Syd Jerome 2 N La Salle 312.346.0333

Store Background
The man Syd Jerome never existed, but -- after half a century -- the clothing store of that name is still very much alive. The 4,000-square-foot men's store on North LaSalle Street in the heart of Chicago's financial district carries the merged first names of the two co-founders, Sid Shapiro and Jerome Frishman. (It's "Syd" because Mr. Shapiro thought a "y" would look better on the sign.) The store's within walking distance of the Chicago Board of Trade and other financial institutions. "We want to make sure when our customer goes into a court or boardroom, he's appropriately dressed," says Mr. Shapiro, 76. At Syd Jerome, that usually means high-end suits from Italy: Roughly 97% of the store's suits, shirts and ties are made there. "I had a love affair with Italy before anybody even knew who some of these companies were," Mr. Shapiro says. "Some of our manufacturers today will do some things offshore but we don't buy that portion of it. It's the mystique of Italy...the passion," he adds. "The whole nine yards."

What It Carries
Suits from Armani Collezioni, Brioni, Canali, Corneliani, Etro, Ermenegildo Zegna, made-in-Italy suits from Polo Ralph Lauren. Also carried: made-in-America suits by Hickey Freeman and Oxxford Clothes. Dress shirts and ties from the aforementioned vendors as well as Borrelli, Stefano Ricci and Robert Talbott. Some dress-casual clothing, or sportswear, from Armani and Zegna as well as trendy woven sport shirts from Robert Graham and slacks by Zanella; and accessories such as shoes, belts and hats. The store also makes custom suits.

Peter Wynn Thompson/Getty Images for the Wall Street Journal

A selection of the store's ties

WHO SHOPS THERE

• Sam Zell, chairman of Tribune Co. and real-estate mogul

• John Bucksbaum, chief executive of General Growth Properties Inc., a Chicago-based owner and manager of more than 200 malls in the U.S.

• Denis Savard, Chicago Blackhawks coach

• Ramsey Lewis, jazz pianist

• Bob Clifford, principal partner of Clifford Law Offices, whose focuses include personal-injury law

Most Expensive Item
An off-the-rack Brioni suit made of superfine wool, for $5,500.

Bargains
Syd Jerome has sales in January and July, the only times merchandise is marked down. The least-expensive suit Syd Jerome carries is a $695 suit by Joseph Abboud.

Most Unusual Items
Funky, gigantic-buckled belts by Aquarius, $95 to $235, with designs ranging from skulls to guitars.

What's New
The store is testing hickey, a contemporary, slightly edgy line by Hickey Freeman aimed at younger consumers or older consumers who are "youthful." A marijuana leaf is a recurring motif in the line.

Where It Gets Its Stock
Mr. Shapiro and his team visit the showrooms of companies in Italy and the U.S. and lay out what the store wants. "Everything is done to our specs," Mr. Shapiro says.

Fitting Rooms
Claustrophobic. Three fitting rooms are tiny. (A fourth, for the disabled, is slightly larger.) There's no signage and they aren't grouped together. Mr. Shapiro says men don't need huge dressing rooms, and at any rate there's no room for expansion. Three-way mirrors where customers can scope themselves out abound.

Décor
A beautiful mess. Cramped, cluttered, somewhat drab but clean space. Syd Jerome has no time for the bells and whistles one would find at the men's sections of a luxury department store. "The ambiance is the merchandise," Mr. Shapiro says. "The merchandise should shine, not the fixtures." Ties are folded on rods and hung on walls within the store by brand (Zegna, Robert Talbott, Borrelli) but there are no signs that identify the brands, and there's no tie section. Dress shirts are stacked floor to near-ceiling on all the side walls, some so high that one has to ask for help. Suits are grouped in bays by brand, but no signs tell customers that. With few guideposts, they have to ask for help. It's strictly a store for men who want a no-nonsense environment, but customers we witnessed seemed not to mind.

Customer Service
The knowledgeable, frank, well-dressed sales associates more than make up for the haphazard store layout. If something isn't working for you, they'll tell it like it is. We tried on a Polo suit because we liked the fit of the body, but the sales associate -- who we later learned is the store's manager -- gently suggested similar-fitting suits from different brands, to get us out of our comfort zones and introduce new names like the hard-to-pronounce Isaia (Is-eye-EE-ya). The associates were attentive but didn't hover. They also had a good eye for sizes. When we picked up a 40 Long on a suit, the associate knew it would be too small before we even tried it on. And he was right. Alterations are free.

Hours
Monday-Wednesday and Friday 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday 8:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Saturday 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Return Policy
Full refund for manufacturer's defect. If customer changes mind and item isn't worn out or damaged, store will help customer find something else or offer merchandise credit or a refund.

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