that we are looking at runway clothing, knocking it off and giving it at that price,” he said. “We do get influenced, but we have our own point of view.”
Club Monaco is in the Bloomingdale’s building, in a two-floor space formerly occupied by Episode (which is settling on Oak Street). Women’s clothing and Club Monaco’s own cosmetics line will be on the first floor, and men’s wear will be on the second level. Along with jewelry, eyewear, belts and a smattering of tchotchkes, Club Monaco has an extensive line of cosmetics ranging in price from $8 to $40, and the company expects to introduce a skin care line later this year.
Club Monaco has more than 140 stores worldwide, with many in Asia. Mimran said a Chicago store is a natural addition. “You can’t have a presence in America without being on the premier street-Michigan Avenue-in Chicago.”
