Today’s Feature Friday spotlights one of our retail partners in Illinois: Smith’s Men’s Store. Walter Smith opened the store in Lake Forest in 1937. John Tadel, a Lake Forest native, purchased the store in 1988. Tadel describes the shop as “a traditional conservative store that never tried to be anything we are not.” The shop carries dress and casual attire and offers tuxedo rental and tailoring services.
Lake Forest is a small city on the shore of Lake Michigan an hour north of Chicago. Lake Forest was one of the earliest planned suburbs in America. The city’s picturesque street plan, which ties in the area’s natural beauty, is one of many reasons residents find Lake Forest so appealing.
The Sock Drawer 