Feature

By Lisa Larranaga

With Janice Moskoff, you’ve got a friend in fashion. And a good friend at that. The St. Louis native has made the fashion tides turn in Chicago, giving trendsetters the labels they love without price tags that make them cringe.

Moskoff is the founder of Beta Boutique, a brick-and-mortar sample sale shop that draws the fashion savvy in with promises of big names for 40-90 percent off retail prices. Beta Boutique started in 2004 as a “neighborhood roving” sample sale business and in December 2006 evolved to a permanent location at 2016 W. Concord Place in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood.

“We have a great mix of designers and styles” Moskoff said. “We really get some amazing product.”

If you have any fashionistas on your holiday list this year, Beta Boutique is bound to have something to make their heart swoon. The store works with retailers and designers in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York and receives shipments every week to ensure it carries the labels and styles that keep customers’ closets stocked and their wallets full.

This weekend, the boutique held an off-site event on Southport Avenue that offered Lakeview residents a chance to shop without commuting, with names like Lara Miller, Eskell, Walter by Walter Baker, dIETERbENNET, Jlee and Massake.

If you didn’t get your red-lacquered nails on the Walter by Walter Baker asymmetrical dress or Lara Miller Bamboo Lauren dress (love it!) this weekend, the Bucktown location is open 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Moskoff also is planning a first-ever kids sample sale event December 4-6 and the annual holiday party, both of which promise to have unbeatable deals. The godmother of them all – the semi-annual sale – will take place January 30 through 31, 2010. The giant warehouse event will have items for $150 and under, sorted by dollar and size and starting at $10.

For the holiday season, Moskoff says shoppers can expect lots of jewelry, dresses and sweaters, and says the bad economic conditions have provided a lot of stores and designers with excess product, which in turn gives Beta shoppers more inventory and higher-quality pieces.

“It’s an unfortunate byproduct of the state of the economy,” Moskoff said.

I guess there is a silver lining to everything.

To keep with the fast-paced high-fashion business, subscribe to the Betalist, follow them on Twitter or become a Facebook fan. Heck, do all three if you want to ensure you don’t miss out. The e-mail list, Twitter and Facebook keep shoppers up-to-date on the labels the shop’s currently selling and any special events.

And if you’re looking for a new friend in fashion, one with connections that will offer you cozy knits, strappy platforms and chic pants, Moskoff’s the name you need to remember, and Beta Boutique is a place to keep on your fashion radar.

“I love a good deal, I love great fashion and I grew up shopping Marshalls and TJ Maxx as one of four sisters, and I think I created a place I would want to shop,” Moskoff said. “Instead of hunting down a sale, I wanted a place I could shop that has contemporary, high quality items I could find when I don’t have a lot of time. There are so many great stores out there but I don’t have the clothing budget that some others do, so I created a place I could shop.”

And in return, she’s created a place for all of us to shop, too.

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