First-date wardrobe provides theme, name for Wheaton boutique
About 20 years ago, before their first date, Jill Card, then unmarried, asked Richard Card what she should wear. Richard Card responded, "Just wear jeans and a cute top."
The phrase has been used fondly and jokingly through the couple's 15 years of marriage.
The clothing suggestion now takes on a new meaning. Jill recently opened a Wheaton boutique called Jeans & A Cute Top Shop.
The store at 204 W. Wesley St. is the type of shop that Jill has always looked to find for her own shopping needs.
"The shop is a contemporary women's boutique," Jill said. The store features an array of moderate to premium denim pieces and more than 50 lines of tops, including T-shirts, jackets and sweaters. Kensie, Free People, Tulle, Dex and Aryn K are top sellers at the shop, which opened March 3. Tops range in price from $18 to $75.
Popular denim names include James, Fidelity and 1921. The jeans range in price from $60 to $198. Jill added that the No. 1 seller has been the Worn line.
"They're slim fitting and fit everyone really well," Jill said.
Before launching the business, Jill worked at an Ann Taylor store for a couple years before she and her good friend Penny Duncan looked into opening their own franchise or boutique.
After researching, the women felt the independent shop was the better way to go. Duncan, who is also the Cards' neighbor in Winfield, now serves as assistant manager at the business.
Richard Card, who has worked as a trader at the Board of Trade for 20 years, also assists in the clothing store. The couple are raising two sons; E.J., 11 and Griffin, 8.
Jill, who has an advertising degree from the University of Illinois, has always liked fashion. Before having children, she worked at the Mid-Day Club in Chicago where she focused on special events.
"I enjoyed my job, but it basically boiled down to, 'What am I going to wear every day?'" she says.
She says the new shop is the perfect fit for her.
Launching a business during a recession has been going better than she expected.
"It's going amazingly well," she said, adding that the community has been supportive and people often thank her for opening the business.
Keeping the merchandise at affordable prices is her mission. She added that even during tough economic times, women need some cute tops and a nice pair of jeans.
"You need something that helps to make you feel good about yourself," she said.
The shop is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. It's open until 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, call (630) 690-5287.
kmikus@dailyherald.com