IU alumnae open clothing boutique in Chicago

Eskell is not only the name of a trendy downtown Chicago boutique, it is also the combination of the owners’ names – IU graduates Kelly Whitesell and Elizabeth Del Castillo. Both hailing from Gary, an area commonly known as “The Region,” the boutique owners met up again after high school when Whitesell transferred from the University of Nebraska to IU.\n“I remember calling Liz because I knew she was in the apparel-design program at Indiana University, and that is what I wanted to do too. A semester later, I was at IU in the program also,” Whitesell said.\nHowever, Whitesell had an interest in design before her years at IU and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. \n“I got a Burberry coat for $5 and I still have it, “ Whitesell said in a phone interview, describing one of her best finds. “It was almost like a challenge for me to go out and find the best things at vintage or antique places.”\nWhitesell said the inspiration for the collections at Eskell come from many different areas, ranging from old pictures to movies to each other.\n“Our ideas usually start with two or three ideas and just expand from there. Sometimes I will see a picture and really like the colors or the line of a dress and think, ‘What can I do with it?’ We find ideas from art work, movies, pictures, colors and different time periods.”\nAfter working together for so long, Whitesell and Del Castillo are used to bouncing ideas off one another. \n“This is something that can only be developed through years of being friends; it is like we are sisters,” Whitesell said. “We were really the only ones that we knew through high school and college that were as interested and serious about clothing, so we have been doing this a really long time. No one else was very serious about what they wanted to do in high school, and especially not serious about fashion.”\nFreshman apparel-merchandising major Shannon Sieck said she thinks it is hard to be taken seriously in the fashion world when you are from an area such as Indiana – or at least studying fashion in the state.\n“I just don’t think Indiana, as a state, has the best fashion reputation. It is harder to get your ideas out and communicate with the right people in order to succeed,” she said.\nHowever, Jeff Green, the owner of the Kirkwood Avenue boutique Cha-Cha, thinks otherwise.\n“That is a bunch of hogwash. It does not matter where you are from to be taken seriously in fashion or retail. You can study, read, travel, take classes or order magazines. I mean, Bill Blass was from Fort Wayne and Hoagy Carmichael was from Peru (Ind.). You can be a creative person no matter where you are from,” he said.\nThe Eskell owners are being taken seriously now, as their collection keeps expanding due to their creativity.\nWhitesell said they use the “two heads is better than one” concept because Del Castillo is more classic and Whitesell loves a raw edge. With both of their ideas together, they continue to stay inspired in evolving their collections.\nEven though Whitesell and Del Castillo have only been at this since September 2005, they have had a few mentionable accomplishments already.\n“I would not say we have made it yet. We are definitely still far from our goal but it is exciting to cut pieces for someone like Christina Ricci and to see our clothes in InStyle, Nylon, and Lucky (magazines) and have our own fabric printed. It is all amazing and things have really moved fast in the past year. We are so grateful and lucky that we get to do what we love,” Whitesell said.\nTo check out the Eskell style, visit www.eskell.com or find them at 953 W. Webster Ave. in Chicago.