'Jeans and a Cute Top' Opens in Downtown Downers Grove

Jeans and a Cute Top, Downers Grove's newest women's clothing store, opened quietly Saturday during the annual Downtown Downers Grove Fine Arts Festival.

The boutique, located at 5116 Main St., is owned by Winfield resident Jill Card and her husband Richard. The Downers Grove shop is the store's third location since 2009, following the flagship  and the  that opened in 2010.

"We worked like crazy to open by the weekend," Jill Card said. "Everything went really great. We had a ton of people come in the store."

The store's name, Jeans and a Cute Top, dates back 20 years ago when Jill asked her eventual husband what she should wear on their first date. When Jill decided she wanted to open a shop in 2009, their inside joke fit the store's ethos, and it stuck.

“Our edge is what we do,” . “We know women don't want to spend an outrageous price on a top or a ton of money on the jeans they buy, so we try to be affordable.”

Jill said the jeans typically range in price from $65 to $108 and tops typically start at $15 and top out around $80. The shop specifically targets women ages 35-55, but there's a little something for everyone.

“The interesting part is that the girls at either end of that spectrum find things here” she said. “My mom is in her 70s and she shops here, and my 16-year-old niece does as well.”

As a store with the word “jeans” in the title, it's paramount an extra-layer of attention to detail is paid to the store's denim offerings, Jill said. The stores focus heavily on how the denim fits, taking into consideration the specific body type of each shopper and recommending appropriate styles. Attention to detail extends beyond jeans, Jill said, as the store also offers head-to-toe wardrobing and free basic hemming.

Despite the success of her first two stores in Wheaton and St. Charles, Jill hadn't been planning a Downers Grove location until she received a cold call from .

“Downers Grove actually chose us,” Jill said. “That was very flattering. Apparently there was a survey done and Linda called us in January of this year and said we were suggested many times on the survey.”

As she looked at different spaces in Downers Grove, Jill quickly became impressed with the bustling downtown area.

“We love Wheaton and St. Charles and Downers Grove has that sort of same small town, friendly feel while being well populated,” Jill said. “It's the perfect demographic for us, and we have been so impressed.”

As for the business community that attracted her in the first place, Jill said she has already visited the other women's boutiques in hopes of establishing friendly relationships with the owners.

"I basically just went around and let them know that I'm not coming into town to take their business or anything like that. It's just the opposite," she said. "We want our store to be just one more reason people have for visiting Downers Grove."

Editor's Note: Former Downers Grove Patch Editor Robert Bykowski contributed to this article.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

There are plenty of ways to keep up on  news:

• Sign up for our daily email newsletter

• Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take.