Boutiqueville Style: Spy Game

Dept 728 is cutting edge. Their new fall “Espionage” line, boasting images of guns and spies, makes that perfectly clear. But for anyone who has ever found the perfect shirt, only to find that it’s too loose, too tight, too long or too short, the young clothing line is also an end to the frustration—the entire label was created specifically with fit in mind.

“Dept 728 actually started when my business partner Sean [Carrell] and I…worked at Neiman Marcus in the sports department,” designer Ruth Karasik says. Noticing that athletic men had a hard time finding clothes with their “built upper bodies and slim waistlines,” the pair decided to do something about it. They left their jobs on July 28, 2006, and a clothing line was born.

Offering both a standard and an athletic fit for men’s tops, guys will have no problem finding something in their size with Dept 728. And while men were the brand’s original targeted clientele, this fall’s collection will make the ladies more comfortable as well. “[With] women, even if you have a size two, three size twos [don’t look the same next to each other],” Karasik says. “If women don’t find something that fits, they tend to think they’re shaped funny rather than the clothing.” Karasik’s answer? The morph skirt. Featured in the new line, the skirt can be worn as a variety of dresses or skirts, and tends to fit almost everyone, “because it’s so adjustable.”

Having perfected the fit in her developing label, Karasik’s latest collection, due out in September, will also be focused on high fashion. “This September’s gonna be the first time that the fit and aesthetics are coming together as one,” she says. Drawing inspiration from rather unexpected sources, Karasik strives for usable, but pretty, designs. “I take a lot from weddings and architecture,” she says. (Dwell magazine is her favorite publication.) “[My work ethic] tends to kind of jive closer to [that of] furniture designers and architects [than that of designers]. [Architects] look at the problem and solve [it] in a beautiful but practical sort of way.”

Her fall collection was inspired by the whole “spy” culture both literally for men and figuratively for women. “For fall, it’s got sort of a tongue-in-cheek, spy-versus-spy thing,” Karasik says. “[It’s a] fun look at that whole violent [scene].”

And Karasik’s customers simply can’t wait to check it out. With customers already fans of the current “zippy,” a zippered sweatshirt with a stand-up collar, (Karasik says she doesn’t think she’s had a customer that hasn’t bought it) the new fall version is already generating a lot of buzz. “[With] the gun sweatshirt, we have customers waiting,” she says. “[It’s] funny to see the one bold graphic that makes the shirt pop…people are salivating for the thing.” She herself is a fan of the reversible Colleen top in the women’s collection. “[It has] an open back and a drapey front…it reminds me of a calla lily.”

Karasik says that although My Body Fitness in Glenview showcases some of her clothing, for now, the web is still the best place to pick up her designs. (Wicker Park’s Bonnie & Clyde may soon follow suit.) All of the garments will be made available at www.dept728.com in early September, and as an added bonus, Karasik says that her company is still small enough to be able to accept special requests from online customers. “I will fix it and tweak it…for a customer with a special situation,” she says. “One customer is 6’4”. We can accommodate those types of requests.”

Some have been shocked at how accommodating the clothes truly are. “It’s been a pretty interesting response,” Karasik says. “People who were used to fitting into much tighter clothing [have] sort of adapted to the fact that [our line] actually does give them room to breathe and still does show off their bodies.”

As Karasik puts it best, “we’re really about making the person look good in the clothes rather than the clothes looking good on the person.” (Nicole Briese)

Style Expose: Unveiling of New “Treated” Uniforms by Ruth Karasik

WHEN: Thursday, May 15th, 2008

WHERE: THE UNDERGROUND - 56 W. Illinois St. Chicago, IL.

WHAT: The Underground, Chicago’s premiere entertainment venue, and the Stitches Fashion program have teamed up to create a competition showcasing the talent of a local Chicago designer. The idea for the competition was initiated by the launch of the club’s new TREATED AT THE UNDERGROUND series, which occurs every Thursday. The competition intends to give a promising young designer a unique yet organic platform to showcase their talent.

WHO: The winner of the competition is Chicago born, Ruth Karasik of DEPT728. Ruth began her design career in high school when she would design and create prom dresses for her friends to earn some extra income. Ruth then moved on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. After graduation, she worked at Neiman Marcus where she met her current business partner, Sean Carrell. Sean earned his Jurist Doctorate from Chicago-Kent College of Law and also holds a Bachelor of Business degree. With Seans’ business and law background and Ruths’ design capabilities, DEPT728 was born.

ABOUT THE TREATED UNIFORMS: Ruth’s vision for the new TREATED uniforms stemmed from the military feel of the club coupled with the artistic vibe of Treated. The men’s t-shirts are cut in DEPT728’s athletic fit and are engineered to fit the shape of the body. The men's tee’s come in an orange hued color with an antique treatment and feature the Treated logo in a brown stain. Each shirt is stained by hand, giving each piece its own personal touch. The female uniforms are “military-meets-mod,” meaning a mini dress created with Orange and Camoflaugue print fabric.

ABOUT TREATED AT THE UNDERGROUND: The Underground is Chicago's hottest and most exclusive nightlife destination. Treated at The Underground is a new Thursday series created to showcase the rising Indie music movement happening around the world and to expose its direct ties to Chicago artists who have been so influential in the emergence. Past "Treated" artists include Flosstradamus, Million $ Mano, Hollywood Holt, Willy Joy of Fly by Night and Mother Hubbard of LDW. The new series utilizes an amazing platform in the upscale setting of the Underground, showcasing art, culture, lifestyle and most importantly, music.

Dept728 Uniforms at Underground

“Yeah, I like that word.”, Ruth reflected as she nodded her head. The word: Minimalism. Influenced bauhaus architecture and modern furniture designers, Ruth Karasik’s line, Dept 728 projects a clean, structured aesthetic and is also imbued with a relaxed feel. Through hand-stitching and custom crafted pieces that are fabulously tailored and cut with precision, Ruth creates a balance of technical, detail orientation and fun playful design energy. And that same infective and playful energy in her design bubbles up and spills out of Ruth herself; The adorable blonde is utterly charming and thoroughly excited about what she does and its uncontainable.

The clothing design house, Dept 728 was the official reason for the gathering at the Underground and an occasion to meet Ruth and Sean of Dept. 728. A large supporter of the arts and up-and-coming designers, The Underground put on a uniform design competition to showcase local designers and Dept 728 emerging as the sassy winner. Local jewelry designer, Nicole James provided intracite and beguilingly exotic accessories that completed the uniforms. We’re looking forward to featuring more of Nicole’s work in the future.

The uniforms were tounge-in-cheek military inspired and showed a great blend of Ruth’s sassy style and Sean’s grounding presence. The cocktail girls wore short dresses of digitalized (authentic) camo with fluorescent pops in all the right places. Just beneath the arms, the bright orange strips were reminiscent of gun holsters- and the zipper up the front of the same bright, color synonymously provided an easy fit and adjusted for the desired level of cleavage showcasing. How clever: snug little dresses of stretch jersey that are both fun to wear and comfy.

In menswear the focus is on fit and structure as Ruth discretely points out, most other men’s tees aren’t cut around the male figure and end up being too strappingly tight across the chest and baggy at the bottom; or god forbid, the reverse. Through meticulous seaming, measuring and pattern-making, Ruth and Sean changed all that. The Underground uniforms reflected a superior fit in side stitching that curved along the male torso, and shoulder seams that were slightly set back for a better fit. The urban inspired design-element was also fitting for the evening with unobtrusively placed, gun-toting female figures sprayed onto the custom tees.

Dept 728 is composed of Ruth and her considerate business partner, Sean Carrell. The duo met while working at Neiman Marcus in the Men’s department and instantly hit it off. The name Dept 728 stems from the date they resigned from Neiman’s to launch their own original and thoughtful line. Starting in mens and now working in womenswear, Dept 728 has a dual focus: to provide comfortable structure to the man’s wardrobe and stylish versatility and comfort for the gals.

We’re excited to have Dept.728 on our radar (who else could have so much fun with a uniform?) and can’t wait to get our hands on the versatile, morph pieces ourselves- perfect for summer!

Indie Designer Market

With warm weather on its way (we hope)- ‘tis the season to hit up the outdoor markets. A great one to check out is the Indie Design Market that is an on-going market-style presentation of some of Chicago’s best up-and-coming designers. We checked it out over the holiday weekend and ogled, Kate Boggiano’s beautiful, tailor-made blouses, had fun with Dept728, toying with the many ways to wear their wrap skirt/dress, and were awe-struck by the delicate, feather couture accessories by Aya and her brand of jewelry Haji Couture. Participants vary by weekend- there’s a constant rotation of talent moving in and out of the market.

If you need further enticement, the market also features a plethora of vintage clothing and furniture. Entry to the market is $10, but it’s well worth it and you can easily make a full day of perusing the antiques outside and visiting the Indie Market housed inside. Plus, there are enough food offerings and libations to keep everyone happy.