Fresh Ideas Clothing Co.

Wow! Having just shopped at Fresh Ideas for the first time- I have to share how impressed I was. I went in looking for a few new pieces to bring on vacation and ended up with a wonderfully fresh new wardrobe for Spring. My salesperson was SO helpful and pulled great outfits that I never would have picked on my own. I even found the perfect pair of jeans- and we all know how hard that is! They had a great selection, adorable store, and excellent sales help. I'm already excited to go back!

After reading about Fresh Ideas Clothing Company in Time Out, I drove to Northfield from Chicago expecting a great boutique. Instead I found stale designers and clothes better suited to my grandparent’s generation than the savvy and chic woman I am (or at least, like to think I am). The only bright spots were the Michael Stars tees and Christopher Blue jeans, although they sell for a bit more than at Nordstrom. A note on pricing: Fresh Ideas is an upscale(ish) boutique so I was not expecting inexpensive, but the clothes did seem to be marked up a bit higher than at other boutiques. As an independent retailer this is to be expected and should reflect the attentiveness of the staff. Unfortunately, my experience was far from courteous. The staff ignored me the entire time browsed and only took an interest when I picked up a few pairs of jeans. Needless to say, I did not purchase anything and I won’t be returning.