European Models Dress Mothers of the Bride, Plus-Size Women

Step into Oak Mill Mall at Oakton and Milwaukee in Niles, and you’ll see three very elegant shops—Boutique Unique and Bonjour Madame, both specializing in special occasion dresses and women’s designer apparel, and The Golden Shoe, a shoe shop featuring top European style and comfort brands, for both men and women.

The businesses are a family affair, started by Brigitta Guenther, who began her career as a model in her native Germany, as well as her daughter Marlies Vetter and Marlies’ son Jon Stewin.

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Marlies explains how the shops maintain their stylish flair and successful business model.

Patch: How did the business get started, and when? 

Marlies Vetter:  We had two stores previously. We closed the one in Libertyville and went to Mount Prospect. Brigitta and Gustav Guenther opened the shops; I have always been working with my mother all these years, in between modeling.

The owner of Oak Mill Mall approached my mother and asked whether she would like to open a business in this mall. She decided to give it a try because it was supposed to be like a little European mall. She opened Boutique Unique here; then because there was a need for plus-size clothing, she opened Bonjour Madame. Then Boutique Unique got a little too small for us so we expanded it into a larger space.

Then we had the old space (vacant), so we opened up the shoe store there.

Patch: How long have you been in business?

Marlies: We are in business altogether 45 years. We are in this mall 27 years. My son Jon has been with us for the last 25 years. 

Patch: Who had the idea for the business, and who developed the concept? 

Marlies: Brigitta was always in the fashion business. She was a model in Germany. When we came to this country, she went to work for people, like Margie’s Bridals.  We came here in the 1960s.  

Our main thing is dressy dresses. We got into that because more women started needing mother of the bride and groom dresses.  

Patch: Who are your customers?

Marlies: We cater to mothers of the bride and groom and women who still go to balls and to women who want to look a little bit different.  And we cater to plus-size women. They can’t go to Macy’s, Lord and Taylor or Nordstrom and find something unique. Those stores only have what the buyers buy, and it’s all the same thing.

We travel a lot and we go all over the place to buy. We go to Germany and Italy.

And of course, no one has plus-size mother of the bride. Customers come from everywhere.  I have people who fly in from Pennsylvania; they fly here twice a year in order to buy clothing. Lots of people come from Wisconsin. I’ve built up a good clientele and I have very lovely customers.

Patch: Who has the artistic touch in creating the store displays?

Marlies: That’s Brigitta. That’s her forte, she’s a merchandiser. She likes to put this with this and that with that. I do that also. 

Patch: You carry some European brands; do you get a lot of shoppers who are originally from Europe?

Marlies: Yes, we do get lots of European customers--Polish, Russian.

Patch: I also noticed The Golden Shoe carries some high-end European brands, such as Josef Seibel and Mephisto, which are known as comfort brands. Those are not easy to find in stores.

Marlies: Yes, I do have customers who come because we’re the only one that carries certain brands.

Patch: Your products are unique. Do you have relationships with certain designers?

Marlies: Well, Frank Lyman, they’re a clothing company out of Canada that makes gorgeous pieces for not a real high price. They’re not for young young girls, but they’re fashionable, young-looking styles. I sell a ton of their things.

Patch: What are your store hours? 

Marlies: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10 to 6,  and Tuesday and Thursday 10 to 8. Normally we close on Sundays, but we’re going to be open on Sundays through the end of December from 11 to 3.  

Patch: What sizes do you carry?

Marlies: In Boutique Unique,  from size 6 to size 16.  In Bonjour Madame, from 14W to 32.

In the shoe store, we carry extra-wide widths, which is important, because people can’t find that anywhere either. Especially in something that looks sharp.

Patch: Do you do alterations?

Marlies: Both of our alterations women have been with us for over 20 years and both are tremendous.

Patch: Anything else you’d like to add?

Marlies: When I go shopping at a big department store, I do not get any kind of personalized service. When customers come here, they are going to get personalized service. We work with people, we steer them in the right direction. We know what dresses work with the different body types. Sometimes people see a certain dress online and they want that dress, but it may not work with their body type.